Well now wasn’t that awful thoughtful of the sweet gals from The Blended Blog to pick the perfect TBB ASks theme for me? Since we have just returned from our Summer vacation today will serve as a great wrap up!
If you’re new around here or just popping in to visit you may not know this but my family of 4 just returned home to Orlando, FL from San Francisco, CA. We had a great time and I am so excited to share a few of the highlights here with you! So the answer to question #1 was YES! We did plan a vacation this year!
2. When we travel with our two boys (18 &20) we have to be very busy. Our 18 year old wants to be doing something all the time. If it’ s just my husband and me we’d probably rest and relax a little more. On this vacation we took a 2 day hop on hop off bus tour of San Francisco, rode bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito, hiked at Muir Woods, toured Alcatraz, and visited Coit Tower. That’s a very brief summary of course but you get the idea. We were busy!
3. We’ll vacation anytime. Hey, I am not picky! This year we had to plan our trip around our son’s one week break from the Summer classes he’s taking.
4. We have cruised and we’d do it again. Next time I’d like to go to Europe! Last year we took a 7 day Carribean cruise and had a great time.
5. We don’t really have any traditions but we do try to eat at restaurants that are not part of a chain we have here in Orlando. My favorite part of vacation however is having all my people under one roof and spending all of our time together!
6. Although I really enjoyed our vacation to Chicago (my favorite city) a few years ago our trip to San Francisco was memorable because I got to meet my bestie Lisa!!!
7. I prefer to pack it all!!!! Give me all the options!
8. We stay in hotels but we’re not opposed to other arrangements. We stayed in Union Square at the Handlery Hotel. It was fabulous and had a terrific restaurant attached. Our travel agent arranged for us to get several free breakfast vouchers so we were able to enjoy a delicious and full breakfast 3 days. Brian and I also went to happy hour there one afternoon and it was lovely!
9. Favorite thing to eat on vacation? How about everything! I allow myself all the treats! The first stop we made in San Francisco was Chinatown. I googled best restaurants and we settled on City View. Nolan gave me a hard time because he said it didn’t sound authentic but I assured him it was. Dim sum is the way to go, cart after cart of deliciousness and we tried it all!
10. Since we live in the heat I crave cooler temps. San Francisco was much cooler than I ever thought but it was nice to be cold rather than sweating! I was so cold I ended up buying a hoodie and wore it over everything!
Because I’d rather not bore you with a super long vacation post, I promise to include more later this week. I’ll cover what I wore more specifically on Thursday as well as a few other things.
Here’s a day by day recap:
Saturday, 6/23 left Orlando and arrived in SFO by 11:38am! The time change totally worked on in our favor so we had a very full day. After checking out China Town and walking all over the city we took an Uber to Fisherman’s Wharf to eat at In-N-Out burger. That was something Nolan wanted to do. 
We spent the rest of the night shopping at Macy’s and Express near our hotel. You know how I’ve mentioned that my younger son has me buy his clothes without him? Well, he asked Nolan to be his personal shopper and update his wardrobe (who are these people?). Brian retired to our room and I tagged along to pay.
Sunday, 6/24 after enjoying a great breakfast at our hotel we got in line to do the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. We had two day passes and this was well worth it! Of course the highlight of the day was getting to meet my bestie Lisa in person!!! After a day of being blown around by crazy wind and cold temps we met Lisa and Kent at Boudin’s in Fisherman’s Wharf. We had clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls and then walked. By walk I mean we walked up a VERY STEEP hill to get to the top of Lombard Street. I honestly thought I was going to die! We snapped pictures and then headed back down for dessert. We went straight to Ghirardelli for ice cream! I had big plans to get an enormous sundae but I felt a little nauseous after the big climb so I shared one with Brian. We wrapped up the night by walking Fisherman’s Wharf and visiting Pier 39 where the sea lions hang out!
Monday, 6/25 we started the day with breakfast at Sears Restaurant and it did not disappoint! We rode a very crowded cable car to the Cable Car Museum. Then walked to Coit Tower. We had lunch at The Codmother – the very best fish and chips! We jumped back on the hop-on-hop-off bus tour and visited the Palace of Fine Arts. Absolutely gorgeous! After a pretty full day and tons of walking we headed back to the hotel. The boys were tired so Brian and I went to dinner at Uncle Vito’s (a pizza place close to the hotel). The pizza was good and we brought some back for the boys.
Tuesday, 6/26 Another great breakfast at our hotel restaurant and then we walked to pick up our bikes from Dylan’s Tours. WE biked 9 miles to Sausalito which included biking over the Golden Gate bridge. It was cold and windy and crowded but also fun. We had lunch in Sausalito at an outdoor cafe before shopping around a bit. Then we boarded a bus to Muir Woods. While there we hiked two trails and really enjoyed the natural beauty. After returning to our hotel Brian, Nolan, and I went to dinner at Lori’s Diner (a few blocks away). We don’t really have diners here so it’s such a treat. Dinner was delicious!
Wednesday, 6/27 After breakfast at the hotel we took an Uber to Haight & Ashbury to shop. Nolan wanted to go to Amoeba Records and Brian wanted to eat at a restaurant there called Cha Cha Cha. The restaurant was so good! Then it was time to take yet another Uber to board the ferry to visit Alcatraz. I had fully intended on being bored to tears but I found the whole thing fascinating! The audio tour was so well done and told the best story. I was actually sad when it ended. We tried walking around Fisherman’s Wharf when it was over but it was so cold we returned to the hotel. By this point I was tired of being cold and ready to head home! We walked a couple blocks to another diner for dinner but I can’t even remember the name! It was very good though.
Thursday, 6/28 We woke up and headed to the airport. I felt like we traveled all day before finally arriving home. Still fascinated by Alcatraz we stayed up until 1 am to watch Escape from Alcatraz!
We enjoyed San Francisco so much and had a very action packed vacation. I don’t wear a Fitbit but if I did I’m sure I would have logged many, many steps! We managed to accomplish everything we wanted to; my only goal was meeting Lisa but Brian and the boys had things they definitely wanted to do and see.
I was very grateful we used our travel agent! She put together a terrific itinerary and everything worked seamlessly. Need a travel agent? Give her a call!
