San Francisco

Tommy and I took the big leap and went on our longest trip together kids-free. Our first night away from them I was tempted to back out of the trip and just forget it. But we knew they were in good hands (thanks Kristin and Blake) and the next day we were practically skipping down the sidewalks of San Fran enjoying this temporary found freedom we had. I've been to SF a few times, but this was Tom's first time. Here's a few things that I learned while there

1. San Francisco is cold...I mean never seem to be able to get warm cold. It was sunny and beautiful out, but windy and cold.
2. And I thought Portland was liberal
3. Marchello's pizza on Castro is probably the best pizza I've ever had. I had experienced it once before with my good friend Ellen, but I'd forgotten about the cheesy goodness. Ellen reminded me of it this time around and we were not disappointed.
4. If you're a chocolate lover (like I am), in SF, your going to be in heaven. Just locate all the Ghiradelli shops and you'll get a free square of chocolate every time you step foot in one of them. So delicious.
5. I can't imagine a more beautiful city...if it just wasn't SO DARN COLD.
6. I must get myself a cruiser bike as soon as financially possible. Unlike with my bike at home the cruiser's seat and my seat got along great.
7. There's something nice about relying solely on public transportation to get you around.

And now a rundown of the trip

Alcatraz was our first stop. I loved learning the history of this place. It was such a great tour.

Probably my favorite day was renting bikes and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge together. We then decided to take on a little more than we'd originally thought and bike all around the city. I forgot about the monster hills there. So beautiful though.
Tom taking a little break in the middle of our ride to the lull of a drum circle.

The drum circle
While Tom was busy with his conference I got to spend a day with my Uncle and Aunt. They took me all over and my Uncle was like an encyclopedia of knowledge about the city. It was wonderful to spend time with them.
My Aunt and I at this awesome structure (can't remember the name) created for one of the World's Fairs.
Muir Woods. This is a little stretch of redwoods close to the city. Add lots of good food and some window shopping and that pretty much sums up our little getaway.
Of course we returned to Portland a day earlier than originally planned so that Tom could see one of his favorite musical artists (Lauryn Hill) in concert. My friend Andrea met us up there. Just to clarify, we did not do all of this in one day. Tommy just really likes that sweater.

I was glad to return home to the girlies again, but not without a new appreciation of some quality alone time with my sweetie.