#24) See a New American City

As previously stated, my philosophy for nailing a New Year's resolution is to come up with one that is completely fun.  Ours this year was the brain child of Dan:  visit a new American city.  We settled on San Francisco and wine country (booked before I was pregnant, but I figured that since we couldn't use our travel insurance to cancel that I could be the DD for the wineries.  Dan was in heaven.)

At the risk of getting all Facebook-trip-picture-posting-annoying, here were some of the highlights of our June trip:

* The Pillow Menu

Our hotel was musty and didn't have AC, but they did have a complimentary pillow menu!  This thrilled me way more than it should have. Our room ended up looking like a middle school sleepover, pillows covering every surface.

* Cheesy novelty photos

 and wannabe artsy detail shots in Chinatown

Dan was good about indulging me at using different settings on my DSLR

My favorite photo op... look at those monkeys!

Wannabe artsy detail shot #1:

and #2:

* Getting to wear my scarf and boots again... in June 

(and avoiding Virginia's 90+ degree days)

* The Lone Sea Lion

We heard that sea lions bray and bask on the docks by the hundreds, but only saw this one.  He was awesome, though: the size of a black bear and the personality of a lab, all cuddly and showing off for spectators.

* Sourdough creatures:

How much is that gator in the window?

* Going gangster at Alcatrez

If you've read this blog at all, you know I love touristy and dark/quirky things, so combining the two together to tour the creepy fortress of Alcatrez, home of Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, was right up my alley.

Side story:  Perhaps most fascinating to me was how hard some of the prisoners worked to escape the most secure penitentiary of all time.  The below picture is of a room where a criminal spent a year using a SPOON to dig through the grates in his room.  He constructed a fake head (actually seen below!) out of wax and his own hair to trick the guard into thinking he was sick/asleep, and then he shimmied out of the grate and up a pipe, never to be seen again.   I know he was a criminal, but you have to admire the man's determination. I've never worked that hard at anything.

Further creepy detail:  the chefs had a board with knife outlines so they could quickly deduce if any gangsters had somehow crept in and taken one.

* Buying over-priced chocolate that we can find in any drugstore at the original Ghiradelli factory

We also fought over the best sundae either of us has ever had:

* Quintessential Sites:

The Painted Ladies 

(We also tried, unsuccessfully, to find the Full House and Party of Five houses.  It was a sad day for 80's/90's TV shows.)

                                                                         Lombard Street

Sweaty after climbing to the top of Lombard Street:

* Views of Alcatrez

* Golden Gate Park's Japanese Garden

* Haight-Ashbury's hippie vibe (slightly tainted by at least three Ben & Jerry's chains)

* This Tunnel

* Stopping at Muir Woods to see the Redwoods

I joked with Dan that he kinda looks like a senior taking his yearbook picture here.  "I'm Dan.  You can trust me."

Hike in the woods:

* Bumming out the inn keeper in Sonoma

When we arrived at our wine country B&B, the proprietor was fanatical about getting us drunk on the best vino he could find.  He immediately pulled out maps and cheerily instructed "If you like shiraz, you have to go here!" "Oh, this place has a great Chardonnay!" "Seriously, don't miss the Pinot Noir in town!"

When he turned to me and asked me my favorite type, I said, "Well, I'm actually pregnant, so I won't be drinking."

It was like I shot his dog.

After a crest-fallen "Oh", he looked me straight in the eye and without a trace of humor said...

"You know, you need to come back when you're not in this condition."

Dan and I died laughing over that remark the rest of the week.

Mocktail: Strawberry and Rhubarb drink

* Touring the charming town of Sonoma

The HGTV dream house we tried to win a few years ago:

Wine tasting
(I made him describe each glass in pretentious detail to me "oak baritone on the nose...")

Dan cheering to accomplishing our completely easy and self-indulgent resolution :)