San Francisco day three

On our third day we did another tour. This time to wine country! We crossed the Golden Gate again and headed out of town. Our first stop was Muir Woods where we were given a few hours to wander the giant redwood forest. It didn't feel too different from our forests in Washington but it smelled of eucalyptus and there was no mud. Then it was noon and time for our first winery, Jacuzzi, from the hot tub fame. There weren't any hot tubs at the winery but it was the same family that had invented the 'Jacuzzi'. We found a few tasty reds we liked but will have to order online because they are a small winery that doesn't distribute. Afterwards, we went to the town of Sonoma for lunch. Dale and I had a great meal at the Sunflower Cafe. Then we drove up to Napa and stopped at Madonna Estates for another tasting. We toured the vineyards and soaked up more sunshine. We decided to be dropped off in Sausalito again that evening and enjoyed a beautiful dinner on the water at Scoma's.  It was pretty sunset ferry ride back to the city.

San Fran day two

Super steep Lombard St. that has eight switchbacks down one city block.

Exactly.

Chinatown

The Painted Ladies from Full House fame!

DeYoung Museum lobby

Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Bridge

Sausalito

Alcatraz

Ferry building

Embarcadero street car.

We started our second day in San Francisco with a city tour. We hit all the famous landmarks and highlights. The tour finished with a drive over the Golden Gate bridge. We ended in Sausalito which was a charming Mediterranean style tourist town with lots of little shops and restaurants. The weather was much warmer over there compared to San Francisco. We had an outdoor picnic and soaked up the California sunshine. On the ferry ride back we cruised by Alcatraz and that was the closest we got. Tickets are sold out at least a month in advance so if you want to see "the Rock" book your tickets early. I still can hear Dale grumbling under his breath! When we arrived back to San Fran we took our first cable car ride. We had great 'seats' which meant we were able to stand. That evening we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf which turned out to be our least favorite part of the city. Maybe it was because we were there in the evening and all the lively fishmongers were packed up for the day. Lots of cheesy souvenir stores and it is freezing by the water at night. We did check out the Bourdin Sourdough museum from the street (San Francisco has a museum for everything) and shared clam chowder in a sourdough bowl.

San Francisco day one

Dale and I took a quick trip down to San Francisco! We arrived Friday before lunch and had a smooth trip from the Oakland airport to our downtown hotel via the BART. Once we had checked in to our hotel and stashed our bags we decided to head down to the water. Typical Dale and Jen fashion we took the 90 minute round about walking tour instead of the 15 minute direct route (we didn't figure that out for a few days). It was fun to see the architecture of the city and travel through the different neighborhoods. We ended up at Pier 39 which was a fun lively place to walk around and have lunch. We ate at the Crab House and it was delicious and charming. We made it back to the hotel for happy hour on the patio which is when the weather turned 'San Francisco' on us. The wind and fog came in and settled in for the night. We moved inside for a few more glasses of wine. For dinner we found the best burger joint around the corner from the hotel. We had noticed the long line out the door earlier in the day so we went in. It was delicious and we never did try an In and Out burger but for Dale and I, Super Duper was the best burger we've ever had!