Time flies, eh? It's been a month since I got back from California now, and I wish I was still there.. In the meantime I can share a few photos from my lovely trip with you.
I flew into San Francisco on a Wednesday night, and was greeted at the airport by the Myers clan :-) On Thursday we spent the day checking out Burlingame, where Mark grew up, and then followed that with a drive to Half Moon Bay. We continued our drive down the coast until winding up in Monterey for the night. We stopped at San Gregorio beach along the way, and stopped in another gorgeous spot for lunch before we ultimately found our way to Monterey.
Upon arriving in Monterey we found a really cute hotel with a great courtyard. We relaxed there for a pre-drink before going on a really nice stroll along the coast. Our walk led us to the boardwalk where we were able to gawk at the sea lions! We then found a nice spot for dinner, and wined and dined the night away.
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| Half Moon Bay! |
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| San Gregorio Beach! |
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| Hotel giggles. |
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| Sea lions! |
Friday was spent driving along Highway 1 to see Big Sur! I was taken by the gorgeous landscape, and consistently good views. Big Sur is a destination for a reason, that's for sure. We went as far as Posts, CA, where we had a lovely meal at Nepenthe. This cafe is on a cliffside with a terrace overlooking the sea, but go figure we had foggy vistas. That said, I think fog is so neat because it creates for a sense of mystery.
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| Morning stop! |
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| We are coming for you! |
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| BIG Sur! |
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| Nepenthe views. |
From Nepenthe we made the drive to San Francisco, and after battling traffic, we finally arrived! Once we got to San Francisco we checked in to a plush hotel and naturally had a pre-drink before heading out to Fisherman's Wharf. The hotel was conveniently close to the wharf, and we strolled about until deciding to eat in a fancy seafood restaurant overlooking the Bay! We had a great meal, coupled with the best white wine I've ever had, and I have since been generously shipped a bottle for my birthday :-) We ended the night at the infamous Buena Vista Cafe for Irish coffees.
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| Dinner shot! |
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| Buena Vista! |
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| Irish coffee, please! |
Saturday was spent exploring alllll over San Francisco! We started the morning with a cable car ride, and that was great fun! The cable car dumped us in Union Square, where we then slowly made our way to Chinatown. After Chinatown we found ourselves at Coit Tower, where we got a great view of the city! From Coit Tower we found ourselves a nice spot for a drink, and then another good spot for lunch. After we were re-energized from lunch, we got into the car for a drive around to Fort Mason, where we found a cool bookstore and an amazing exhibit on sounds. Then we stumbled our way to the Marina, where we took a stroll over to the Palace of Fine Arts. We were lucky enough to witness two weddings during this walk, an ultra classy affair at the marina, and one lesser so at the Palace of Fine Arts. From the Marina, we drove through the Presidio and ultimately wound up in San Mateo for the evening.
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| Cable car rides! |
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| Smiles for cable cars! |
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| Coit Tower, chilling. |
We checked in to our hotel in San Mateo, and in typical fashion had a pre-drink before heading out to downtown San Mateo for a nice meal at a Cuban restaurant. We followed the Cuban meal with a night cap at another cool bar where we played a good game of Spoof.
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| Sunset in San Mateo |
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| Pitchers of sangria, mmmm! |
On Sunday we primarily ran errands so that Dave would be ready to go for his apprenticeship. We found ourselves at both Wal-Mart and the mall, but all worth it so that Dave didn't have to mess with any of these logistics once he was in Gualala. And sadly the day wound down so quickly and before I knew it I was on the bus to the airport :-(
I had such a great time visiting California with some of my favorite people. It was such a great early birthday present, and I am so thankful for my time with everyone. Now I'm back in the landlocked Midwest, and back to my daily grind, but thankfully I've had other little trips to break up my routine. I'll be sure to blog about summer at some point soon!
