Waiting for the trolley...

Waiting for the trolley was always very interesting. You never knew who you were going to meet, and what exactly they would be doing when you met them!  I will leave it at that.  Here are my girls waiting for the trolley......

Muir Woods/Golden Gate Bridge

The favorite part of the trip for me was our visit to Muir Woods National Monument.  It was established in 1908 to protect old-growth redwood forests along the coast from destruction.  After having spent a few days in the hustle and bustle of the city, it was a nice change to spend an afternoon in nature.

The trees range in age from 400-800 years old.

A fallen tree that shows how old it is by the number of rings it has.  

Some of the trees are 250 ft. high. 

The weather was a bit chilly, but perfect for hiking.

Beauty abounded around every corner.  We felt so small and insignificant among these ancient and huge trees.  

Hayden spied a banana slug on the trail, which from what the ranger said is a rare sight.  

We took a break and listened to the ranger explain the history of the park and how the trees grow to be of such enormous size.

After our hike, we ate lunch at the cute little cafe within the park and were surprised to find only organic, healthy and made fresh options for lunch.  It didn't cost that much more than the cafeteria style food you find at most national parks, and tasted a whole lot better!

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped to take some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was a fairly clear day, so there were panoramic views all around.  

We were the only ones there at the time, making the views even more beautiful and peaceful.  

Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39

Throughout the week, we went a couple of times to both Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.  There is always a lot going on both places and it was fun to take the trolley there and check everything out.

The seals at Pier 39.

We all got a variety of essential oil bath salts from the San Francisco sea salt company.  There were lot of scents to choose from and the girls had fun scooping the salts into the jars.

Boudin's bakery.  Established in 1849 and known for its sourdough bread.  They have a full breakfast and lunch menu, and you can watch the breadmakers through the glass window right from the sidewalk.  There is also a woman with a microphone on the other side of the glass who explains what they make and how they make it, and answers any questions from passersby.  Here is some alligator and teddy bear bread. 

Hayden has never met a frog she didn't like.  

Summer Trip to San Francisco

Mike and I had taken a trip to San Francisco before we were even engaged to be married.  It had been a fun trip, and we were looking forward to taking the girls there for our last summer 'hoorah' before school started up again.  We stayed at the Hyatt in downtown San Francisco for the first three days of our trip.  It was a gorgeous hotel that was directly across the street from Union Square, which quickly became a favorite hangout for all of us.

Not a good picture, but wanted to show why the girls LOVED the bathroom at this place- there is a TV screen within the mirror that they could watch cartoons on while getting ready. 

The Hyatt has a fabulous Alcatraz display, including one of the original cells from the prison.  I was happy we could walk around the lobby and read all the displays because EVERY single tour of Alcatraz for the entire week was already booked solid. 

The girls had fun hanging out in the cell and pretending they were really in trouble.  

Part of the lobby- which boosts the world's largest atrium. 

We ended up falling in love with this photographer's work.  He travels the world and you can tell by his pictures that he sees things in a different light than most people do.  By the time we left, we had purchased three of his pictures.  Here he is signing one of them.  

Rian and Jessie were all about the different jewelry stands in the open market right outside our hotel. 

Hayden was all about the sweet treats that we found everywhere we went.  

Here is one of her favorite splurges- an ice cream sandwich made out of homemade chocolate/ginger cookies with sea salt caramel ice cream.  

Steps from the Hyatt was this really clean and nice park that we visited usually a couple of times a day.  

The girls loved that we stayed on the Regency Club level, as it had fancy massage chairs in addition to offering full breakfast/dinner buffets and dessert hour every night.  

Enjoying a massage.

Lots of different massage options. 

Union Square. 

Inside the Union Square building were countless restaurants, bars, tea and coffee shops, specialty food stores, and dessert cafes.  We could have eaten three meals a day there and had something completely different and delicious every time.  

At one of the little markets, they had these mushroom variety bowls for sale.  Because none of us like mushrooms, we didn't end up buying one!

The food was healthy, organic, wholesome and delicious.  

Jessie and I were both THRILLED to find Bao- these delicious steamed buns filled with chicken and veggies that we had enjoyed immensely while in Vietnam.  

Hayden went for the BBQ pulled pork sandwich. 

Mike took this because I had been trying to find Bao every since bringing Jessie home 5 years ago.  I guess Northern Colorado isn't all that ethnic.  

The weather was perfect and because the city was always so crowded, it was nice to let the kids run around and let off some steam before and after we went on our daily sightseeing trips.