'Rents and Raves!

At long last! We had my Dad & Carolyn into SF for a visit last week and it was pure bliss! We had an action-packed itinerary from the start. Here are some of the highlights:

Thursday, 10:02am: Dad & Carolyn arrive in SF and find their way to the La Luna Inn for the first three nights, then THE RITZ (!!!) for the last two nights.
Thursday, 10:03am I'm pretty sure that Carolyn can smell the shopping from the tarmac and I send an alert to the Shopkeepers of America.
Thursday, 7:00pm We enjoy dinner at Capannina Restaurant (sorry, they don't have a "real" website) in our neighborhood which is PURE delight. We've been here just once before and the experience was equal or greater - we loved it!


Friday, 8:59am: We met for breakfast at The Grove Cafe on Chestnut (no website, but it's an awesome breakfast, lunch AND dinner place...you can easily sit there for hours on end, either using the free Wi-Fi that San Francisco provides, or reading a book in one of the couches or comfy chairs).
Friday, 11:30am: We took the MUNI bus over to Bike & Roll for our big day of a bike tour...but before I get into that one, we decided to sidetrack "just a few blocks" (read: 3/4 mile and up one of those REALLY large hills San Francisco is famous for) to see Coit Tower (that is Alcatraz in the background). Coit Tower is located on top of Telegraph Hill and is known for one of the best 360-degree views of SF. It was definitely cool, but you can honestly see great views from the space below the tower (without taking the elevator all the way to the top...though I guess once you're that far - why not??).

Friday, 1:04pm: We show up for our bike tour and get all suited up to go. The tour is 9 miles long and takes us from downtown SF, across the northern edge of the city (passing Fisherman's Wharf, the Marina Green where we live, etc.) and then takes us up, up, up and across the Golden Gate Bridge. Riding the Bridge is quite an experience - it's just SO high up! We learned fun facts from our tour guide (it was just the three of us on the tour...Dave had to work and nobody else signed up!). Our tour guide, Larry, was very patient with us (we weren't exactly speed racers) and knew a tremendous amount about the city and its sights. Around mile 1, Carolyn mentioned the riding was more difficult than she thought it would be...around mile 2, Carolyn mentioned she could feel it in her quads...by mile 3, I knew it was a mistake...ONLY 6 MORE MILES TO GO!!! We somehow managed through the remainder of the ride, though I'm pretty sure the three of us have not seen such a pretty sight as the sign to Sausalito.

Friday, 4:30pm: We finally made it to Sausalito and then took the ferry back to San Francisco. OY!
Friday, 7:30pm: We did something a little different on Friday night and grabbed a bite to eat in North Beach (the Little Italy of SF), then enjoyed an evening of live jazz at Jazz at Pearl's. It was a small venue with about 20 tables and was definitely enjoyable to see some live music. It was a nice, calm evening to such an eventful day!

Saturday, 8:57am - 5:02pm: This day was a little of a doozy. We started with breakfast at a local place on Chestnut, then the four of us (Dave once again joined us) went to the Farmer's Market and spent the next 3+ hours roaming around! It was a beautiful day out and we decided we would cook dinner that night based on findings from the Farmer's Market, using a handy cookbook that our friend Laura gave us and I, in turn, gave a copy to Carolyn for her birthday (TODAY!). We picked up gobs and gobs of "stuff" and had a great time. We then went to the DeYoung Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum (where one of the five original "The Thinker" statues by Rodin is located.

Dad doing his signature "I've got my eye on you" (even though it's his head!) pose

Sunday, 10:00am-4:00pm: We capped off the weekend by heading to Napa for the day. We had a GREAT time, even just hitting up two vineyards over the course of the day! We started at Mumm where there were two great photography exhibits going on - one with the work of Ansel Adams, on loan from his grandson! Dave and I ended up joining their "club" which basically gets us two bottles of sparkling wine every other month and also complimentary tastings for four people (so bring it on, visitors!) when we come to visit. We then went to Rombauer Vineyards where we had a wonderful tasting and then made our own lunch picnic in their back area where we had the entire space to ourselves!

My two favorite "scene" photos from the day:

I realize this post is EXTREMELY long, but we had such an amazing time and I wanted to share every moment. Thank you, Dad & Carolyn (the birthday girl!) for such a wonderful week together on the west coast. We love you!