Driving with three young kids, you have to plan on a lot of stops. On our way up to San Fran we stopped for soft serve at this adorable drive-thru dairy in Pleasanton. :)
The first thing we did in San Francisco was drive down Lombard Street - a.k.a. the crooked street. Andrew had a lot of fun driving all over San Fran, actually. We even googled the "steepest street" in San Fran, with a gradient of 31.5% and drove down it too! In fact, I'm quite certain we caught air as we started our descent because my hubby started out a bit too fast! I was white-knuckled the whole time. :)
Hotels are always so exciting for little ones! What was great, was that our hotel was within walking distance to almost everything we wanted to see & do in San Fran!
Our first day, we went off to explore Pier 39. We found these giant musical stairs - made from the same creator as the piano in the movie Big. Each step you took played a piano note. :)
Then we explored Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze at Pier 39! This was an indoor maze full of mirrors (and flickering black-lights) - making it so hard to know which was a pathway, and which was a mirror! You had to walk with your hands out in front of you (the gloves meant for no fingerprint smudges) or else you'd bonk yourself right in the nose! We must have spent almost 30 minutes finding our way out - and after the first 20 minutes or so we ended up right at the start! Very confusing but super fun! The best part was when Samuel first started. He felt very confident and started running around - then ran right into a mirror! :)
At the end of the pier our family posed by Alcatraz
And we were glad to catch a glimpse of some of the famous sea lions!
We ended our afternoon with a bay cruise. The boat took us around the bay - sailing directly beneath the Golden Gate bridge and we got right up close to Alcatraz as we sailed around it. This allowed for some great photos!
Day 2 - We decided to ride the famous San Francisco Powell-Market cable cars. Samuel & Andrew enjoyed standing and holding on for most of the ride!
Then we explored more of Fisherman's Wharf and ate seriously some of the best Fish 'n Chips ever at this locals' favorite:
We also found this super cool old museum called "Musee Mecanique" right on the Wharf that featured hundreds of antique & vintage coin-operated arcade-style games. The boys loved this place!!!
Here are a few more great family photos during our trip
A trip to San Francisco wouldn't be complete without a visit to Ghiradelli!
The kids got to see how the chocolate was made.
Then we all ordered some Ghiradelli treats of our own! The kids got ice cream cones, I ordered a Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa, and Andrew picked out a delicious sundae! It was hands down the best hot chocolate I've had in my life. Oh... my... goodness!
We decided to go off the beaten path for our next San Francisco adventure. We had researched and heard about these amazing concrete slides at the Seward Mini Park just outside of the Castro district. The park had very limited hours, but we made it there about an hour before it closed and we are so glad we went!
According to Yelp, we had to bring our own pieces of cardboard to sit on, wear pants/jeans, and keep our elbows in (unfortunately, I learned why the hard way and got a big concrete-burn on one of mine)! Anyway, get a look at these slides!
A view from the top...
And from the bottom...
They went very fast and had a huge drop right in the middle!
Here's a video so you can catch it in action! Andrew/Micah raced against Samuel:
On our way back to the hotel, we drove by the famous "painted ladies" - these picturesque, darling houses that you imagine when you think of San Francisco.
On our last day we drove across the beautiful Golden Gate bridge, then parked and walked a bit on it. It was super cold and windy though, so we didn't make it that far across!
Next stop was a visit to our cousins Molly, Andy and little Ruby in San Rafael! They have the most darling house and beautiful backyard, which the kids loved playing in. It was so sweet to see Kendall & Ruby play together. :)
Blowing kisses & Smiling together
Hugs for the babies!
It was such a special visit - and especially fun to meet baby Olivia!
We are so glad we got to spend time with them on our trip!
Coming up - Part 2 - Oregon!
No comments:
Post a Comment