We Ran Like Foxes!!

What to do, what to do the first day home from our trip to San Fran?  Run a 5k, of course!  Adam, Seth and I joined TEAM WHMH at the Run Like a Fox 5k in Baldwin Park, what a fun run!

Smiling while crossing the finish line!!

Seeing the Sights: Day Six

We spent the day today in San Francisco seeing the sights.  We woke up to a beautiful view from our balcony, then walked down (then up, then down, then up, can you say hills?) to Fisherman's Wharf, visited Pier 39 and the sea lions, Adam barked at them for a bit.

Good Morning, San Francisco

Union Square

Trolley going down Powell

View going up Powell

Alcatraz - Adam says he could totally escape!

Can you see the Golden Gate behind us?

The sea lions at Pier 39

Stopped into Chowder's (what better) for a bowl of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, yum!  Then, onto Ghirardelli Square where we bough more chocolate than anyone needs, ever!

 

Then, Adam says we have to make a stop.  Where, I ask?  He won't say, but into a cab we jump and head over to O'Farrell Street.  We walk a ways, and arrive at a fancy building where we have to be buzzed in, and up to the tenth floor we go. Surprise for me, it's Brilliant Earth, a wonderful conflict free jeweler where he has set up an appointment so I can get an anniversary band made, how exciting!  I picked out a beautiful ring, can't wait for it to be finished and arrive at home!

The sample of my ring, so pretty!

 

 

Then, back to the hotel we head to get ready for dinner.  We ate at a cute little brasserie called Absinthe, where we tried, well, absinthe.  The food was super yummy, and the absinthe was delicious!  What a busy, fun day!

Absinthe Menu

Ahhh, the green fairy!

Up, Up and Away: Day Five

We started day five with a super exciting hot hair balloon ride just outside of Napa Valley.  We were supposed to go over the valley itself, but due to the foggy conditions, we had to move out of the valley.  What a neat experience, and a great view!  We got up to 3,700 feet, which was both exciting and terrifying!  It's amazing how hot it is up there, we thought it would be chilly, but the heat coming off the burner nearly gave us sun burns!

We're beating the other balloon!

Hot Stuff!

The whole group!

Then, off we went on our wine tour, what a blast.  Our guide Steve was super nice and informative, letting us pick grapes right off the vine at a few vineyards.  We visited 4 different winery's, one so tiny it was literally in a guys house, we had lunch on his back porch!  We had a fun group on our tour, couples from Canada, Philadelphia, Minnesota and even New Zealand.  I drank more red wine than I ever have, and we made some great new discoveries.  Adam decided he like Pinot Noir's, and we have a nice crate of wine to get on the plane with now.  Hopefully, it will make it home with no leaks!

Whetstone Vineyard

Merryvale Winery

Fermentation room at Merryvale

Dinner at Michael Chiarello's restaurant Bottego in Yountville was wonderful, of course more wine to go along!

On the Road: Day Four

We spent Monday driving from Anaheim to San Fran, what a great drive!  We went up the Pacific Coast Highway most of the way, though Malibu, Big Sur, and had dinner in Half Moon Bay, which was yummy! Checked into our hotel and discovered our enormous balcony, sweet!

Hello, Malibu!

Sand on the West Coast, not so pretty, but what a view!

Los Padres National Park