San Francisco Trip Report - Part 2

I'm ready to finish my trip report from our June trip to San Francisco.  Part 1 covered most of our time in San Francisco.  So this post will cover our last day in San Francisco plus our time in Napa Valley. 

Tuesday - We had an early reservation for the ferry over to Alcatraz Island.  There was a sign that said all of the slots for the day were gone so definitely reserve in advance if this is something you are interested in.  We got to the ferry dock 30 minutes in advance and the line had already started for our 9:30 departure.  The boat trip itself was pretty quick, maybe just 10 minutes.

There were a couple options on the island.  There were special tours with in-person guides about the military history of the island and there was an audio tour with headphones about the prison itself.  That seemed to be what most people were interested in and that's what we wanted to check out to.  So we followed the crowd walking up the hill to the old prison building.  It was pretty crowded already and we were on the second boat that had gone to the island that morning.  So if you want to minimize crowds, definitely go early.

The audio tour was really well done.  The narration was good and they had added sound effects for extra depth.  But it was also pretty sad.  And weird to see people posing and smiling for selfies in such a somber environment.

After a couple hours, we took the ferry back to San Francisco and took a lyft to the Mission district.  We were pretty hungry so we stopped at a random taqueria for lunch and then walked over to the mission.  It was really cool to see it and learn about its history.  It's the oldest building in San Francisco and was there since before the city built up around it.  It's also where the only cemetery in San Francisco is.

This is what the land around the Mission looked like when it was first built

We also enjoyed walking around the area and checking out the street art in the Mission District.

After that, we walked over to the Castro for fun shopping and relaxing with a drink.  It was cool to see it all decked out for Pride, which was the following weekend.

And that's mostly it for Tuesday.  We were pretty tired after all that walking around so we went to the room for a nap and we just had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel that evening.  We did go out for a little bit after dinner to check out Union Square and hit up a random bar for a drink, and we also saw the cable car turn around on our way back to the hotel.

Wednesday - This was our day to drive up to Napa.  We started out the morning at the Ferry Building for breakfast since my mom wanted to try the vegan donuts.  They were so good!  After that we went to the railway museum since it was nearby and free.  It was tiny and didn't take long at all but we got some fun photos and cool souvenirs.

After that, we packed up and got in the car to head to Napa.  My mom was with us and she doesn't drink alcohol so we didn't do any wine tastings while we were there but we still had plenty to do.  About an hour from San Francisco, we hit the city of Napa and made a stop for lunch at Oxbow Public Market.  They had a place that had a vegan pizza offering and also a taco place that had multiple veggie taco options, that could also be veganized.  And lots of fun little stores.  We enjoyed browsing as well as an olive oil tasting.  We bought a jalapeno olive oil and a mango vinegar that we've been enjoying at home.

After that, we went up to our hotel in Calistoga, at the north end of Napa Valley.  So I think it took maybe another 45 minutes to get there.  It was a nice hotel with a natural hot spring on site.  The pool was actually fed by the waters from the hot spring and it was really a fun experience.  We spent some time at the pool in the afternoon and then got ready for our dinner at a nearby restaurant, SolBar.  This dinner ranks up there with one of the best meals I've ever had.  It was amazing.  Their menu doesn't look that vegetarian friendly but I called them in advance and they had a separate plant based menu. We also had a seat on their amazing patio, and that atmosphere was just perfect with impeccable service.  I would highly recommend this place to anyone in Napa Valley.

Thursday - The other nice thing about the hotel was it was really close to town.  So I got in a nice run in the morning and explored the main street of the town while it was still pretty empty, and then met up with my dad for a 5k walk.

We had leftover donuts for breakfast and then went to the spa for massages.  What a relaxing way to start the day!  After that, we met up with my brother and sister-in-law for lunch at the hotel restaurant.  They also didn't seem to have too many vegan options but were able to make up an off menu cous cous and vegetable dish for my mom that she said was amazing.

After lunch, it was time for another nap.  You can tell that Napa was the relaxing portion of our vacation!  And then we got ready for the wedding.  It was held at this really cool castle/winery.  Again, the service was really great.  They gave tours of the castle and winery and then we all went in for dinner in the main room.  They had a stuffed zucchini for the veggie option and it was delicious!  There was some dancing in the wine cellar after dinner and then off to bed.

Friday - This was our last full day in California as we were flying out Saturday afternoon.  That meant we had to make our way back towards the airport.  We started out with breakfast at the hotel restaurant and some more pool time.  We then checked out and went back toward San Francisco.  We hit a couple sights on the way, a local geyser and a petrified wood forest.  They were both fun little stops but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way for them.

We went back to the Oxbow Public Market for lunch and Mike and I also stopped at the distillery at the market for a tasting.  The guy did a great job of explaining their different products and we really enjoyed the tasting.

We were staying in Oakland that night since our flight our Saturday was out of the Oakland airport.  We had another amazing vegan meal Friday evening at Millennium.  It was super crowded and we have to wait quite a while in spite of our reservation, but once we got seated the service was great and the food was delicious, and came out quickly :)  I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area.

So that was our trip to San Francisco!  We had a great time and it was a nice mix of on the go touring in San Francisco and relaxation in Napa.

San Francisco Trip Report - Part 1

The week has sped by and I can't believe it's already Thursday!  I guess that will happen when you have evening meetings the first two days of the week.  I thought I'd go ahead and start my trip report for California.

Saturday - This was the day we flew in to San Francisco.  We flew into Oakland Airport since it was a bit cheaper and used Lyft to get to our hotel.  It was pretty easy and we didn't run into much traffic since it was the weekend.  We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in the financial district near union square and that was a great hotel. It wasn't near the tourist activities but it was less than a mile easy walk from the water and the ferry building and just a couple blocks from Union Square.  It was also in a mostly flat area.  It was busy during business hours but I kind of enjoy that sort of hustle and bustle anyway.

The city was all decked out for Pride, which was the next weekend

Saturday evening we had tickets for a show called "The Speakeasy."  I don't even know how to describe it other than to say it's interactive theater and you really felt like you were transported back to a 1920s speakeasy for the evening.  It was super fun.  It was on the expensive side but we felt it was well worth the money.  Here's the description from their website:  "Step back in time to 1923 as 35 characters lead you on a “choose your own adventure” into the depths of the Prohibition Era. Song and dance, comedy and drama, casino-style gaming and killer cocktails are among the many delights you will encounter as you explore the secret passages and hidden rooms of The Palace Theater."  Of course, no cell phones were allowed as that wouldn't be very accurate to the time period so no photos.

Sunday - We had a late night Saturday so we had a leisurely morning on Sunday.  I went out for a run and then we met up with some old friends from college for brunch.

After that, we picked up my parents from the hotel and decided to get some views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  I had heard of some views that were a bit better than from the bridge itself so our first stop was Fort Point, at the base of the bridge.  It was cool to explore what was left of the fort as well as to check out the videos they had on the military history of the fort as well as the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then we drove over to Crissy Beach, which is a little beach a bit further down the coast.  It has some great views as well and there seemed to be lots of locals enjoying the beach with plenty of cute kids and cute dogs.  But it was a windy day and we didn't stay there too long.  We went on to explore Japan Town.

We had dinner that evening at a vegan Mexican restaurant, Gracias Madre.  It was so good!  I love all the plant based cuisine we were able to enjoy while we were in California.  And it was all so different too.

Monday - Monday morning, we had a walking tour planned and my parents had a reservation to see Muir Woods.  Muir Woods requires advanced reservations for parking or a shuttle so it's best to plan ahead if you want to see it.  We had breakfast together at the Ferry Building (they have a gluten free bakery that also has vegan options as well as a vegan doughnut kiosk) and then went our separate ways.

The beginning of our self guided walking tour was along the water.  We saw Coit Tower but chickened out of climbing to the top of the hill because the steps looked pretty daunting!  I hear there are great views from the top though, with pretty murals in the building and parrots along the way for some reason.

We continued walking by the water and walked up the hill to see Lombard Street.  It was pretty steep but there were some great views along the way.

We walked back down the hill and continues along the way to Ghiradelli Square.  We stopped at the Cartoon Arts museum along the way.  It was pretty small but really well curated.  And we of course picked up some chocolate at Ghiradelli Square.

We met up with my parents for lunch at the Hot Spud.  Its a quick baked potato place that had plenty of vegan and vegetarian toppings.  It was nice that everyone could create their own potato with what they wanted, and it was supper filling.   And it was right by Fisherman's Wharf.  So afterwards, we were able to explore Boudin's Bakery for some sourdough bread, a weird little arcade that had historic arcade games and stuff right by the water, and walk down to Pier 39 to see the sea lions.

Dinner that evening was at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant where most things were vegan. There were a couple items with egg noodles.  It was delicious, though the service was a bit curt.  Mike and I took advantage of being in Chinatown to explore a bit before dinner.  We also took advantage of the hotel bar after dinner since they had a great view of the city.

And that's it for now!  This has gotten pretty long so I'll leave our last day in San Francisco and our time in Napa for the next post.