Cody's Aunt Rae just opened a restaurant, bar and dance hall in Winston, Oregon called The Double R. We really want to check out the place so we decided to stop there on our way down. We ate dinner, had a couple drinks, Aunt Rae took us on a tour of the place and we even jumped in on a line dance lesson. It was a lot of fun! We crashed at Aunt Rae's place and got up early next morning to continue making the drive south.
Spending time with Aunt Rae at The Double R:
Our signature dip on the dance floor:
We decided to take the scenic route 101 and check out the Redwood Forest. We stopped at this huge 750 year old Redwood Tree...
...Then Drove through it!
The Redwoods were pretty impressive. We continued our drive and happened to see a sign that read "Elk Viewing Area". We were surprised to see so may elk, so close up!
After a total of 13 hours on the road, we made it to our destination! We checked into our room at The San Remo Hotel. A very unique hotel with lots of history and character. Our room was small and cozy but it was all we needed. We figured we would be busy checking out the big city that we wouldn't be in our room much!
After dinner on our 1st night, we hiked up Lombard Street to check out the famous crooked street. This isn't the best photo because it was dark out, but we didn't get a chance to snap a day time photo:
The next morning, we rented some bikes and went on a bike ride. We were told bike path to the Golden Gate bridge was only 10% uphill and the rest was a flat ride. We think it was more like 30% uphill! A lot of people got off their bikes and walked uphill, but not us! We pushed through it and made the climb and got a great workout. Once we crossed the bridge, we turned around and headed back to Fishermans Wharf.
Apparently, the bike ride wasn't enough exercise for us. So, before heading to lunch we decided to hike up to Coit Tower. We planned on going up it, but the line was long and our tummy's were grumbling. We took a few pictures and read up on the history of the beautiful monument.
As all tourist do, we had to explore Fisherman's Wharf. We saw street performers, musicians, artist and the list goes on. The street was full of creative locals looking to make some extra cash any way they could. One guy even hid behind some tree branches, positioned himself up against a garbage can and would scare street walkers as they walked by. It was amusing to watch people's reactions to his scare. He drew quite the crowd before he ran out with his "tip bucket" assuring people he deserved money for entertaining them.
Courtney made us dinner reservations at the San Francisco McCormicks (she works in their corporate office). She told us that they would take care of us and they sure did! We got the VIP treatment!! They personalized our menu's (see below), sat us in a booth that over looked the bay, took our picture and printed it onto magnet that said "Happy Anniversary!", they comped our drinks, appetizer, dessert and gave us 50%off our entrees. It was a great dinner experience. Chelsea even ordered swordfish (and liked it!!).
We figured we couldn't go to San Francisco without seeing a drag show! Chelsea was excited for Cody to experience his first drag show. It didn't turn out to be quite the experience Chelsea hoped for...
Lets just say that it was a dive bar for the retired divas! This diva was 75 years old (and others where in their 60's!)...
We did a little exploring in the Haight Ashbury District. On our way we stopped at Alamo Square to check out "The Painted Ladies". Beautiful homes and a gorgeous view:
After people watching in Haight Ashbury, we walked through the Golden Gate Park (which covers 1013 acres and is larger than New York City's Central Park). We walked the length of the park and ended up at Ocean Beach. It was a beautiful day to relax on the beach. We even met a 5 year old who gave us tips on building a sand castle and later asked if we would adopt him. It was too cute.
We both brought our running clothes and shoes with us but never once put them on. We did so much walking (and riding) that by the end of the day we were exhausted. San Francisco is really an active city.
For our last evening in San Fran, we sat near the bay, ate ice cream and watched the sunset over the Golden Gate. It was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
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