I’m still recovering from this trip. Seriously. It was the most amazing and most exhausting experience. Traveling with a baby definitely throws a whole other dynamic into the mix, especially when you’re trying not to let that slow you down. We went everywhere, saw everything, and experienced the city of San Francisco in it’s fullest.

This has been a trip we’ve wanted to take for a long time. It was our dream honeymoon, but we just couldn’t afford it at the time. So we held back and waited until we could do it right. We started tossing around the idea after I got pregnant, since we wanted to do a big trip this year and traveling abroad seemed like too daunting of a task for Ada’s first flight. When my sister and her husband got word of it, they “offered” to come too to help take care of the baby…see how they did that? Sneaky little sister. Actually, it was so helpful to have two extra pair of  hands there, especially on the plane! Plus we made some amazing memories, laughed a ton (there was one late night we were so delirious all we could do was giggle, and none of us can remember what was so funny), and we got to experience things we’d never seen before. It was my sister’s first trip to California, and her husband’s first trip to the west coast.

Our resident travel agent, aka Kyle, planned our whole trip from the minute we got off the plane and back on it 6 days later. He spent months researching and reading trying to figure out what we actually needed to see and what was a tourist trap (like Pier 39, the seals are cool, but go early to see those before the crowds arrive and skip everything else). Every single thing he planned was perfect. Except his side trip to the Golden Gate Park, haha. The other 3 of us were under the impression we were going to see a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, but instead Kyle took us to a Japanese Tea Garden instead. After we got over the initial shock of no view, we did enjoy the park : )

We also were all mistaken in thinking the Trolleys were basically a roller coaster. We thought you could get on anywhere, ride around the city and get back off when you finished your loop. Wrong. With enough cash to get us on the trolley at the top of Lombard Street, we were very shocked when they kicked us off at Union Square, practically the other side of the city, with no way to get back, haha. And with a baby it’s not like you can take a taxi! So Kyle grabbed an Uber, rode back to the hotel, picked up the rental car to come back and pick us up. All while we shopped. I’d say our mistake turned out quite nicely. Ada left with a fedora, two new outfits, sunglasses and a pair of ballet flats.

That was the same day that Kyle took us to the Full House house, only for none of us to recognize it, because it’s not the one you see in the intros! We finally figured out we need to go to Alamo Square instead, and see the Painted Ladies. That was the view we were expecting! We sat in the grass over looking the city, and watched Ada practice her newly mastered skill of rolling down the hill. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

Our hotel was in Russian Hill within walking distance of Lombard Street, pretty much the world’s steepest street. Every morning the boys got up and walked up the hill for coffee. The girls went a few mornings too after all the baby stuff had been taken care of…it takes a while to get an 8 month old ready for the day! One thing you might not know about me is I used to run, a lot, up hills…for fun. While I may be out of shape, my technique is still there, so I bet Kyle I could beat him to the top of Lombard Street one morning. And I would have won if my phone hadn’t gone flying out of my pocket and shattered the screen!!! At least I have a great story when someone asks me what happened, haha!

As far as views go, we saw them all. If there was a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw it! None of them disappointed either! That is one amazingly beautiful structure. It seriously was breathtaking. Did you know it’s not red though? It’s actually International Orange…who knew?!

My favorite view was down the coastline a few hours at McWay Falls near Big Sur . Wow. It was the only thing I had to do on the trip. By the time we got on the road to go down there, we were all exhausted. No one quite understood what we were going to see, except me, and there were a few grumbles as I rushed them out of the hotel that morning. The moment we saw those falls though made the rush down there worth it. I didn’t know places like that existed. While we were there viewing the falls we saw these huge vulture like birds flying around, assuming they were vultures, we kind of ignored them. It wasn’t until we were leaving someone stopped us and said they were California Condors, the rarest bird in the country! We stayed a little longer to watch them once we found that out. At one point, there were only 27 left! They’re up to about 400 now from what I’ve found online, but apparently they’re still very rare to see. Crazy!

As the week went on it seemed like the views and experiences just got better and better. Being a nursing mom still, and having to feed Ada on the go, we started playing this game of A.J.’s favorite feeding spots…invented by my brother-in-law off all people, haha. We would literally try to time our movements so that the next feeding would top the one before! At first looking over the Golden Gate Bridge won, until we went to Sausalito, and that was stunning. But then, we hiked Muir Woods, a redwood forest, and I was sure nothing could top that. Until I fed on the steps of the rec yard in Alcatraz, and I thought nothing could beat that, because, come on, how many people have breastfed where the inmates of Alcatraz used to hang?! But then, we headed down to Big Sur. Sitting on a cliff staring at the crystal blue ocean and watching it fade seamlessly into the horizon, definitely won. That was a once in a lifetime experience.

Out of everything, I think it was the memories made with my little sister that are my favorite. Having her and her husband there made the trip for us! Two years ago, we could have never done this. We would have killed each other by the time we got off the first flight. Our relationship has grown and wounds have healed, and now she’s my best friend, the best CC to Ada, and I wouldn’t do life everyday without her.

I can’t wrap up our San Francisco post without paying homage to the best ice cream we’ve ever had. Sticky Peanut Butter from Swensen’s. It’s worth flying back out there for a scoop of that! We went twice, and drove all the way back into the city from Big Sur for a final taste only to find out it was closed on Mondays. If anyone wants to open a franchise here I will happily keep you in business!

Day One: Fly across the country, Twin Peaks, see the GGB up close, then early to bed

Day Two: Walk the GGB, sourdough bread sandwich in Golden Gate Park without a view : ), Full House house, Alamo Sqaure with a view, walked around the Giants stadium pizza on Baker Beach at sunset

Day Three: Trolley Ride to Union Square on accident, drove across the bridge to Sausalito for lunch, hiked through a redwood forest at Muir Woods, pulled over at several vantage points of the GGB, dinner in Sausalito, ice cream at Swensen’s

Day Four: up early to see the seals at Pier 39, walked to the Ferry Building for the most amazing market ever, took a ferry to Alcatraz and toured (totally worth it by the way), Swensen’s Ice Cream

Day Five: drove down the PCH stopping every 5 miles to stare at the views, lunch in Santa Cruz, Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, dinner in Monterey where Ada learned to wave & clap at 9PM west coast time!

Day Six: explore Monterey, see sea lions being rescued from starvation : ( at the docks, drove back to San Francisco to spend more time at the Ferry Building market, dinner at an underground sushi restaurant with 5 tables in the Castro District, tried to go to Swensen’s but it was closed : ( : (

Day Seven: headed home with the world’s fussiest baby because she was exhausted! Until the last day she was so happy and cheery, but it just got to her. We were all exhausted, so I can’t blame her.

On to the good part though, here is our trip in pictures for you to share in a little of the experiences too. If you ever get the chance, go to Northern California. It’s a beautiful place. And now that I’ve written this and inserted all the images, I realize this probably should have been two posts. I would say sorry for all the images, but I’m not. Enjoy!