This week we took an early Christmas Trip down to SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA!
Dad and Nathan got tickets for the 40th Anniversary Metallica Concert in San Francisco and mom and the girls tagged along and they made a fun trip out of it! Here's a recap of all that went on!
* The morning we left, it was SNOWING! Boise was getting it's first real snowfall of the season. Checking the weather, we soon realized that we'd be driving in the snow for most of the trip. We ended up pakcing a separate large tote full of our winter gear in case we needed it (thankfully we didn't!)
* After a mishap of the phone GPS re-routing us back and forth through Reno, NV we finally arrived at 7:30pm (after driving 12 hours). We got checked into the Double Tree Hilton and started looking for a place to eat. Most places were closing soon and so we opted for a Denny's... not the best but it satisfied all of our hunger! We then got back to the hotel and the kids all wanted to go swimming so dad took them down while mom rested in the room.
* We got up the next morning and quickly realized that the hotel did NOT come with a complimentary breakfast - what!? Thankfully we happened upon a COSTCO (while we were getting the truck washed from all of the snow grime) and decided to go grab some muffins from there for breakfast. We ended up getting their $1.50 hotdogs to go along with the muffins. We then got started on our day of sightseeing!
* First stop was at The Palace of Fine Arts. This is definitely a hidden gem but was on of the "Top Things to see in San Francisco". A little history about this place: After the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was anxious to show the world that it had risen from the ashes. So in 1910, business and civic leaders gather to discuss making San Francisco the site of the century's first great world's fair - a grand exposition that would honor the completion of the Panama Canal. San Francisco beat out the competitors and hosted the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition where this was one of the main attractions and exhibits. This was actually one of the favorite things we did! Very rich in history and it was really cool to walk all throughout it!
* Next stop was on to The Golden Gate Bridge! We had researched where THE BEST place to see it from was and decided on "Battery Spencer". We had to drive across the bridge to get to this lookout point and once we got to it, the views did not disappoint! The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the "Golden Gate" (the one-mile wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was proposed in 1876 but didn't get started on construction until 1933. It took 4 years to build and was opened to the public in 1937. It's one of the Seven Wonders of the Wolrd and the most photographed bridge in the world! Even though it's called the "Golden Gate" bridge the colors is not gold at all but a red/orange color. This is because the steel that arrived in San Fran to build it was coated in a burnt red and orange shade of primer to protect it from corrosive elements.
* Another highly recommended place to view the Golden Gate bridge is at Baker Beach. We were more interested in the beach aspect but it did give a great ground view of the bridge (in the background)... We loved listening to the waves crash against the beach and dad and the kids had a fun time throwing the rugby ball around.
* By this time, we were all getting hungry and decided to make our way to the touristy "Fisherman's Wharf" area. We had done some research and found that BOUDINS was the place to go get their famous clam chowder in homemade sourdough bread bowls. We arrived and after waiting a little bit in line we were ready to dive into our meals! Dad and I were both in agreeance that the Clam Chowder I make at home was better - so needless to say, it was kind of a let down! LOL... We then walked around on the pier and saw some old submarines. On the way back to the truck, the kids and dad went into one of the souvenir shops so Lexi could get some "things"... all of California was very much a Mask Mandated state and Lexi had left her mask at the restaurant and so I gave her mine so she could get into the shop (which then forced me to wait outside). That was one thing we had to get used to again - wearing masks everywhere we went - literally! haha
* The day was quickly passing by and we still wanted to see China Town so we zoomed off to experience that! Aubrie REALLY wanted to find a souvenir shop there to maybe get a Tshirt of something but I'm not joking when I say 95% of China Town was either Grocery Markets or little cafe's/restaurants. The other 5% were salons and a few shoe stores. Of course it didn't disappoint in the colors and authentic signs and smells. I seriously had flashbacks to living in Korea! It reminded me so much of wandering the markets there in Seoul. The girls were super intrigued by that fact. Before getting back in the truck, Aubrie decided she just had to have some legit Raman noodles so purchased some from one of the markets.
* It was then back to the hotel to drop off mom and the girls so the boys could get to the concert (the whole reason for going to San Fran in the first place!) We spent the evening relaxing, watching Christmas movies, having Panda Express delivered to our room and going through the 100's of photos we'd taken throughout the day! As for the boys, here's a recap of the concert (written by dad) that sums up their experience (that he wrote right after getting back to the hotel from the concert)...
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