"Darling" Destination: San Francisco Part II

I'm back! Sorry for my little hiatus, I know all 3 of you that read this really missed me! :)

Since our second day in San Francisco was also our last, we had lots of things planned! After getting dressed and grabbing some breakfast from Starbucks (where I pouted because I don't drink coffee and wanted a Diet Coke-feel free to call me high maintenance) we headed over to AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. I will admit that I was not super excited about this tour, but after getting one look at this beautiful stadium I quickly changed my mind!

There is not a bad seat in the place and we learned lots of interesting info! 

Ryan and I started a (Pinterest inspired!) tradition of taking a picture of our feet during each vacation  while on our honeymoon. I can't wait to look back one day at all of these pictures and hopefully see more feetsies added along the way too! :)

After our tour ended, we grabbed some lunch at a Mexican restaurant (nothing beats Tex-Mex, y'all) and did a little more walking around the city.

That evening it was time for one of the highlights of our trip-a catamaran tour around the bay! There were about 30 people on the tour and it was the perfect amount. Not too crowded, but not awkward like it can be with a really small group of strangers. Because, I mean, who doesn't want to be on a boat miles from shore with foreigners.

It was a beautiful evening, although once we got away from shore the wind picked up and it got chilly!

Sailing under the Golden Gate!

San Francisco shoreline.

That's Alcatraz in the background...unfortunately, that's the closest we got.

Love this guy!

Our Darling Destination 2013 came to an end the next day, but I'm so thankful for the wonderful memories we made and the even better company I got to make them with. 

"Darling" Destination: San Francisco Part I

Do y'all remember Full House? Of course you do, only one of the very best shows of the 90's! Every time I watched the intro to that show I would marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge, the beautiful row houses and imagine jumping on one of those old trolleys with Uncle Jessie and D.J. hanging on right beside me! Sixteen years later, my dream of seeing the Tanner's old stomping ground of San Francisco came true. :) 

We decided to take a more scenic route from Napa to San Francisco in order to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. The drive took us through Sonoma which was beautiful! There are no longer any toll booths on the bridge, so if you want to drive over you must call ahead to pre-pay. I think it was around $6, but definitely worth it! 

  

It really is true how the fog just seems to rise up around the bridge. There is a company that allows you to rent bikes and ride over the bridge, but we decided against that. Ever since I got t-boned on my bike by an uncontrollable biker on campus my freshman year of college, I haven't been a big fan of highly congested bike areas. Don't worry, I walked away unscathed! 

We drove through downtown San Francisco in order to return our rental car and those might have been some of the most stressful moments of my life. Between worrying that we were going to total our rental car, Ryan's minor case of road rage, and my navigational skills, it was an absolute nightmare  amazing ride! We managed to return the car and then had to decide the best route to get back to our hotel. Ryan wanted to rent a taxi, but there was no way I was about to get back in a car after the fiasco we had just encountered. I demanded that we walk.

6 blocks.

With our bags.

{flash back to my sarcastic comment last post about only taking carry on that was stuffed to the brim in duffels. I mean, why would I use some hideous luggage with wheels when I can use my stylish and cute Vera Bradley duffel}

You see where I'm going, right?

We finally made it to the hotel, dropped off our bags in the room and headed back out to see the sights! In order to get the best feel for the city we decide to walk (yet again. what is wrong with us!?) from the hotel to the Fisherman's Wharf area. Let me just say that if I lived in San Francisco my legs would be looking awesome. Everything is an uphill climb!

We walked through China Town which was quite an experience. The concierge at our hotel told us that the China Town area in San Fran is the largest concentrated population of Chinese Americans in the United States.

We then ventured to one of my favorite sights! Lombard Street! If you are ever in San Fran you must stop by. This is a street that has these crazy sharp turns through the most beautiful hydrangeas.

We continued on our way to Fisherman's Wharf which is right on the bay. From there you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. One of the big things on my list I wanted to do while in San Fran was go on a tour of Alcatraz. Unfortunately, I missed the memo that during the summer you have to book months in advance for a tour. whomp whomp.

Ryan tried to convince me to do a segway tour around town. Umm...no thanks. While I appreciate the stylish neon vests and helmets, I can just imagine myself losing control and flying down a hill. I prefer to return home with both my arms and my dignity!

Once we got to the bay, we stopped for some dinner and walked around a bit more.

There is Alcatraz. Can you imagine how creepy that place is at night??

After dinner, we had to get some ice cream from Ghirardelli Square. It was yummy, but Blue Bell rivals it any day.

By this time we were both pretty tired and done with the walking so we decided to catch a trolley back to the hotel. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea too. We waited FOR-EVER to get on and it was quiet chilly right on the water. An hour later, it was finally our turn...along with about 60 other people. We were packed in there like cattle, and my trolley experience wasn't quiet what I had envisioned. My advice? If you want to do a trolley take one during the day!

We finally made it back to the hotel and hit the sack to get ready for our last day in the city by the bay!

"Darling" Destination: Napa

I love to travel. Granted, I could count the places I've been on one hand, but I have big plans to see lots of places eventually! (which would be much easier if I made about 3x more money...dang teacher salary) Around March, Ryan and I started talking about where we might want to go this summer. Mr. World Traveler has been lots of places, but I have not. In fact, I didn't even get a passport until before we went on our honeymoon. San Francisco and Napa were two places that neither of us had ever been and thus a "Darling" Destination 2013 was planned!

Sleepy eyes all boarded and ready to take off! I would also like to mention that we did not check any bags. Only did carry on. My bag wasn't heavy at all though. Sike.

We landed around lunchtime in California, got our rental car, and drove about an hour and a half to Napa. Since we couldn't check into our hotel until 3, we decided to go ahead and visit a winery.

I was amazed at the miles upon miles of vineyards.

And we had to stop for a touristy picture!

We visited Rombauer Vineyard where we sampled several wines, and then went to dinner at a place suggested by many called Mustard's. Of course, we had more wine there! As an extra treat, there was also a 70 year old woman eating at the table next to us with her boyfriend and she was absolutely snockered. It. was. hilarious.

The next day we scheduled a tour of a winery and got a lesson on wine and food pairings. I was surprised at how much food could have an affect on the way wine tastes! The grounds at the winery were so beautiful. Everything was blooming and manicured perfectly. This probably would not have phased me 2 years ago, but somewhere between last July and this past March I became obsessed with plants. Basically, I have become my mother. 

Since we had only planned on staying in Napa one night, we finished up our tour (where Ryan refused to let me join the Beringer wine club...so rude) and headed to our next leg of the trip-San Francisco!