A couple months ago I planned a trip for Paul and I to go to San Francisco to visit my brother in his new city. Plus, neither of us had been there before, so it was a perfect opportunity to take a fun vacation before the baby comes. We had a blast, and it was so good to see Dustin! Although, the trip did not have the most smooth start. You would think that Paul and I had learned our lesson about getting to the airport early after we missed our flight to Aruba for our honeymoon, but no we were rushing to get to Charlotte on time for our flight. When we got there our plan was to just valet the car since we were in a rush. When we pulled up to curb side check-in, they told us that our flight had been cancelled. So, the man told Paul to take his time parking, and I should go inside and talk to the people at the desk. When I finally made my way through the line, the airline let me know that oh no our flight was not cancelled. WHAT?? It was 8:20 and our flight was supposed to leave at 9:00. I called Paul and told him to haul a**. He was already not feeling too well, so sprinting to the building did not help the situation. Luckily, we made it on time! Turns out our flight from Dallas to San Francisco was cancelled due to hail damaged from the storms a couple days before. So, we had a 3 hour delay in Dallas. Once we finally made it to San Francisco, we were just in time to get checked in to our hotel and meet Dustin and his roommates for dinner. We ate at a great seafood restaurant with beautiful views of the bay.
Paul and I at the restaurant- look at the beautiful sunset!
Dustin and I
We really lucked out on our hotel choice. We stayed at the Parc 55 Wyndam in Union Square. It was so nice! We actually ended up getting a free upgrade since they didn't have any king beds available. So, we were given a room on the 20th floor with a queen bed and gorgeous views of the city.
View 1 from our room.
View 2- we could actually see all the way to the water.
View 3
This was a little room off the bathroom where I would get ready
and look out the window over the city. It was amazing!
After dinner on Friday we were pretty pooped, so we just called it a night and went back to the hotel. Saturday Paul and I got up early and did some exploring/shopping around our hotel. We let Dustin sleep in and then met him and some friends for lunch down at Fisherman's Wharf. We grabbed lunch at the In and Out Burger and walked all around the Wharf. We saw some interesting things. For example, we learned about the "Bush Man". Dustin warned us about this guy. He is a homeless man who "dresses up" as a bush, hides behind a trash can, and jumps out at people as they walk by. No, I am not joking...I saw him with my own eyes. You can barely see him in the picture below. So strange...
"Bush Man" (see the leaves?)
There were lots of human robots walking around. This was one of them.
Paul and I outside a restaurant at the Wharf.
Alcatraz
The Bay
The three of us down by Pier 1- (not the store)
After our tour of Fisherman's Wharf (and A LOT of walking), we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We went to a Thai place that had $5 meals and $2 beers, can't beat that! We met Dustin at a friend's apartment before we all headed to dinner.
This was the view from his friend's roof. Gorgeous!
(Yes we were on the roof)
Paul and I on the roof.
On Sunday, Paul and I woke up early again, so we went and ate breakfast at a 50s style diner called Lori's Diner. It was really good! After that we did a little more shopping and then met up with Dustin for lunch. We ate at a Philly style sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are served with french fries on them. (I hate to admit I ate a philly cheese steak sandwich with cole slaw and fries on top, but man it was good!) The menu clearly stated that they get offended if you alter their sandwich in anyway. So, I went along with it. After lunch we decided to rent a car to see all of the major parts of the city. This was the best idea yet, since by this point I felt like my feet might fall off.
We walked through China town on our way to the rental car shop.
First stop- Dustin's office! So, here is proof that Square does
indeed exist.
Next stop- The Giants stadium. Unfortunately they
were not in town this weekend, but it is a beautiful stadium.
After that, we wandered down to Haight Ashbury. I had no idea what this was, but it was where the big hippie movement took place. The house above is where the Grateful Dead lived.
We stopped and got some ice cream at the Ben and Jerrys at the corner of Haight and Ashbury. How appropriate, right?
We took a walk through Golden Gate Park and my gosh did we see some characters. It was almost disturbing to see the crowd that hangs out there. I guess they are trying to re-create "the movement", but wow. It sure makes you appreciate what you have, and makes you never want to do drugs that's for sure!
Our tour would not have been completed without driving over the Golden Gate Bridge. So, that is where we headed next. The next few pictures are taken from the bridge.
We headed through the rainbow tunnel (there is rainbow paraphenalia all over San Fran),
and made our way through the Muir Woods.
After a long windy drive on the side of the cliffs, we came to this gorgeous lookout point.
It was beautiful, but also freezing cold!
We drove past The Great American Music Hall.
After our tour we were WORN OUT. So, Paul and I just grabbed some dinner at the mall and went to bed early. The next day we met Dustin over at his apartment to return our rental car and go to the Oakland A's game. Since the Giants were not in town, we decided it would be fun to go to the A's game since it was such a nice day, and they were playing the Yankees. By request from the family, I took some pictures of Dustin's apartment before we left. It is very cute, and much roomier than I imagine!
The entrance way. He is aptartment 2612.
The door way. His is the far right.
The living room
The kitchen, fully equipped with a dishwasher and garbage
disposal. Apparently they are rare in the city.
Dustin's room
The A's stadium
Dustin and I at the game.
Paul and I on the Bart on the way home from the game.
After the game we went home and relaxed for a little while then wanted to take Dustin to a nice steak dinner for all of his wonderful hospitality. Plus, he bought us dinner the first night so we owed him one! We made reservations at Izzy's Steakhouse by recommendation of the concierge at the hotel. It was down by the Marina, and it was delicious! Paul and Dustin both got HUGE ribeyes and pretty much polished them off.
Outside our hotel before leaving for dinner our last night.
Paul and I outside the restaurant.
The last picture I took before we said goodbye to Dustin.
We had such a great time, and I am so glad that we made the trip. I am so proud of my brother and all that he has accomplished. It is funny how our lives have lead us in such different directions, but no matter what we will always be close. He was so sweet to buy the baby a bunch of clothes (including some Atlanta Braves gear and a Georgia Tech T-shirt). I hope that he comes to visit often, because I really want our little guy to get to know his Uncle Dustin and love him as much as I do. I can't wait until we can go back and visit again!
