Family Vacation in San Francisco

Hayes Mansion

Golden Gate

I have been away from blogging and cardmaking for about 10 days and I have missed it.  My family and I took a trip to California last week during the east coast heat wave to visit my son.  My son, Eric, lives in Berkeley which is just outside San Francisco.  My husband, Mark and our daughter Lindsey and I stayed at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose.  Beautiful place and the grounds were exquisite! We were about 1 hour from Berkeley and 45 mins from San Fran.  We rented a car and saw the sights of San Francisco!  I love playing tourist but I found out we weren't the only ones vacationing.  San Francisco is definitely a tourist city in the summer!!  Lots and lots of people!!!  The weather in San Fran was around 68-72 degrees each day so a jacket was sometimes necessary.  The fog would roll in during the morning hours and would lift by noon. In fact, our flight into San Francisco was delayed 2 hours because of the fog in the city.  Eric took us to Mirren Highlands to get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge and then over to Muir Woods.  We took a ride on the cable cars in San Fran.  It wouldn't be a trip to San Fran without a ride on the cable cars!  The wait was about 1 hour so be prepared if you go!! 

Cable cars

We took the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf to Hyde Street Pier which was a lot of fun.  We saw street performers there and sidewalk cafes.  There were plenty of stores to shop.  We headed toward Pier 39 which is a popular destination for shopping and eating also which we did!  I loved that there was a Merry-go-round right in the middle of all the action.  We were able to see Alcatraz from where we had lunch but were not able to take the Ferry over because they were booked 2 months out!  Next time we will remember that you need to book Alcatraz first then your trip!  Very popular place!

Pier 39

Alcatraz

An alley in the Mission District

 Eric took us to the Muir Woods which was amazing! You couldn't see the top of the trees.  Lots of trails.  We walked 2 miles and we still could have kept going!  Just a beautiful place!  These are just some of the pictures that I took that were the highlights.  We also went to Sausalito, (another busy but beautiful spot) the Mission area of San Francisco, (great places there to eat) Painted Ladies and we also went to an amusement park called Great America.  Love those roller coaster rides!  Can't wait to go back if my son stays there.  I have already planned what to do like the wine country, either Napa or Sonoma.  So much to do there and such beautiful weather!!

Muir Woods

The Petersens

Painted Ladies