City by the Bay

Cheryl and I needed out of the city. Not just any city, LA. And where do you think we decided to drive for a couple days? That's right, another city. But wait, before you commit the unforgivable sin and compare San Francisco to Los Angeles, allow me to explain.

Cheryl and I both have a special place in our hearts for that "city by the bay" and look upon it with fond memories of family vacations and weekend road trips, both before and after we met. That kind of history is not easily replaced and to be honest with you all, I don't think it ever will be. There is just something special about it's character and the way it makes you feel when you walk down the embarcadero, or watch the trolley cars go up and down those impossibly steep hills. The sourdough bread bowls along Pier 39, or the sound of miniature firecrackers popping along the streets of Chinatown. Come, let me show you.

First stop: The Exploratorium
My cousin Matt and his fiance Megan were AWESOME and decided to meet us in San Fran for a day of fun. The weather was, let's just say San Franciscan, and so we decided to do something indoors. Matt's light bulb went off and after breakfast, we punched in the coordinates into the GPS and were off.


I love how serious Megan is in this photo. Matt, the high school history teacher, showing how he fits in at Central High. And then there's Cheryl with the ever clever - "look where we are point and smile" pose. Dynamite.

You stick your head in this thing and adjust the
colors you see to find out which one is the
most relaxing. That's basically it.

Did she do it? Ask her if you want to find out.

Odd? You bet we are!

A game based on ones ability to communicate with their partner, or in this situation, their fiance - let the fun begin. P.S. If you zoom in, you can read the directions.

Makes you feel like you're in Alice's Wonderland.

* NOTE* San Francisco losses a little of it's mystery and excitement when your destination is locked into the GPS. No more unexpected discoveries or heart-stopping trips down one-way streets. ;(

After we said bye to M&M, I had a hankerin' to go to Chinatown. Maybe it was because I was in the market for some new luggage, or perhaps I was craving some good ol' fashion egg foo yung. Regardless, we enjoyed the sites and sounds, plus got some decent Chinese food.


What a beautiful entrance.

But what about smelling evil, you sinful monkeys!

Union Square

Day 2:
First order of the day, Pier 39. As touristy as that may sound, the energy and excitement at the pier, along with the intoxicating scent of freshly made waffle cones, always puts a smile on my face. The one and only thing that can slap that smile right off my 5 o'clock shadowed face.... the cost of parking. Holy Cow! That is one definite advantage of LA over SF. Parking is SO expensive! But wait, what's that over there....



One (1) block away from Pier 39, tucked away between an apartment complex and a parking garage (charging $20 bucks for all day parking) was a single line of parking spots - FOR FREE. That's right: No valet, no special permit, no meters, no nothing. This is too good to be true, or so I thought. How was this possible? And that's when we saw the street sign. At the bottom, beneath all the rules and regulations, were the two most beautiful words in the English language. "Except Sundays". Today was Sunday, and it was a good day.

To celebrate our victory over parking injustice, we had lunch at our favorite restaurant on the Pier: Boudin Bakery.


Sourdough, here we come.

Look how much fun it is!

Looking to make the most of our day, Cheryl and I decided to forfeit our mind blowing parking spot and head to the Japanese Tea Gardens for some much needed Zen.


She looks more peaceful already.

Making a wish. She swished it while I bounced off the rim. Weaksauce.

We had a great time in SF and hope the next time we visit we have just as much fun. Cheryl, thanks for being my road trip buddy for life. I love you beautiful.