Food, Shopping, and Baseball

 After the boys' morning at the conference, we all were able to meet up with Kevin for lunch at a great French/Soul place.  It was delicious and fun meeting with a Miami peep! 

The boys wanted to go back to the hotel to rest, but Julia and I needed to go get some more chocolate and bread to bring home.  We also went back to Chinatown!

When we reached the hotel room, we were greeted with this sign:

Not much longer after that, we had to leave to catch the BART out to Oakland.  It was SUPER crowded because of work-time commuting.  I tried to get a better photo, but got yelled out because I was in this girls' "space."  Um....does it look like any of us have space on this thing????

 Oakland is definitely NOT a place I want to be--alone, at night....or really anytime again, for that matter. 

But, we did have a great time at the game. 

We enjoyed cool weather, ball park snacks, and an exciting game--even an instant replay!

It was finally even "jacket weather!" 

We left the game a little early, just to get back and be able to grab a quick bite before it got too late.  We stopped at a great little diner near the hotel and had fun talking with all the Russians who worked there. 

Another fun day--and the last full day of vacation! :( 

The next morning, the boys got up early for the conference.  We packed up and got ready to leave, having lunch at that great Thai place again.  Stephen and I said goodbyes and left for the airport.  We had some troubles, missing our connecting flight in LA, having to switch to Delta, barely making THAT flight after having to go through security AGAIN and encountering problems there.  Once we were on the flight, it was loud, hot, cramped, bumpy, and a kid across the aisle vomited.  But, we made it back to SLC, and our luggage was there waiting.  The best part of the day was discovering that there IS good Mexican food in Utah---Brandon and Melinda were able to meet us at the Red Iguana.  I'm SOOO grateful that the day ended much better than its middle. 

And thus concludes our San Fran vacation! 

Haight Ashbury

 We had a few hours to spend in the afternoon before we met up with some of Bando's "peeps" for dinner.  The boys really wanted to get over to the Haight/Ashbury district, just to have a story to tell about being there.  Their Dad will always have a MUCH better tale, but they at least found the place. 

In order to have a little more of a purpose for going so far away from our home base, we asked at our hotel about what to do at Golden Gate Park.  They told us to visit this science museum and maybe the Japanese Tea Garden, so we bused out to the HUGE park and got out on Nancy Pelosi Dr.  Instead of paying the 20-something + dollars to go to a museum for an hour or so, we decided to just walk around the park a little....and remembered to take a few photos. 

The Japanese Tea Garden looked cool, but the boys didn't really want to do it, so we skipped it.

When we realized the park wasn't the best idea, we just waited for the bus and rode over here:

 We walked around, saw a bunch of crazy stuff on the streets and in shops, got the picture, and got out of there....not NEARLY soon enough. 

Thankfully, we were able to meet up and have a GREAT dinner of Thai food at a place just around from our hotel.  And, I got called a 'white nigger" by a homeless he-she named Sweet Pea, with her pink, stroller-riding Chihuahua, Mystical.  Sweet (?) Pea was ticked that I wouldn't give her(?) a $100 birthday present.  That's something especially blog-worthy. 

This day started with great girl time in the morning, continued with fulfilling the boys' to-do list in the afternoon and great food in the evening, and ended with a classic San Fran bang!  

Beach and Boudin

 We hopped back on the cable car....on the back this time--and rode all the way to the end. 

Since it was such a beautiful day, we couldn't help but walk on the beach and get our toes in the sand...and even a bit in the water!

 I think it's hilarious how easy it is to tell who's who....in more ways than one!

Our next stop was Boudin bakery for some lunch.  Our grilled cheese sandwiches were amazing!

 I also had a fun time watching the demonstration and was quite impressed with that huge gator!

 After lunch, we met the boys back at the hotel. Here's a picture of some Victorian houses we snapped while in line for the cable car. 

On to one of the boys' Must-do's for the trip.....Haight Ashbury. 

Lombard Street

 Monday was a BUSY day for the boys at a convention, so Julia and I headed out on the town by ourselves.  We walked down to catch a cable car again, not making the rookie mistake of waiting in the long line at the turnaround, but up the street just a bit.  We even lucked out and got to hang on to the side....in the front of the car, the perfect view!

We met some great people from Italy and got so involved in our conversation that we rode a little too long.  Instead of getting off at the stop closest to the top of the "crookedest street," we ended up down at the VERY BOTTOM of the hill.  At least we had our walking shoes on.  It was quite a trek up to even get to the bottom of the crooked part!

 Finally, we made it to the intersection where the road starts to really twist and turn!

 The views in all directions were beautiful.  Even though I've never been there, I think this view looks very European to me....maybe it's from movies I've seen. 

 I loved the bougainvilla on this house!

 Each of us with an official plaque about the street:

I think this is about halfway up:

And we finally made it to the top!

While we were waiting to pick up the cable car again, we were asked by some New Yorkers if we'd take their picture.  They were 50's-ish and started up a conversation, since they were also waiting for a ride.  We started on all topics--kids, professions, religion, etc.  He was even giving us marriage advice--if we keep our men happy, then everything will work out.  I think he said something like, "treat him like the king, and teach him how to make you the queen.  Don't try to be the king twice."  Nothing like getting marriage/sex advice from a total stranger to make you feel complete on vacation!  

As the cable car pulled up, we shot a great view of Alcatraz and headed back down to Fisherman's Wharf. 

 Thanks for the memories, Lombard St.