San Francisco

So we left for Edmonton last Wednesday night so we would have the day together with Lynsey on Thursday at Brian's parents' place. Our flight was leaving at 7:20pm so we had to leave for the airport around 5:30. We had been talking throughout the day about leaving Lynsey and that we were going away, but we didn't think Lynsey was catching on to anything that we were saying. However, by the end of the day we were getting a lot of hugs and kisses, and when we left, she just said "ba-bye" and watched us leave out the window. I may be giving her too much credit, but it almost seemed like she was somewhat ready for us to go! Our flight was smooth and we got to our hotel close to 10 that night. Our first night wasn't the best - we had requested a "room with a view", but we really weren't thinking. All that means is that you have a window on a busy street and you hear sirens and racing cars all night! The next morning, I went to talk to the front desk and they gave us a different room - a MUCH quieter one. Sooo much better! They were very nice over at the The Palace - I would definitely stay there again should we ever make our way back to San Francisco.

Our first day was really good. We took our time heading out in the morning, and took a cable car imitator up to Fisherman's Wharf (cable cars were apparently a bit of a wait that time of day, and we just wanted to get up there). We just walked around, checked out the sea lions, had lunch and made our way over to the pier where we could catch our ferry to Alcatraz. Alcatraz was a really neat place - they had a really good audio tour that you could listen to when you were going through the cell block that told you a lot of about the history and some of the notorious criminals and escape attempts etc. When we got back, we had dinner on the Wharf and made our way over the stand in line to take a cable car back (we had to take at least one cable car ride to say we'd done it!). All in all, a good day.

Saturday was a good day, also. We took a bus down to Golden Gate Park, and our plan was just to walk around the park and see the sights, but not really do go into any of the attractions. Well, there was this California Academy of Sciences that sounded somewhat interesting, so we were enticed into checking it out. It was pretty interesting, actually (more for Brian than for me, but I enjoyed it, too:)). We took a bus up to Golden Gate Bridge and took a few pictures, and then bussed it back downtown to our hotel. The hotel concierge recommended this local seafood place for dinner so we checked it out - AMAZING food! Soo good! The ambiance wasn't the greatest - the tables were packed in pretty tight - but the food was so good that I forgave that:). We never really did anything in the evening, except sit in the hottub at our hotel - we just weren't big into checking out nightlife.

Sunday was sort of a wrap-up day. We stuck around downtown and did some shopping. Well, Brian did some shopping, but I didn't find anything that I wanted that wasn't a million dollars. Definitely a higher class of shopping than I was used to! It was a little discouraging, because I wanted to treat myself to something nice on my 30th birthday, but I just couldn't justify paying the inflated prices. I decided to just buy myself something when I got home. We had another delicious dinner close to our hotel, and packed it in for the night. Our flight left early Monday morning, and we go to see Lynsey around noon at the airport - I had missed her so much! She did so great while we were gone - she had asked about us a few times, but the explanation that we were "ba-bye" seemed to satisfy her and she went on with her day. She loved her adventures outside and the jacuzzi tub for her baths - I think she had her own little vacation:). She was happy to see us, though, so that was good. She seems to be settling back into life here at home without a hitch, so it just proves to me once again what an adaptable little girl she is. I am so thankful for that!

All in all, a great trip, and I'm so glad we did it. I wouldn't have wanted to be gone much longer than we were - I think three full days was just the right amount of time. It's good to be home again! The rest of July is busy, still, but at least we won't have to leave our little sweetie again:).