Monday we decided on a one day road-trip down to San Francisco. Neither one of us has ever been there. The drive took an hour and a half, but it was really pretty. The rolling hills and green trees were beautiful. We drove over the Bay bridges and finally got there. It looks just like what you see in pictures and TV, but seems so much bigger in person.
Driving around town trying to find parking was crazy. The streets are so steep, and half of them are one-way only. Plus you end up driving on the trolley tracks sometimes. We finally parked at the Pier 39 parking garage (only $7/hr!). We walked around that pier for a while and saw the sealions. Then we headed down towards Fisherman's Wharf.
We went our on the pier with all the old restored ships and looked at those for a while. That pier is right next to the Aquatic Park. There were a few sailboats out there, but mostly there was people swimming out to the breakwater and back. Crazy! It's the end of November! Everyone was walking around in jackets and people are still swimming in the ocean. I saw a few sealions swimming with them as well.
After that we stopped for a snack of Ben & Jerry's. Then we decided to go shopping. They have an H&M which I have always wanted to go to. We walked all the way there (way too far uphill - never doing that again!) through Chinatown. It was very interesting to see all the little shops with ducks hanging in the window. For a while, we were the only white people on the street.
We finally got to the market disctrict. We went to H&M and spent at least two hours there. I spent pretty much all my Christmas money on clothes, but it was wonderful! Even Pat got a couple of shirts. We really need to get one in Salt Lake.
After we were then we walked past the designer stores. We stopped and went inside Tiffany's and looked at the sparklies that cost more than we'll make in our lifetimes. We didn't touch anything. We also stopped and looked at Williams Sonoma, where I drooled over kitchen items that I also can't afford. The store was four stories high and filled with all kinds of good stuff. There was a whole wall of La Creuset cookware that I really want, but a frying pan was over $200.
At that point we were pretty shopped out, and our feet were killing us. We hopped on a trolley and rode back to Fisherman's wharf. We went back to the car to drop off all our purchases, then went back to Pier 39 for dinner. We ate at the Fog Harbor Fish House. It was nice and we sat at a table with a view over the water. Pat got to eat his fresh crab, and I had a hamburger because I still can't bring myself to eat seafood.
After dinner we got back in the car and headed home, with a few detours on the way. We drove down the twisty part of Lomard Street, then we went over the Golden Gate bridge. It probably took us a little longer to get back, but it was worth it. Plus we didn't have to pay another toll at the Bay bridge.
All in all, it was a really nice day. We'll have to go back again to see everything we missed. I'm sure there was a lot.
