California Road Trip Day 1 - San Francisco

Getting ready and out the door for an eight day trip to California for our little family of four required days of planning and organizing.  After we booked our flights earlier in the spring, we realized that someone needed to go ahead to pick up the van during normal business hours.  The best choice was Craig, and even though it worked out great that he could be there to pick us up from the airport, I desperately needed his help in the final hours to get out the door!  The weather forecast wasn't necessarily in our favor, so we strategically went through each day and planned a daily wardrobe for Craig and the girls...the girls' clothes were bagged and labeled by the day...hair bow and all.  I, on the other hand, started filling my suitcase at 2:45...15 minutes before Billy and Marilyn were scheduled to pick us up for the airport.

My last minute luck continued when we arrived very late for our connecting flight in Dallas.  The rest of the group rushed off the plane, hurried to the bathroom and got to the gate and immediately had to board.  I went straight to the Chick-fil-A line to get everyone dinner.  The line barely moved, I heard final calls over the loud speaker, Mom and Chesley were texting me to hurry, but by golly, we all needed some food, and I was bound and determined to make it.  Everyone was staring at me as I ran through the airport with an arm full of Chick-fil-A and panic on my face...and just by the skin of my teeth, I made it!  I would argue that those were the best waffle fries I've ever eaten! 

Meanwhile, Craig arrived in San Francisco with plenty of time to pick up the van and go the Braves vs. the Giants baseball game before picking us up...bless his heart!  ❤️ No, seriously, I am actually glad he could go to the game, just slightly irritated that I had such a stressful start to our trip and he didn't!  We were all waiting on the side walk when he pulled up to get us, and Amma almost peed in her pants laughing at him driving our van.  I knew what to expect because I had booked it, but to someone with no expectations, an empty, 15 passenger transit van looked pretty ridiculous and over the top.

I'm not going to say much about our hotel in San Rafael, other than it was pretty "meh!" The whole crew loved the breakfast, but the fountain Diet Coke was it's only saving grace in my book.  We spent two nights there while we toured San Francisco.

Day 1 of our California Road Trip was crammed full with all the quintessential tourist attractions in San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, Painted Ladies, Full House, Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli, Pier 39, sea lions, a night tour of Alcatraz, and lots and lots of eating!

I always say that these trips are a way to see a little bit of each place, and one day we can go back and really experience the places that we love the most.  After our very full day in San Francisco, I'm gonna just go ahead and mark it off my list of future vacation destinations.  It was neat to experience, but now that we've experienced it...I'm good!