November 21-28, 2009

Saturday, November 21
12 noon flight from Orlando to Chicago, 2.5 hours
2:35 pm flight from Chicago to Oakland, 4.5 hours

Sunday, November 22
We spent the day with Grandma  Evy and Bill driving around to see some of the sites.
Sausilito
We ate lunch at Horizons which was on the bay.  Beautiful views of sailboats, seals frolicking, and the city line of San Fransisco.  The weather was very overcast, foggy, and it was sprinkling a bit at the time so we didn't try to take any pictures.
Fort Cronkhite
This was an army establishment from WWII.  While we didn't walk through the barracks, we did take some Kodak moments.

Marina

Yep, that's The Rock.

Golden Gate Bridge

The view of San Francisco from Golden Gate Bridge Park.

We finished our day with dinner at the world's BEST Chinese Restaurant, The Happy Wok.  Grandma and Bill love that place and I've been looking forward to going back since our last trip.  Almond Chicken and Honey Walnut Shrimp......yum!  The Happy Wok = a happy belly!

Monday, November 23

We put in a 12 hour day!  It was another scenic driving day:
Bay Bridge
Breakfast at Nick's in Pacifica
Pacific Coast Highway
Ferrel's Doughnuts (yum!)
Monterey and Cannery Row
17 Mile Drive (the mansions and the views were gorgeous!)
Carmel (quick drive through)
Dinner at LaStrada Italian Restaurant

Hey, mom!  This one's just for you!

The views from Nick's.  This is what we could see from our table but we took some clear shots from outdoors.

Some shots from along the Pacific Coast Highway

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Monterey Bay

Tuesday, November 24

The two of us spent the entire day in San Francisco.  We caught the ferry in Vallejo and enjoyed the view of SF Bay.  Once we made it into the city, we made a quick stop at Pier 39 to eat some Trish's donuts and visit the noisy sea lions.  We then took an open-top bus tour of the city.  That was really enjoyable because we were able to see much more of the city than if we had walked.  Some of the highlights were the financial district, Union Square, the theatre district, Haight-Ashbury, the Victorian district, Golden Gate Bridge Park, The Presidio, and of course the ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Video from the ferry coming into San Francisco

The noisy residents of Pier 39

In an apartment in this building, Francis Ford Coppola wrote "The Godfather".

Macy's in Union Square.  There were 40 wreaths in the windows!  We wandered around some of the floors and then had lunch at Boudin Bakery on floor C, the cellar. We had soup in sourdough bread bowls.....delicious!

The view of San Francisco from across the Golden Gate Bridge.

This video was taken from the top deck of the bus and is the entire length of the GGB.

The view of the double-decker Bay Bridge from Pier 1 as we were loading up onto the ferry for our 45 minute trip across the bay to Vallejo.

Wednesday, November 25

We took an overnight trip with Grandma and Bill to Lake Tahoe.  We stayed at Harvey's and after driving around Lake Tahoe, had a delicious steak dinner at Friday's Station and then took in a little of the casino.

Our $303.75 winnings!

Thursday, November 26

We spent the morning at 9,000 feet overlooking Lake Tahoe and then cruised across the lake on the Dixie Belle.  After our cruise, we drove back to Pinole for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Pinole Creek Cafe.

Friday, November 27

The two of us spent the day driving the Silverado Trail through Napa Valley.  We took a  wine tour at Rutherford Hill, ate a fabulous lunch at the Meadowood Grill , and drove through Calistoga.  In the evening, we drove back to Crockett and had dinner at The Dead Fish with Grandma and Bill so we could say our goodbyes.

Rutherford Hill Winery

The views throughout Napa

Saturday, November 28

6 am flight Oakland to Phoenix (4:30 at the airport!), 1.5 hours
11:20 am flight from Phoenix to Orlando, 3.75 hours