SF--Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge...this is what I came to San Francisco to see and it didn't disappoint! It was fun to see such a famous landmark and I even convinced Andy to walk on the bridge at least halfway!

SF--Japanese Tea Garden and Ghiradelli Square

On Tuesday, we started off by visiting the Japanese Tea Garden. The gardens were beautiful and very meticulously manicured. It was so peaceful and serene. I could have stayed their all day, with no kids, just reading a good book! Then we visited Ghiradelli Square. They have the best chocolate! It is so rich!!! Andy and I split one hot fudge brownie sundae, and we could only finish half of it (that is saying a lot to how rich the chocolate is)!!!

Alcatraz

The first thing we did when we went to San Francisco was take a ferry to Alcatraz Island. This ended up being my favorite part of the trip. We actually went on the 48th anniversary of the closing, which was kind of neat. It was very interesting touring the maximum-security federal penitentiary. We listened to the audio tour, which was narrated by former inmates, correctional officers, and residents. I could have spent all day here!!!

Alcatraz Island

"The Rock"

Alcatraz (it was a 1/4 mile, 13-story climb to get to the cellhouse)!!!

Enough said!

Shower room...heaven forbid anyone drop the soap!!!

The Cellhouse

Typical 5'x9' cell

This was where all the inmates wanted to stay...they could look out the windows and see the San Francisco skyline.

Famous inmates, including Al Capone and Robert "The Birdman" Stroud

"D" Block or isolation, otherwise known as "The Hole"

Homemade bar spreader

Recreation yard

Recreation yard

When prisoners took guards hostage, the military dropped grenades in from the ceiling...here are the marks on the floor

Visitation

The Warden's house...most of the guards and their families also lived on the island

Andy and me touring Alcatraz with San Francisco in the background

The lighthouse on Alcatraz was the first lighthouse on the west coast

Escape from Alcatraz...with a spoon!

The hole in the back of the cell where prisoners dug out and escaped

This is what was behind the cells from which the prisoners escaped. They climbed up the pipes and out of the prison.

Kitchen/dining room

Gas chambers in the dining area

All the knives in the kitchen had a specific spot so one could tell if any were missing!

The morgue

San Francisco

Andy and I took full advantage of his parents being here for two weeks and decided to go to San Francisco for a few days (without the kids). It was a nice break and we stayed very busy taking in all the sights! The weather was cooler (in the 50's), so we walked almost everywhere! We walked the Embarcadero, went to Alcatraz, ate dinner at Pier 39, rode the cable cars, enjoyed the architecture, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, went to the Japanese Tea Garden, and ate at Ghiradelli Square, among many things. The city reminded me of New York City, just a little more laid back. We had an awesome time!!!

San Francisco

The Transamerica Pyramid

Our hotel, The Sir Francis Drake

Our doorman at the Sir Francis Drake

Some of the restored Victorian houses

The "Painted Ladies" (Our Japanese cab driver had never heard these houses called the Painted Ladies and kept calling them the Pantless Ladies...Hmmm)!

The Cable Cars (Rice-a-Roni)

Me and Andy riding the cable cars

At the end of the cable car route, the cars went on a turntable and had to be manually turned to go in the opposite direction.

Holy Cow! Look at that incline (now I know why we had to learn uphill & downhill parking in driver's ed)!!!

Glad we decided to take the cable car up this hill

Lombard Street, one of America's crookedest streets!!!

More Fun in the Sun

After playing at the park, we decided to let the boys cool off by playing in the sprinklers. They had fun, but I think the dog had even more fun! She liked to hover over the sprinkler head and bite at the water...I figured it was a free teeth-cleaning treatment ;-)