Screw It! Let's Go to SF!

So, last Friday night, we were all at the mall shopping for nothing in particular. Just trying to kill the time. Your dad got a brilliant idea and asked your mom if she'd just like to randomly go to San Francisco for the weekend. Of course your mom said yes, so an hour later we had packed the car and we were on our way to the city. Luckily, we recently purchased an in-car DVD player for you. So, we spent most of the trip listening to Barney sing songs about loving everybody. They call a lead character like that family programming. We call that a slut. But, regardless, it kept you quite on the 2 hour drive to the city.

Upon our arrival, we went straight for Fisherman's Wharf and spent entirely too much money for some good seafood. But, it hit the spot, and made us all tired enough to retire at the Westin St. Francis hotel right on Union Square. We scored a good rate online and had an antique looking room, which was actually quite cool. After we all danced around in our underwear for a bit, we hit the hay and called it a day.

The next day we woke up and strolled up the street to find a good breakfast. We found a good joint on the corner and barely fit into the restaurant with your stroller. A few coffees, eggs, and yogurts later, we were on our way to check out Nob Hill.

After quite a hike up the hilly streets of San Francisco, you played at a park left over from 1950's. No soft plastic here, everything was metal. Good thing you didn't fall. We then checked out the huge cathedral on Nob Hill (whose name eludes me right now), and you had fun running around the church while your mom and I discussed the feasibility of elements of the Da Vinci code. Maybe Christ was never "born again"...maybe he just had a son who was "born." Hmmm...I guess we'll never know.

After that, we were off to North Beach for some quality Italian food. We continued our streak of shitty service with good food at the Stinking Rose. This place was all about Garlic. Their menu even said, "We flavor our garlic with food." They had the best garlic bread ever and some good ravioli. After leaving an EXTREMELY small tip, we were off to the Aquarium at Pier 39.

You fell in love with the sardines at Pier 39, but unfortunately that was the first exhibit. So, the rest of the aquarium was kind of downhill. But, we did enjoy watching mommy freak out during the shark exhibit. Sharks aren't exactly mom's favorite friends.

After molesting some starfish, we were off to Pier 39, where mom and dad bought hats for our upcoming Hawaii trip. You were like, "screw this!" and fell asleep, so we wheeled you up to the nearby (OK...we found out it wasn't THAT nearby) Ghirardelli square. Dad was expecting a mall of chocolate (think Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory), but was disappointed to find just a bunch of boutique shops. With no chocolate in hand, we took off for "The Cliffhouse."

Your dad is proud to have his favorite restaurant named after him. So, we took the 30-40 minute drive to the other end of SF to have a very very very late dinner at the Cliffhouse. Dinner was oh so damn good. If anyone wants the best crabcakes and salmon in the world, then you know where to go. No, we're not talking about Sizzler here. After getting drunk and full, it was time to go home as dad was too cheap to throw down for another night at a hotel.

You were a little cranky on the way home, but we made it back safe and sound. And, for heading to the city with no plans, everything turned out quite well. Maybe we didn't get a bunch of chocolate, and maybe the food was a bit overpriced, but time hanging out as a family with no agenda: that's priceless!