Saturday, July 21, 2012

Day 17: Wednesday, July 18, 2012


We got up this morning and got out of that hotel, ASAP! haha First thing on the agenda – we went to Alamo Square in San Fran where the opening scene of the TV series “Full House” was filmed.  It was nice.  People walking, doing yoga, dogs running, birds chirping – very picturesque.  We walked around there for a bit and visited with a few dogs and their owners and then we drove a few blocks down to see the house used in the “Full House” show as well.



Row of houses next to Alamo Square called "The Painted Ladies"



The Tanner's house from "Full House"


Just a few more blocks from that is the house used in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”  Of course we got pics of that too!  Who doesn’t love that movie?


House from "Mrs. Doubtfire"

Also, this is probably the flattest drive we had throughout the city.  The hills in San Francisco are no joke.  I'm pretty sure that I drove up one street at a 95 degree angle at one point (fyi - that's almost straight up).  We didn't know if the Camry could handle that kind of terrain, but she pulled through for us.



Then we moved on the Union Square – an area that’s right in the middle of downtown.  Surrounded by skyscrapers, designer shops and parking garages is a beautiful park with art, daily live music and people everywhere just chillin’.  It was great to see people actually take time to relax in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the cities and their lives.





We walked around there for a while and went in and out of shops.  We stopped at a store we found called A Miner Miracle.  This store sales designer clothes at discounted prices and all proceeds go to the non-profit organization that helps clothe the homeless of the city and give so many skills training needed to get jobs and build relationships.  We talked with them a while about how they got started and how they’ve grown.  That was so cool to see on a street full of stores that seemed so consumed with profit and high-dollar purchases – right there in the middle was a group of people consumed with meeting the needs of people. I loved it!

Next we took a drive across to the eastern shore and walked around the Ferry Building Marketplace.  This place had an awesome view of the bay and lots of little local shops and vendors to explore.

Ferry Building

Eastern shore bridge - we called this "Mini Gate Bridge"

That's right...it's July and we're wearing cardigans and/or scarves.  The temp was around 70 degrees most of the time and the wind made it feel even cooler.  No humidity...we were loving it! (Please excuse our windblown look)


Golden Gate Park was next on the list.  This park is on the western part of the San Francisco peninsula and stretches 4 miles long.  There’s lots of trails and gardens there.  Again a lot of people around doing all kinds of activities – it’s like this park was each of their backyards.  We walked around on a few trails, visited a waterfall and then went to the other end of the park to see the buffalo.  That’s right….I said buffalo…bison…in the middle of San Francisco!  While there, we also saw a falcon, so that was a bonus.




BUFFALO!



From there, we went a few blocks west to the coast (Ocean Beach) and put our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever!  Ummm…it was freezing!  I gained a new appreciation for the warm waters of NC.


Toes in the Pacific

West Coast sunset


Dinner time – we ate at the Beach Chalet, right across from our Pacific Ocean experience, and then headed back across town to Sweet Inspirations, a local bakery ranked #1 in San Francisco.  Let’s just say 3-lb slices of cake seem to be a theme on this trip (and again, the cake won.)  

Banana Bread Bombshell

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