We finally made it to northern California! Two weeks after returning home we are already thinking about our next visit.  Thanks to Peter and Carolyn for not only putting us up but showing us around the city.  On our first visit we visited some of the more popular destinations, sites such as Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, City Lights Books, Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury, and the Castro.

Saturday afternoon on arrival we started in Russian Hill walked around the city  enjoying great food and drinks. Sunday morning we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf to pick up some rental bikes, then we rode….  Following brunch at Greens we checked out Fort Point before riding over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We then stayed along the coast and rode over to Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury area, and the Convention Center near the Castro to check out the end of the San Francisco Pride Parade.  After dropping the bikes off in the evening we headed over to the Mission for some Mexican.  Riding around San Francisco was an excellent surprise and great way to see the city as well as a reminder to appreciate the flatter terrain in central North Carolina.

After 1 1/2 days of sight seeing we were exhausted and impressed with all the city has to offer.  On our way out of the city on Monday morning we stopped in Muir Woods just north of the bridge to see some of the majestic redwoods along the coast before heading over to Oakland for more Mexican.

On our return to San Francisco we learned our flight was bumped back a day due to the unfortunate crash at SFO during our visit.  We used this extra time to check out some of the shops along Haight, some more of Golden Gate Park, and another evening with family.  All in all in was a whirlwind visit, hopefully next time we will have some time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Next post will include some of the highlights from our three days and nights spent in Yosemite.