Morgan's Memories: Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

We just got back from San Fransisco, Ca. We said this trip was by far our favorite. We did a segway tour, ate great food, saw some sweet friends, and drank lots of wine!

Day 1:

We arrived in San Fran with temperatures of 55'ish (we got there around 9am). We left 100 degree heat so it was a nice surprise. First surprise of the trip: the hills! Holy Hills! I have never seen so many hills in my life. I learned they were called "staircase stairs" which now we know why. We had our first experience of the hills by walking from the train to our hotel. Why did we not take a taxi--we asked the same question. I guess we were just in for conquering the enormous hilly walk to our hotel. We didnt realize how far it was until the day we left and we drove our car down those hills! We stayed at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel. It was fabulous and we highly recommend it. We had a corner room with big windows and a great view of the city. Im very picky on hotels and their beds and this one I definitely approve :)

our trek UP

may not seem as UP as it was, but it was steep to say the least

View from hotel room

The entrance to the hotel

View of Fairmont Terrace, next door, from our room

After we dropped our stuff off at the hotel, we made our way towards Fisherman's Wharf-I know its so touristy but we had to check it off the list. We ate at Boudin Bakery-not too bad. Very touristy but tasty.

After lunch we just walked around the Wharf, peirs, and Ghirardelli Square. We had a 3 hour segway tour scheduled a little after lunch so we just walked the streets. It was a clear and perfect first day in San Fran. The fog was less than normal and you could see further than normal-per the locals. Which, we found true on the way Wednesday, on the way back from Healdsburg.

Alcatraz

We took a 3 hr segway tour of the city--kinda like getting a tour of the city, cliff notes version. We absolutely loved it and it ranks as one of our favorite things we did on our trip. We recommend it. Not hard to learn either. Small world-we had a family of three in our group from Nashville.

On the segways

Off the pier, Alcatraz in the background

I hear on a normal day, you can't see this far.

Golden Gate Bridge

After the segway tour, we went back to the hotel and rested for a few hrs. Once we had a little cat nap, we went to the Top of the Mark for a drink before dinner. It was truly a sight to see. On the 19th floor, on one of the biggest hills in the city.

View from Top of the Mark.

Its a must when in San Fran for a good cocktail and a great view.

After much discussion and a thousand emails between carla, angie, and me.....we had finally decided on a restaurant. Well this only took weeks to decide on before finalizing with reservations. We went back and forth on places to eat..I thought someone was going to defriend me for in decisiveness. I think we all have a problem with that! haha. We decided on Beach Chalet. Until I get a call saying that we are not eating there anymore. Carla said for our first time to San Fran, she wasnt going to let us eat there. So Angie, Carla, and Whit got in a taxi and headed back over towards us. We ended up at a seafood restaurant off the pier. It had great views, it was quiet, and pretty good. I loved seeing some favorite friends from home, its been too long and I love how it worked out that we were in San Fran at the same time. Little did we know it would not be the only time to run into them during our trip (dinner was planned!).

Sweet friends at dinner.