Save Me San Francisco! Day 4: Alcatraz, Pier 39, and the Strange Ride to L.A.

The last day of the trip to San Francisco, we saved to go see Alcatraz. But because I forgot to get the tickets in advance, we had to buy the more expensive package that required us to go to Angel Island before we went to Alcatraz Island.

At first, I didn't know if we would enjoy Angel Island, because no one really talks about it, which is much larger and has more growth than rocky Alcatraz. But I was very glad we did go, because the island was fascinating. For one, Angel Island has a diverse history dating back to the Civil War when Confederates armed the island to shoot at Union boats entering the bay. The island has also been home to a military processing center for soldiers going to the Pacific in World War II and an immigration station for Asian Americans entering the U.S. It was very interesting to see because most of what remains are relics of old houses and buildings from these times, although park rangers and their families do still live on the island. Also, the island offered up some of the most amazing views of San Francisco across the bay on the mainland. Truly spectacular.

Then we went on the rest of the boat ride to Alcatraz. The infamous prison was definitely worth seeing, and I feel they did a great job bringing in the audio to guide you around the prison. There's a lot of interesting stories to hear about the prison and its a very entertaining place.

Afterword, we got on the boat back to San Francisco and made one last stop at Pier 39 for souvenirs. Then we got in the car to drive to our next stop in L.A. and that's when things got interesting.

First off, getting out of San Francisco is an interesting challenge because the city sits on a peninsula with bridges going from it to other areas in California. We were supposed to head back to San Francisco on Hwy 101, but we got turned around and ended up going out on I-80 to I-880 which ended up taking us to Oakland. Now, everything you heard about San Francisco being the better part of the Bay Area versus Oakland being the "bad" part of the Bay Area was....absolutely true, at least in our experience.

We stopped at a random convenience store because Megan and I had to go to the bathroom. When we went in we saw a man standing in line who was fidgeting. At the time, I didn't think anything of it, and we left. As Megan and I were leaving the store, we watched as that same fidgety man bolted from the line at the register, sprinting out of the store with merchandise. We just witnessed the guy shoplifting! I had never before seen someone shoplift in front of me and it was scary, because he ran right past us and who knows what might have happened! Yikes!

After we calmed down, we got out of that area in a hurry and made our way down I-5. Then another strange thing happened. We were in the middle of nowhere in California about an hour north of Fresno. The sky was dark, clear, and you could see for miles and mileswhen suddenly Sharon pointed out two blinking white lights parallel to each other zooming faster than I have ever seen any plane travel zip across the sky. It was far too dark to make out what it was, but it was going unbelievably fast and then all of a sudden the light disappeared in the distance.

What did we just see? Was it a UFO? Was it a plane? We don't really know. I did some research and found that it could have been a plane from a Naval Air Station nearby, but it had to be something either rarely used or a top military plane. But it was something we had never seen before. But it definitely was a strange sight and very fitting for our strange trip back to L.A. for some brief fun before heading back to Arizona. Until next post!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of Alcatraz photos. My phone camera started acting funny and I didn't get it working again until afterward, but Ryan has some on his phone he will probably upload onto Facebook. Thanks for checking in!

Nick

Save Me San Francisco! Day 3: Muir Woods and Napa Valley

EDIT: Okay, so maybe I got Muir Woods mixed up on the wrong day, we actually went to Muir Woods the previous day. But since I had a lot of info about the previous day, I'm just going to include it here.

So we went back on Day 3 for more amazing California scenery. The first thing we did was to drive up and visit Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a beautiful park that had some amazingly tall redwoods. Since we didn't have time to make the 5+ hour journey up to see the Redwoods in the Redwood National Park, Muir Woods gave us some of those tall old trees instead.

After navigating some curvy, hilly roads with sharp turns, we pulled into the parking lot and it was packed! As much as I'm happy the park is conserving the forest by not building any more parking, the situation was a nightmare! We had to wait until another visitor left before we could get a spot.

But once there, it was very worth it. The forest, for having so many visitors is amazingly peaceful. It reminded me of my time in Colorado, except without the heavy hiking! We walked around, took some pictures inside giant tree trucks and moved on, all the while looking up as the trees towered above us.


Afterword, we headed up to Napa valley. I was very excited as this was the only part of San Francisco Area that I had never been to before. The drive into Napa is very picturesque and we saw a lot of beautiful land on the way up (yes, I sound like a broken record, but California is by far the most beautiful state in the country!) We hopped out and took a picture by the big Napa Valley sign. Apparently, we started a trend because after we did it, several cars pulled up and did the same!

The first winery we stopped at was the Sterling vineyards. My aunt and uncle chose this one because it is a beautiful winery to tour. First we went up on a tram ride to the top of the hill where the winery is located, which was really fun! Then, we got to try a lot of wine and we had a delicious meat and cheese tray we enjoyed while enjoying the sun and scenery. Pretty cool!

Next we went to the Mumm champagne place. Again, nice scenery and we all had champagne samples. Although everyone else was not a big fan, I had a fun time trying the different kinds and found all of them to be pretty delicious. In fact, I finished the other samples people didn't want, but thankfully I didn't go overboard! haha.

Last, but not least. We went to the Beringer winery. This one had some really cool architecture! This winery was built like a fortress and had some cool stone walls and even a castle (unfortunately, we didn't have time to go explore it!) But, we got to try a lot of different wines at this place too and the staff at Beringer were very nice and friendly. So, we took a lot of pics, Sharon and I bought a bottle each of red wine to use for cooking when we got home, and then we were done.

Lastly, we ate dinner at a very nice Napa restaurant. Cindy Pawlcyn's Woodfire Grill was the perfect way to end the evening. The food was very California (diverse, different yet homey feeling and down-to-earth) and we left feeling full of food, wine, and fun!

I loved the drive back through Napa. It was just gorgeous! The sunset was perfect, the small, windy countryside road felt warm and comforting. It was exactly what I imagined in my head when I pictured the perfect trip so long ago when I was stressing out during my last semester of graduate school. It was a great moment and a great feeling and I won't soon forget how calm and relaxed I felt.

Here are photos from this part of the adventure. Enjoy!

The next post is Alcatraz and the strange trip we had going back to Arizona. Stay tuned!

Nick

Save Me San Francisco! Day 2: A Golden Time in the City with the Golden Gate

The next day, we explored San Francisco itself. We woke early so that we could get a good start on the city. Before we reached the city though, we wanted to stop by the headquarters of the different tech companies in Silicon Valley near San Jose. My uncle Tom was an excellent tour guide as he told us all about the different companies that we went to. We took pictures at Yahoo, Google, and Apple's headquarters before heading up to the big city.

And we first went to the Golden Gate. It took a while to get through the Bay Area traffic, but we finally made it amidst a deep fog. You always hear about how impressive the Golden Gate is, but until you see it in person, you don't actually grasp how majestic the bridge really is in person. My aunt, uncle, Ryan and I walked almost halfway across, taking pictures all the way through the fog.

Afterword, we moved on into the city. San Francisco is a ridiculously hilly city and we were amazed at how steep some of their streets are! We went up and down the streets until we reached the Tanner house of TV show Full House fame. Remarkably, the house is a real, average San Francisco home. WE wanted to snap a picture, so we did!

Then we moved on, we went to the famous San Francisco trolley. Of course, we had to wait an hour in the cold. Yes, in San Francisco, even in the summer, it gets cold. The poor girls were woefully underprepared for such weather, so they bought some warm clothes to wear while we waited in line. But thank god, a Starbucks was nearby so our hands didn't freeze!

But finally we were on the trolley car and I just fell in love with this city. The hills and the old homes just make San Francisco a remarkably romantic city. I loved seeing all the little shops and cafe's and I kept picturing myself living there, waking up in the morning and getting a coffee with Ryan at a local shop. We passed  by the Market district and got to see the cool shopping area of San Francisco.

When we got back, all of us were feeling hungry, so we got a late dinner at the Stinking Rose in the Italian district of the city. Walking around this district reminded me of London, because it was so urban, so old and full of character. Anyway, the Stinking Rose is worth mentioning, because everything on the menu is made with garlic from the rolls that came with cloves of garlic to the entree to even dessert where Ryan and I tried garlic ice cream! (In case you were wondering, it was kind of strange, good for a bite but not a whole plate.)

Afterword, the girls went back to the hotel with my aunt and uncle while Ryan and I had an adventure of our own. We wanted to check out the Castro, San Francisco's LGBT neighborhood and one of the largest LGBT areas in the U.S. It was like most of the other San Francisco's neighborhoods, very charming and picturesque. Ryan and I enjoyed the people watching and mostly just walked around and explored. We were both surprised because, maybe it was just night time and we couldn't see, but it wasn't as big or as grand as we had imagined the neighborhood to be. Nevertheless, we had a good time and headed back so we wouldn't be extremely tired in the morning.

Here are photos from this day's events. Check back for another update on our next day in the area including Muir Woods and Napa Valley and even Alcatraz!

Nick

Save Me San Francisco! Day 1: Driving down Highway 1

And we finally arrived in the Bay Area! My aunt and uncle let Ryan and I crash at their place while Ryan's sisters stayed at a nearby hotel. That night we arrived, Ryan and I were exhausted, but greeted very warmly by my aunt and uncle, who helped us plan out our time in the area.

My aunt and uncle were going to be working the first day we had there, so they recommended we go down Highway 1, which we ended up doing.

For those of you that don't know, Highway 1 is a stunningly beautiful highway that winds its way down the California coastline. But its not just a coastal highway, there are beautiful beaches, gorgeous homes, steep cliffs and all of it relatively untouched.

The first thing we did was go down the coast and eat lunch at a beautiful spot that overlooked a bay. Afterword, we kept driving and for the most part just did sightseeing and stopping to take pictures along the way. It was so beautiful that we didn't want to turn around, especially Ryan who wanted to go the whole way. But we had to remind Ryan that we had more to do and see back up the coast.

So reluctantly, we headed back, but not without going to Carmel, a very beautiful city off of Highway 1. We walked on the beach and let the tide roll in on our feet, but soon stopped after we realized the water was ice cold! And then we got back in the car and did the 17-mile drive that takes you by the Pebble Beach golf course where they've had a few U.S. Opens. The coastline here was extremely gorgeous and we got to see some deer along the way as well! We walked around the clubhouse at Pebble Beach and we were a funny sight in our everyday clothes while men and women dressed very well were mingling in the clubhouse. But we didn't care! Haha.

Then we finally made our way to the beautiful and more commercial Monterrey. We had fun walking Cannery row, where we found a candy shop where I got every flavor of saltwater taffy that you can imagine while the girls got a huge supply of atomic fireball candies. Then we had dinner on the pier and sat at a table looking over the ocean at dusk. We loved watching an otter swimming in the water and enjoyed our clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, a San Francisco favorite!

Here are some photos from our most picturesque adventure (and Ryan's favorite part of the whole trip!)

Well, that was day one. Day two brought our visit into the city of San Francisco, check back for that update next.

Nick