What's Next...: fog city

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since running the ragnar in september, i haven't been able to get san fran out of my head. our feeble attempt of seeing the city included a stop off at lombard street and crossing the golden gate bridge... which was covered in it's typical fog. although, i must admit, running the golden gate bridge (a bucket list item) was definitely an amazing experience.

september 2013

well, my co-worker and friend, devaun came up with a brilliant idea to take a trip out there. a $107 plane ticket and reservation to grant plaza hotel later and we were set for a four day trip.

sidenote: can i just tell you how amazing john wayne airport is? it's approximately 4 miles from my place and from start to finish, it only took us about 20 minutes to get through security and lining up at the gate. easy peasy.

we got to san francisco by 9am and hit it hard for 4 days straight

it just so happened my parents were visiting the same city at the same time. even funnier, our hotels were literally less than one block away and if we stood out of our windows, we could see each other... only difference-the ritz carlton ain't no swanky establishment like the grant plaza. sorry guys, perhaps in about 20 years you'll be able to afford the luxury devaun and i experienced.
both of our hotels were situated in chinatown [the center of town] so we pretty much walked everywhere.

empress of china- the chinese must have heard i was coming

you probably thought i accidently mixed up my taiwan pictures with san francisco pictures. wrong. these guys were chillin' right outside our hotel

i swear, they never age

hop on hop off

i'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine. if you want to become the ultimate tourist, hop on hop off is where it's at! i swear, the only reason i know about trivia regarding big cities is due to these geeky tours. well, san francisco was no exception. to add to the nerdiness, we not only took one, but two of these tours. consider me a walking encylopedia when it comes to san fran. if you want to know how the cable cars brake, i'm your source. if you want to know where ghostbusters was filmed, i'm your woman. my brain houses all of san francisco's secrets. not really, but i freaking love those tours.

it was weird, everyone kept asking us if we were locals

okays so maybe all my bus photos are of this tower... which name has presently slipped my mind

just call me rick steves

city life

'nuff said

photo cred: nikki stout

free chocolate square every time we went in?! forget about it!

the palace of fine arts for one fine lady

devaun and i made sure to set aside time for a little place called...

sausalito

words to live by

i sorely regret not taking more pictures of sausalito. this little town north of san francisco took my heart and salted it with love, as devaun will tell you. cute shops, beautiful houses on the hill, gorgeous sailboats with a harbor to match, breathtaking view of san francisco. it was the city that kept on giving. it is one of the few places in the world that i would not stick my nose up to if my husband had to move from southern california.

until we meet again saus...

haight ashbury

so, i guess you could say we are hip. i mean, we practically blended in with the hippies... until they realized i showered that morning, i am attracted to the opposite sex, that i don't sing songs at parks, and that i tend to keep my clothes on.

this pictures brings me so much joy

let's get a close up of these lovers to the left...

there we go

quintessential hippie life

the painted ladies or the pink ladies as i like to call them

my girl j jop's home once upon a time

summer of love

golden gate

magestic golden gate, you are the most perfect bridge i have ever laid eyes on. whenever i visit you i can't stop staring. all my pictures somehow have you in it. thank you for being so american, so californian, and so san francisco-an.