Welcome Home

It is so nice to be home from our 6 day getaway.  Jason and I had a great time in San Francisco/San Jose/Santa Cruz, CA.  The scenery was a lot different than we expected.  I guess we were thinking California...it's going to be lush and green and beautiful.  Instead, it was brown, dead, and not very pretty.  Granted, Santa Cruz, Red Pine Forest and ocean were beautiful...but San Fran area was very dead.  We learned something new on our trip, I guess!

We flew from Denver to San Fran on Thursday (Aug. 1) and we quickly hit the ground running. By the way, it is terribly cold in San Fran.  Even though we were prepared for 50 and low 60 weather...it felt more like our upper 30's and lower 40's.  We saw Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and then we toured Alcatraz.  Alcatraz was neat...again, not really what either of us were expecting.  Not near as big as I had imaged in my mind and maybe not as severe or mean (prisoner wise) that I had imaged.  Kids and family lived on the compound and they loved it and were safe.  I think that is what surprised me the most.  It was a neat outing and I am glad we got to tour such a neat monument.

After Alcatraz, we got some Boudin's sourdough bread (amazing, amazing stuff) and saw the sea lions (one of my highlights of the trip). Then we met a group of Oklahoma friends for dinner on the Pier.  We enjoyed watching the boats and the sunset. After dinner, we headed to San Jose to begin the wedding festivities.

Friday morning, Jason and I woke up early and toured the Winchester House.  This was probably one of my favorite things on the trip.  The Winchester House was built in 1883 to 1922 by the wife of the guy who started Winchester guns.  The house is 160 rooms and is just INSANE.  The lady was "haunted" by spirits killed by Winchester guns and she built this house to satisfy the spirits.  It was a neat house, to say the least.

After the tour, we grabbed some In N' Out (just like our Steak and Shake) and then headed to Santa Cruz before the wedding party zip-lined in the Red Pine Forest.  Santa Cruz was beautiful (very very cold).  We stuck our feet in the Pacific and saw some pretty cool sea lions and rock formations.  We also enjoyed watching the birds dive for fish.  Jason had a great time zip lining and would love to do it again.  While he zip lined, I checked in on Callen and got a little rest.

The rest of the weekend was dedicated to the wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding and we had a wonderful time celebrating a new marriage.

Monday morning, Jason and I headed back to San Fran to accomplish all the things we felt were the must see attractions.  We started out at the Golden Gate Park.  It is a HUGE park that is filled with all types of different things.  We saw the Atrium of Flowers (beautiful), the Shakespeare play area and a lot of walking paths.  It was a beautiful, GREEN area in San Fran.  I would have loved to spend more time there...but, it was COLD and rainy.  So, we headed out to find the 'real' Full House house and Mrs. Doubtfires house.  Yes, we are nerds.  We found them!  The Full House house is soooo tiny and not that impressive.  Mrs. Doubtfires is much nicer and is only a block away from each other.

After the tour of our childhood was over, we drove down Lombard St. (widest street) and wasn't that impressed.  Then we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was beautiful (not as big as the Bay Bridge) and neat to drive across.  We walked some of it...walking it scared me to death.  My hands were sweating and all I could think about was the possibility of falling off.  It was beautiful scenery!

After the Golden Gate Bridge, we headed to Chinatown to possibly eat some Chinese.  San Fran's Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in the USA and it shows.  We did not eat there...I was afraid of food poisoning.  So, we headed to the Mission District (Little Italy) for lunch.  We found an Italian food place that was wonderful.  Yummy bread and amazing pasta (all fresh).  It was one of the best meals of the trip.  After lunch, we found a candy shop and bought some candy and fudge.  It was all wonderful.  We then saw the Mission Church and the hippie park.

Once the Mission District was accomplished we decided to find parking and go to a Giants' game.  The game was neat to go to...we about froze.  We had hoodies, coats and were wrapped up in other coats and we were still cold.  But, it was a neat experience.  The Gaints' won...so it made for a good game.

After a long day and a lot of walking, it was time to call it a day and get ready to fly home the next morning.  We had a wonderful trip...but, glad to be home.  We were all exhausted and ready for some home cooked meals.  And of course, give Callen a lot of LOVE.

Pictures and Callen's adventures to come!