San Francisco

I finally got a chance to get out of Santa Barbara and enjoy myself last weekend. My really good friend David and I set out Thursday afternoon up to the city by the bay better known as San Francisco. We were lucky enough to crash on the couches of David's brother Jason's apartment. Thursday night we went to dinner at a very nice Thai restaurant. The food was very good and well priced.

Friday morning we got up and took the MUNI to Powell Street and Union Square where I finally used the Old Navy gift card I got from my Aunt and Uncle for Christmas. The Union Square Old Navy was the largest Old navy store I have ever seen. After strolling around Union Square we headed back to meet up with Jason for some lunch. We decided to head over to Haight and Ashbury to have lunch at Cha Cha Cha. The shops were nice and lunch was excellent. The sangria wasn't too bad either. After lunch David and I did some more walking around and browsing through shops here and there.

Saturday was a huge day. We took a cable car down to the waterfront where we had lunch, found a map and then started making our way towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful walk through Crissy Field and along the bay. We walked about halfway across the bridge to admire the view and then began walking back. Overall, it took us about two hours to make it onto the bridge. On the way back we stopped off at the Exploritorium and the Palace of Fine Art. Once we made it back to the waterfront it was straight to Ghirardelli Square for a heavenly "Quake Shake". I had the milk chocolate and caramel with vanilla ice cream shake. David had the dark chocolate and raspberry with vanilla ice cream shake. After our refreshing shakes we made our way to Pier 39 where I bought a little something for my Mom. On our way to the Pier we came across the famous San Francisco Bush man. Apparently this particular homeless man has taken some tree branches and hides behind them and then scares unsuspecting pedestrians as they walk by. Luckily we were coming from the opposite direction of his game of peek-a-boo! Saturday evening ended with us having dinner with Jason at the Cheesecake Factory and then watching the movie "Match Point".

We woke up early on Sunday had a great breakfast with Jason, packed up our stuff, loaded up the car, and then made our way back to Santa Barbara. I took some pictures with David's digital camera, so as soon as he emails them to me I will post them for all of you to see.

I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend in San Francisco. The architecture is beautiful. Even though San Francisco is a big city the downtown area still has its small town charm. It is refreshing to see a city maintain a quaint feel compared to most big cities that are full of high rise condo complexes. It doesn't hurt that the public transportation services are quick and easy to use. I hope to make it back and spend more time getting acquainted with the city by the bay.