Mat's family celebrates 30th birthdays with special trips. A few years ago the girls went to New York to celebrate Mindy's birthday, and this year we got to go to San Francisco to celebrate Marilee's 30th! We left early (4:30 am) Thursday morning so we could maximize our time in San Francisco! We drove to Sausalito to check out our condo for the weekend. It was amazing... I wish I had taken some pictures. We had a great view of downtown across the bay. That afternoon we took a harbor cruise under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz. The water was rough, but there were quite a few sail boats and kite boarders out on the bay. I can't imagine swimming in that cold water! After the cruise, we had some delicious clam chowder in a bread bowl at Fisherman's Wharf and took in some more beautiful views of the bridge at an overlook.
Friday was spent driving into the wine country and exploring 2 different wineries. We enjoyed the drive and taking in the views. At the first winery we had beautiful views of the wine country, got to go into their wine caves, and learned a lot about the process of making their wine. I didn't participate in any tastings, but I heard that the wine was good! After lunch we visited a second winery and got to ride a tram up the hill to the winery. We took a self-guided tour (and didn't learn near as much!) but enjoyed the views here also.
Saturday we drove up to Muir Woods. It is a small grove of redwoods just a few miles from downtown San Francisco. This was one of Mat's favorite parts of our trip a few years ago. We took a short hike through the park and enjoyed the amazing trees. The picture to the right is of all 4 of us inside a tree! Saturday night we headed to AT&T Park to watch the a baseball game. It is a neat ballpark with great views of the bay! Once the sun went down it was a chilly night, but we enjoyed the game.
We spent Sunday finishing up our list of "must-dos" before heading home. We drove down Lombard street (the crookedest street), shopped and enjoyed some crepes at Pier 39, and took in some more views of the city on a trolly ride. It was a wonderful girl trip! Happy Birthday Marilee!
