Happy Bellies and Happy Hearts

We arrived in San Francisco midafternoon on Tuesday with immediate thought of finding some food. Now, when Murph and I started to finalize this trip in early August, I had two stipulations: 1) we eat all the good food that Cali has to offer, and 2) that I drop in at San Francisco Crossfit if our schedule allows for it. That first meal we had at Tommy’s Joynt proved to satisfy one of those points. Tommy’s Joynt was previously featured on the t.v. show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I had a mouth watering BBQ pulled pork sandwich on sour dough, and Meagan devoured some corned beef on sour dough. 

Hotel Room: Hotel Whitcomb

From there we checked into Hotel Whitcomb, our home for the evening. This was a last minute price line find. Our room itself was comfy and cozy, but the hotel was a little earie. As we were walking to our room I turned to Murph and said, “I feel like this hotel could be in a scary movie,” to which she exclaimed, “I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING!” It’s a historic building, but if you can imagine the hotel from the Shining, then you’ll get a pretty good picture of this place!

The next day we woke up bright and early and headed to crossfit. I went back and forth the night before about whether or not to even go. I was really nervous, as I had only ever been to my gym in Madison, and I felt like I would be leaving Meagan in the dust on OUR vacation. After a phone call from Viv (a crossfit buddy back home), and the reassurance from Murph that we could totally make it work, I signed up for class. Once I stepped in the door of the box I felt completely at ease. Everyone there was extremely nice and it felt great to get a WOD in. At the end of my workout I purchased a t-shirt and while chatting with Ben, the owner, I discovered that he had dropped in at my gym, Crossfit Recursive, about two years ago when it first opened. He said he really liked the gym, and the owners (yay Dirk and Nikole)!

After a quick shower, Meagan and I were off! Our first stop of the day was the Golden Gate Bridge. It was surreal to see something in person, that we had seen dozens of times before in movies. It definitely did not disappoint! After snapping some pics, we set our sights on Fisherman’s Warf (a neighborhood/area of the city Meagan had done a LOT of research on and was excited to visit)!

Alcatraz as seen from our boat tour.

Irish Coffee FTW!

Our first pit stop there was Buena Vista, an Irish café that is most famous for their Irish Coffee! It was 11:00 am in San Fran, but 5:00 pm somewhere else, so we ordered up this famed coffee and scarfed down more delicious food! The rest of the day, we strolled down the street, and along the water taking in the city and all of its energy. We took an impromptu boat tour around the bay that took us under the Golden Gate Bridge, and gave us a scenic view of Alcatraz. We both agree that we want to go back and get an actual tour of the island. We also were lucky enough to see some sea lions both on the pier and in the water. I wanted to snuggle those cuties so bad!

We then took the streetcar back to our car to head out of the city. If you are ever in the Bay area I highly suggest taking a spin in the streetcar. It’s one of those “when in San Francisco” experiences you don't want to miss! We spent Tuesday night in Berkeley with Florence and John (my cousin Kate’s husband’s parents). I had never met them before, but had heard wonderful things. I think Meagan and I fell in love with them immediately! Florence greeted us at the door with hugs and a smile that could melt your heart. We filled her in on our trip thus far, retelling the highs and highers thus far (there really are no lows when you’re traveling across country with your best friend).  After that, we then hit the hay with dreams of the redwoods in our immediate future.

We awoke to a breakfast spread that puts most B&B’s to shame! We were so overcome that we forgot to take a picture of it, but it included: freshly cut fruit, hard boiled eggs, some delicious sour dough bread with jam, and fresh coffee. We refueld and then hit the road for Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

We took the scenic route driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. There’s nothing quite like driving along with the Pacific to your left. We then turned right and proceeded to drive on a very tight, very narrow road that had turns every 50 feet it seemed like. After about an hour we parked our car, grabbed a trial map and set foot for a 4 mile round trip hike that lead to waterfalls. What happened next is embarrassing, but I’d like to share anyways.

Pacific Coast Highway View

Redwoods!

While I love the wilderness, and hiking and camping (all interests I gained from the big guy), I have a very large fear of bears. So when we started our hike I was on edge. Even though we saw nothing indicating that bears reside in the redwoods, I was spooked from the beginning. About ¾ of a mile into our hike we heard a large crash. I was DONE! Luckily the trail was right by the road, so I hopped down and Meagan followed. Thinking back the large crash was most likely branches falling, but Murph was so supportive regardless. We found an alternative hike, and still managed to take in the beauty that the redwoods offer!

Next we headed to San Jose for the evening to get a good nights rest, and see my friend Bob who just moved there. We ate all the good foods and laughed a lot. We even slept slumber party style in his living room. The next day we headed out to Yosemite National Park! I left San Jose with a happy belly and a happy heart and the anticipation and motivation to conquer my fear of bears and explore Yosemite by foot with my best friend by my side!