I Left My Heart

For Kam to keep his licenses for work current he is required to complete so many hours of continued education each year. Luckily his work pays for much of these expenses and I was thrilled to learn that we could use the money to go to a destination conference. We originally wanted to join our friends and go to Costa Rica but Kam wasn't able to get the time off, plus the timing wasn't great as I had not yet weaned Riley so we looked at the other places where conferences were held and decided to go to San Fransisco. Kameron's mom grew up in Redwood City, near San Francisco, and I had not traveled there since I was around 7 so going to San Francisco was a destination that we both really wanted to go to.

We left early Monday morning and after arriving and getting our rental car we got right to seeing what the city had to offer. Our first stop, after getting some breakfast and a little shopping, was Alamo Square to see the "Painted Ladies."

One of the giant sequoias in the square

I was a huge Full House fan as a kid so I just had to visit the "Full House" 

house. It's painted differently now but still fun to see.

Our next stop was Alcatraz Island.

We did the audio tour and I was rather fascinated to learn more about this famous place. I was most surprised to learn that there was a thriving community that lived on this island.

Isolation...

the view from "The Rock"

We were pretty tired from our early flight so we walked along the wharf and then hit the hay. The next day (Tuesday) we went for a drive down to Monterrey taking a couple stops on our way south. The first stop was to see Candlestick Park where the 49ers play.

Our second stop was to stop by the house Kam's mom grew up in. This house was owned by Kam's Gram and Daddo, Colleen and Frederick Baker (Riley is named after Gram and Braden is named after Daddo.) I never got to meet either of them but it was special for me visit this house and it was definitely special for Kameron. It has since been turned into an assisted living home and although we asked, were not allowed to peek into the back yard.

Our original plan was to visit the Monterrey Bay Aquarium but later decided not to. Instead we visited the beach, ate at a fun fish place and took a ride on a paddle boat at a park.

On our way home we took the long way and stopped in Oakland 

to see the Oakland Temple. Kam's parents were married here.

We stayed at the temple until it was dark and then drove into the city for dinner. The next day (Wednesday) we really began our tour of the city. Our first stop was Hyde Street Pier to see the Maritime National Historic Park.

The Balclutha

Hercules

We spent the rest of the day riding around the town on a cable car and later the trolley. We did some shopping and spent a lot of time in China Town.

View of the Transamerica Pyramid building from China town.

Dragons Gate

On Thursday Kameron had to attend his conference so I spent the morning just relaxing in the hotel while he was busy learning but once he was done we got right back out to see more of the city.

Lombard Street

Japantown: not our favorite spot (not much to do or see)

Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill

Friday was our last day to use the local public transportation (we bought a 3 day pass). We loved riding the Cable care so we went to the cable car museum and then hiked up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower.

View from the top of Telegraph Hill

We then drove out near the Golden Gate bridge 

stopping to see the head quarters for Lucasfilms.

We also stopped at Fort Point

And finally made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge

We walked over the bridge and then drove over to Sausalito. Sausalito was very beautiful. I loved all the green and loved that it felt cleaner and wasn't so crowded. I don't really like to shop so we didn't stay here long but we did walk along the water and got for some yummy ice cream to share.

Before heading back over the bridge we took a drive through Muir Woods and to Muir Beach. Again, I loved all the green and the wide open spaces. I'm definitely not a city girl.

That evening we stopped at Pier 39 

and got some yummy grub at Bubba Gumps!

We didn't have a lot of time on our last day (Saturday). We spent the morning walking around the wharf and picking up some fresh sourdough bread and also some chocolate from Ghiradelli Square.

We then checked out of our hotel and drove to Golden Gate Park. We visited the Japanese Tea Garden and drove around the park and along the coast before heading to the airport.

Kam and I had the best time together. He truly is my best friend and I love being with him. I especially loved that our time wasn't interrupted with work, or kids, or any of the other daily things that take up our time during a routine day. It was nice just to be us...but as great as being away was, we both were very happy to come home to where our hearts belong...at home with our children.