Father's Day Trip

Mark found out that he had a few days off before he officially started work, so we decided to take a mini-vacation to San Francisco and Monterey Bay. It was really nice spending some quality family time together before he joins the squadron.

On Wednesday morning we headed North to San Francisco. It's about a three hours drive from us. This is the Bay bridge.

We had a couple of hours before we could get into our hotel, so we decided to do some sight-seeing. Our first stop was Lombard St. It is the curviest streets in the US.

It was so much fun going down it!

Everyone who grew up in the 80's and 90's should recognize this house. It's the FULL HOUSE house! It's painted a different color, but it's really it. I was very excited! I was a big fan growing up.

After being in the car all morning, we let Adam out to have some fun. We found this awesome playground that over looked the whole city.

We loved seeing all the buses and trams in the city!

It was finally time to check into our hotel. We stayed in a hotel called Hotel Des Arts. It was really cool. The entire hotel was filled with art done by up and coming artist from all over the world. It had a really neat vibe to it and we really felt like we were staying in San Francisco, not just a chain hotel.

It was our room. It had an Asian feel to it. It was gold leafing, all done by hand.

This was our view...You had to stick your head out the window and look up to see the sky.

This was a painting in one of the hallways. All of their art was for sale.

I peeked into another room. They were all so different. It was really interesting.

The best part of the hotel was that it had an old fashion elevator in it.

Our next stop was Fisherman's Wharf, so we decided to take the cable cars.

Adam loved it!

He's getting to be such a big boy! He wanted to sit and hold on by himself.

Fisherman's Wharf!

Alcatraz

We loved sitting and watching the seals.

After watching the seals, we were starting to get hungry so we headed over to Rain Forest Cafe because it had a sign outside that said "Wednesday: Kid's Night." Three years ago we would have stayed clear of a sign like that for dinner, but now that we have a two year old, we flock to them. It's funny how things change!

Everyone had a blast, and we didn't have to worry about Adam staying quiet.

After dinner we headed over to Ghiradelli's factory for some ice cream and chocolate.

Adam got a free sample of chocolate for visiting...

The next morning we went over to Coit Tower, where the views of the city were amazing!

You can even see the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. It was pretty foggy that morning.

We decided to take Rt 1 all the way down to Monterey Bay, so we could see the pacific ocean. It was so beautiful!

It took a pit stop in Half Moon bay and walked out on the pier...

Adam touching the Pacific Ocean for the first time!

I couldn't get over that the sand looked like it pieces of gold in it.

Once back in the car we drove to Santa Cruz. It was a beautiful beach town. It is also home to the oldest wooden roller coaster.

We also stopped at the Mystery Spot. It was pretty crazy. No one knows what causes things to happen there, but people who have researched it, say it's the real thing. The rules of gravity, height, and air pressure to do apply here. It's very hard to explain, you just have to see it for yourself.

Here's is one demonstration they did. The board we are standing on is completely level, and we are standing shortest to tallest...

Then when we switched places, we are almost all the same size.

When you are standing in the house, you are pulled in all different directions. It's a really creepy feeling.

After the Mystery spot, we headed to Monterey Bay. We spent Thursday evening hanging out in the hotel pool, and then got up bright and early to go to the Monterey Bay aquarium. One of the top three aquariums in the country.

They had a lot of hands on exhibits for the kids. Adam loved touching the animals.

Can you see Adam in the fish tank...

Adam had a great time trying on the sea animal costumes....

and pretending he was a baby penguin...

Once we were done with the aquarium, we drove down 17 Mile Dr. It was breathtaking! There were actually sea otter swimming around in the water behind us.

The Lone Cyprus...

The highlight of the trip for Mark was going to the Pebble Beach Golf Course.

This is the view from the lodge. It was pretty amazing! To play a round of golf here, it is about $500.

On the ride home from Monterey Bay, we drove through the mountains and saw wild elk!

It was a herd of all bucks. It was a great way to finish a great trip! I can't wait to go again!