City Life in Cali

San Francisco  wasn't ready for us....and boy (or girl), lemme tell you- we weren't quite ready for the streets of San Fran. These two Alaskans in our F350 just didn't mix well with the traffic and congestion in the hilly city. The first hour or so was quite stressful as we tried to navigate around the city and attempt to not  dismember any innocent pedestrians. Thanks to the help of Magellan, we found our way to our first stop: Wags Hotel.

We knew hauling two huskies up and down the streets of a busy city was just asking for trouble so we chose to board them for the night. I swear, their "hotel" was better than ours. You wouldn't believe the ammenities/goodies/extras they offered: One on one swim time, Yappy Hour, and more. I'm pretty ashamed of myself for pampering them so, but I'm sure they had a good time (Their report card said so! ;) ).

After Captain J and I decided on a location to rest our pretty little heads, we set out to explore the city...on foot. No more driving for us! We walked everywhere we went. I'm surprised I survived.

We strolled down to Fisherman's Wharf to walk along the water and view Alcatraz from a distance. Later we spotted Ghirardelli, which quickly became my favorite place in this whole entire world. I was in chocolate heaven!

After a quick snap of this photo (and J telling curious onlookers that I was a "chocolate fiend"), we strolled on down the street where we came to a wine tasting. Being in California and not tasting wine is criminal so we sat down to enjoy a few swigs of California's best aged grape juice.

Afterwards, we continued on down the road to Pier 33 where there were tickets to Alcatraz being sold. Knowing that I'm slightly obsessed with prison shows and culture, J hopped in line to buy us tickets. The boat ride took approximately 12 minutes. In no time, we were standing on the island- looking out at the bright lights of San Francisco. I regret that I didn't bring my camera during this time. How could I forget that?! All I had was the iphone and it doesn't have great capabilities in the dark. Oh, well...I'll have to savor those memories in my mind. I did get a picture of a quote from one of the wardens of "The Rock"-

I thought this was pretty profound especially when I think about all our soldiers who have given all. Did you know that before Alcatraz was a prison that it was actually a military base? Did you know that families occupied the island as well during the time the inmates were there? The tour was quite interesting and I'd definitely like to check out some more literature on the topic.

Around 8 o'clock that night, we finally had dinner. As suggested by my dear dad-in-law, we had dungeness crab and chardonnay. It was excellent! These Californians have it down a little better than Fairbanksians, I just have to say. We left the restaurant with our bellies full and began the long trek back to our hotel.

I didn't get much sleep that night because there were two women in the room to the left of ours that were having an excellent time together, if you know what I mean. Then to to right of us, there was a young couple who argued in German during the wee hours of the morning. Add in cars honking, tires screeching, and the hustle and bustle of city life and it's easy to see why I slept very little.

I woke up with a spring in my step, though. I was ready to get out of that hotel! Captain J and I put on our walkin' shoes and got to stepping bright and early. We had breakfast in the Wharf then headed to Lombard Street to see the crooked roads and beautiful gardens.

Photo Credit Here

Then we went to see the interesing Chinatown district where I wanted to snatch up a couple of those beautiful Chinese children and high tail it to GA and call it a day! (I promise I'm kidding) They were all so precious and it reminded me of the pull I feel to adopt from China. Maybe one day.

We followed the streets to Coit Tower. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to go to the top due to construction on the tower.

Note Annoyed Smile

I could go on forever. We literally went all over this city and by the end of the day I felt as if I had done a half marathon, at least. Then I began to ponder how San Francisco(ians?) stack up in marathons. I bet they win more often than not. You wouldn't believe the steep hills that I was huffing up. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it. I just know if I lived there, I'd look amazing with all that extra exercise I would likely get.

We loved this city, but were glad to drive out of the congestion and back into a slower pace. We definitely wouldn't make it as city folk! Tomorrow we're camping in Yosemite. The adventure continues...

P.S.- Does anyone else have the Full House theme song in their head now?