Last Day in San Francisco

Well, today the weather was a little chillier and less sun. More like the typical weather you think of for this area! Nonetheless , we had another great day.

We ventured out to Alcatraz-- a must for any visitor to San Francisco. We were glad we had prepurchased our tickets because the tours were sold out for the day when we got to the pier. The audio tour of "The Rock" is exceedingly well done. I enjoyed hearing it all again and Bill enjoyed it for the first time.

After the ferry ride back, we walked Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at a great little seafood restaurant called Scomos. Delicious. Then we walked and stood on the inevitably long line to ride the cable car all the way up. It was cold and windy but we are still glad we did it. It was about a 45 minute wait -- but shorter than when we tried this weekend! Off to an early dinner since a taxi is picking us up at 5:30am for the airport! Next blog will take place from Switzerland--June 18 departure !

Also included photos of yesterday's tour with The Girls and the whacky race partiers . One photo was a stop at a fortune cookie factory! Fun!

San Francisco extraordinaire!

What a great day we had! The weather in May is fantastic! Definitely the time to visit the Bay area. There is little fog in April and May.

Today was a wonderful whacky day in the city. It was the Bay to Breakers 7 mile race. It's a little hard to describe. There are amazing costumes in this 50,000 + people race. There is everything from the ridiculous to the sublime! Including birthday suits ( aka nudists) running in this event! They party all day !
We had the most amazing city tour with two ladies who know this place inside out! We walked down wooden staircases that are actual streets ; went to a fortune cookie shop; had amazing sweets and a delicious Thai (California style ) lunch. If you ever get to San Francisco and want the best possible tour of the city you must absolutely go with "Sights and Bites". CarriedAwaySf.com. They are truly awesome with the perfect tour representation of the city. They are delightful personalities filled with facts and history of this amazing place! I guarantee a fun time!! Even if you think you know the city--they will show or tell you something you didn't know before!! Highly recommend you book these gals!!

Tonight we went to the Top of the Mark (Mark Hopkins Hotel) to view the solar eclipse. Bill figured out how to really see the solar eclipse by looking through polarized glasses from two different angles. It was awesome! Wecouls really see the ring! We had dinner just down the street from the Mark Hopkins at The Big Four Restaurant ( recommended by the Carried Away Tour Ladies). It was great. A fabulous day in the Bay Area!

Happy Birthday to Me!

We've arrived at the Four seasons in San Francisco, but not without a small amount of driving trauma! Poor Bill! We had an address for the hotel that was the back side of the hotel, not the main entrance. Added to that, there were numerous street closures due to construction and a street fair. The GPS went nuts and so did we! It took more than an hour to get to the hotel when we were just 2 miles away!!! Bill was threatening to abandon the rental car and take a taxi! LOL! But it all worked out eventually.

We did the little Red Fire Engine tour of San Francisco. It goes over the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and back. We tried to stand in line to take the cable car down to the tour but the line was an hour wait and there wasn't time. We're hoping to do the cable car in the next day or two!

The kids gave me an amazing basket of goodies. It looks like I won the "Snack Lottery!". Thank you Trey, Annette, Gaby, Grant, Duffy and Tucker!!! Awesome basket!! (already broken into!)Photo posted!

Congrats to the Preakness winners who finally got the horse right! (Wanda and Tom!).

I got a beautiful ruby bracelet from Bill for my birthday!!

Looking forward to tour of San Francisco tomorrow. Also looking forward to delayed birthday dinner with family and friends when we get home. Tonight's a birthday dessert was a yummy Bananas Foster, but I'm still looking forward to cake!

Great day! Loved every second of my birthday! Thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday-- it was the best!

Fairmont Sonoma Inn

We've left the craggy windswept Cypress trees of Pebble Beach for acres of Sonoma vineyards and the kings of the forest, the majestic, "reach for the skies" Redwood trees. We saw trees today that are 1400 years old! They are truly a wonder. We also had the MOST perfect weather day!!! It was sunny and 78 degrees!! Awesome, awesome day!

We ventured to the Armstrong Redwoods Forest and then on to Bodega Bay--- the place where Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes from The Birds ! Actually, the Redwood Forest was where they filmed several scenes from the Star Wars movie "Return of the Jedi." The camera cannot capture the magnificence and the height of these beautiful trees. It was a picture perfect day !

On the Road Again...next stop Sonoma

How much fun did I have in Carmel?! Lots! I didn't make it down three blocks before I bought four things!! First stop was great store for unusual jackets; second, Christmas Shop; third, huge dog store(only bought one toy for Tucker) and last but not least, an adorable children's clothing store!! Bill was very good sport! In fact, he actually found some of the items I purchased!

If you are ever in Carmel, do save time to visit the shops and galleries. Truly lovely and unique things.

We had lunch at an awesome restaurant recommended by someone who lives In Carmel. It's called Grasings (6th and Mission). You can eat in the bar and watch tv or go for the cute dining room with linen table cloths! The soup of the day was asparagus(yummy) and the sandwich special was homemade meatloaf on freshly baked toasted focaccia bread. It was all delicious! Bill also enjoyed his turkey sandwich!! Housemade French fries were awesome! More when we arrive in Sonoma.

We are passing huge fields of artichokes (signs for deep fried artichokes) ,strawberries, apricots, cherries,Brussels sprouts...hungry yet?

Feeling "artsy" at the Dinner Table