Wait. Scratch that. Washington, DC takes the cake on hustle and bustle. But San Fran is up there for sure.
Again, prepare youself for picture overload. By now you know I'm shutter-happy and will snap a shot of just about anything and everything.
Live. Laugh. Photograph. after all.
Taking in the sights
With so much to see and do, my camera was constantly being put to work. Day #3 was much cooler, which I was completely okay with! In fact, we even got the chance to experience why San Fran has been nicknamed Fog City.
Here comes that famous San Fran fog
Pouty faces once we learned there were no more tickets for Alcatraz Island and that we'd likely not get to visit (Did we make it? Check back later for Day #4's pics and stories)PS I apologize for my crazed outfit - not sure what was going on with my cardigan but you can bet Jake, Shawna and Jessica will be being getting demerits for not saying something.
Flashback to 1988 and Tom Hanks' movie BIG - trying our hand at the Zoltar
Can't walk by a MJ statue without giving him a nod
Double-decker carousal at Pier 39 - absolutely beautiful
When they spotted an arcade, it wasn't long before Jake and Shawna found something to compete at. Not sure what happened to Jake's mojo, but Shawna whooped him 35 to 20. Ouch.
A SF must!
I always knew San Fran is known for their sourdough, although I never quite knew why. Turns out their climate, combined with the special Doudin family recipe of creating the mother dough, gives their sourdough a unique and special flavor. They've been making it the same way since 1849, so they've had plenty of opportunity to perfect it. Walking along Pier 39 you couldn't help but smell the bread baking. It was wonderful!
Look close and you'll see little baskets on tracks, filled with bread - this was their unique way of cooling the bread, at the same time making sure the smell wafted all along the pier. Little sneaks.
Outside the Boudin bakery - this guys job is to not only bake bread, but to entertain the masses. We must have watched him a solid 5 minutes divide and weigh, roll, form and shape. We walked by over 4 hours later and he was still busy at work making cheese and garlic rolls. The smell was ambrosia.
Getting crafty with their bread - 6 foot long carb alligator
Feeling crabby?
Checking in at one of the Boudin Sourdough Bakeries
Even though Sissie didn't get to come with us, turns out she was at the bakery!
Guess who's not thrilled he's being forced to pose with BBQ sauce?
Sweets for the sweets
Aside from Ghirardelli Square, famous for their smooth, rich and creamy chocolates, there's also a small start-up business located on one of the piers calls Tcho (pronounced 'cho' - tcho is the phonic spelling of the c-h-o sound. Pretty tricky, eh?). During one of our trips on the Green Line we noticed they offered tours and chocolate sampling.
Talk about hitting the jackpot!
Tcho is *very* serious about their chocolate, more specifically their cocoa beans. They make about 5 or 6 different chocolate bar flavors, however the ingredients for each bar are exactly the same. The *only* difference is the region in which the cocoa bean was grown. It was incredible the flavor differences that are created depending on the region/climate the bean is grown in. We learned SO much about chocolate and had a great time touring the facility and tasting their wares.
From Tcho we headed to Ghirardelli Square were we got to try even more chocolate. There's no doubt they've got good treats, but it was obvious the difference between a commercial operation versus a small start-up operation.
Even for me, who could easily give up chocolate and not miss it, it was a great afternoon of tasting, learning and picture taking.
Waiting for our tour to start, Shawna found a new way to sport her hairnet
Rocking the nets, ready for our tour
Check in at Tcho, sanitized and ready to learn!
We even had to wear approved footwear - I checked before I slid my tootsies in to make sure they'd been sanitized. Yes I'm "that" person, but at least we know my annoyances won't lead to a weird foot fungus!PS Why must I pose all weird and awkward like? There is nothing natural about the way I'm standing.
The famously sweet Ghirardelli Square
Jake was such a trooper the entire time - he gladly stood or sat by why his harem shopped around at boutiques and street vendors
Now that's a big hunk o' chocolate
Sweet goodness
Hot fudge and peanut butter sundaes - these guys thought they'd be able to destroy one on their own...
...even sharing with Jake, I got a belly ache! It was so rich and tasty and incredible! I'm sad to announce that neither Shawna nor Jess were able to finish theirs. Losers.
Pounds and pounds of pounds of Ghirardelli squares everywhere you turned
Culture on the Green Line
The Green Line are the street cars that run just about everywhere in San Fran. We could easily hop on The Green from outside our hotel and ride it all over. It was really convenient and a lot easier to access than the trolly cars. Because it was so easily accessible, and relatively cheap to ride, there was always a lot of folks riding. Which made for great people watching. And as much as I love taking pictures, I love people watching.
Getting to snap pics WHILE people watching? Well that's just crazy talk. But um, yes please.
A particularly crowed trip on The Green, I couldn't help but document our ride. It wasn't until I was going through my trip pics that I noticed the lovely standing next to Shawna. Apparently he had a rough night - black eyes AND a giant forehead bandaid? Would have loved to have heard that story!
For this particular picture I had Jess pretend pose as if I was interested in snapping her pic. What I really was setting out to document was THOSE FINGERNAILS!! Oh.my.word. Can you imagine the nastiness that is lurking under those falsies? Ewwwww.
The night life
Remember when I said in an earlier blog post how each of us picked the 1 thing we absolutely could not leave San Fran without doing? Jessica's 1 Thing was pics of the Golden Gate Bridge and skyline at night. I'm not sure who found it, but we ended up driving across the bridge to a park around 10 at night. It was dark. It was windy. It was cold. It was creepy. And I'm a pansy because I've got myself convinced there is a Boogy Man who is waiting to gobble me up. But shazam if it didn't make for some incredible pictures.
Jake, tired of listening to Shawna complain about her foot pain, did what any caveman would do - he scooped her up and carried her. That'll learn her.
Happy birthday Little Sister!
I now present The Chapman Stick, invited in 1974 by Emmet Chapman. It is out of this world! It made the most divine sound - smooth as honey but solid like steel. The stick's 12 strings aren't strum like a guitar, but instead just pressed down. A lot like a hammer dulcimer, without the hammer. And when he played Pachelbel Canon in D, I cried like a baby (I'm not sure I've ever just started crying before without an actual reason - I had no idea what to do with myself!). Something struck and a flood of emotions waved over me. I can't hear this melody without thinking of Jake. He used to cruise in his little rice grinder Acura Integra, slammed to the ground, exhaust rumbling, and Pachelbel Canon in D flowing through the speakers. That memory, combined with the fact that it was played at our wedding, had the tears rolling. Such an amazing instrument! Shawna and I hunted him down the next day and bought 4 of CDs, one of which is Christmas tunes!
Out on a little knoll, in the pitch black, on the hunt for the amazing nighttime Golden Gate Bridge pic. It was so black my camera couldn't even focus!
Shawna, braving the cold which is pretty incredible for her
Even though I was a chilly girly, scared of the bumps in the night, I am grateful I had the opportunity to capture this shot. Even at nearly 10:30 at night, the traffic still whizzed by, making for some great light-play shots. Not to mention the eery fog.
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