California

This time last week, I was enjoying the peaceful beauty of the California wine country. It was our second trip to the area, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. This time we had the company of my sister and brother-in-law. Aside from me, no one seemed to be too interested the wine, but there's still a lot to enjoy about being there. The food is good, and the scenery is amazing. I'd love to get to spend more than a couple of days there some time.


The second half of our trip was back in the city. I loved San Francisco my first time there. It is a different sort of city than any I have ever spent time in. There are such distinctly different parts of town that all fit together in such a small area. We drove around a lot more this time, and while it made some things a little more difficult, I was glad to get to experience some parts of town that I hadn't ever been to before. On our last trip, we got to see a lot of the typical San Francisco attractions. We saw Alcatraz. We rode a cable car. We walked through Chinatown. We spent more time at Pier 39 than we cared to. We made two trips to Amoeba (So what if that isn't for everyone. It is a stinking great music store). This time it was nice to adventure a little more and see some new things. I did get to make a return trip to Amoeba, but other than that and some really tasty restaurants, we spent the majority of our time on new things.


Early on, we decided that we would keep up our bike riding and bike the bridge. I have always been impressed by the bridge, so I was quite excited to get to ride over it and see things up close. The ride was rated as "easy," but I knew that it was still San Francisco and the hills wouldn't disappear. I took a tumble pretty early on, but I recovered and made the trip. The views were definitely worth it. The sunburn is almost gone, and my legs have recovered, but I'll remember that ride for a long time.


One of the other unexpected highlights was a little side jaunt to see the ruins of the Sutro Baths. Adrian found it in the guide book while we were looking for somewhere to kill some time while we were waiting to eat. On our previous trip, we never saw the ocean other than from the bridge. We made it down the road to the end of Golden Gate park and were amazed by the views. It was hard to believe we were even in the city anymore. There was a heavy fog and an even colder chill to the air. We walked down the path to what is left of the structure and got to experience the Pacific up close. The rocky shores and steep cliffs are so much different than what I am used to. It almost takes your breath away.

I was initially a little disappointed to go back somewhere I have already been. I love to get away on vacation and explore new places. This trip proved that even after two trips, there is still a lot to explore in San Francisco and wine country. Hopefully we'll make it back before too long. I won't even think about being disappointed.