Brownie Mom: San Francisco

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities to visit. It is known for its ability to capture your heart, and it did just that. The last weekend in July, Ben, Lizzy, and I flew down to San Francisco to spend the weekend. We left Friday morning, and returned Monday evening. We met the Carling Family who had driven down and were already enjoying some baseball games and tourist attractions. The main purpose of our weekend get away, was to cheer on Brent and Alysha as they ran in the San Francisco Marathon.

Our first day, we visited Fisherman's Wharf, where we enjoyed browsing the streets, and shops, and spent the early afternoon on a bay cruise. This cruise was the perfect way to see the breathtaking San Francisco city skyline, Alcatraz Island, and travel under the Golden Gate Bridge. As our spectacular cruise concluded we were able to watch the Sea Lions that had taken over a boat dock basking in the sun.

Muir Woods is only a 30 minute drive from the city, and was our next destination. It is quite the contrast from the hustle and bustle of city life, to the quite, serene mountainside. Muir Woods is a National Forest, with trails and walkways that are lined with aged redwood trees ranging from 400 to 800 years old. Some are small in size, with the tallest over 250 feet tall. The sunlight glimmering through the trees, and the peaceful stream is a spectacular sight.

When you reach Cathedral Grove, there is a quite area where visitors are asked to remain silent. It is recommended that you listen to the sounds of nature as you walk along the path. We were able to hear the sounds of nature as well as watch deer and other wild life frolic in the preserve.

Lambard Street was our next source of entertainment. Cory drove us down this steep one-way street, with eight sharp turns making it one of the crookedest streets in the world. The design was chosen to reduce the hill's natural grade which is way to steep for most vehicles. Thankfully Cory took it slow and easy down this famous San Francisco street.

Day two began at Alamo Square Park. This park resides at the top of a hill overlooking much of downtown San Francisco. The streets are lined with beautifully architectural large homes. If you have ever watched Full House, you can find the house used in the TV series close by. Shay and Lizzy enjoyed grabbing a photo at this memorable landmark.

Visiting the Apple Campus was next on our agenda. It is located just outside of SF in Cupertino. Unfortunately, it was closed on Saturday, so we quickly moved on to our next destination….Google.

The Googleplex is located near San Jose. I was pleasantly surprised by their kid-friendly environment. The kids rode the brightly-colored bikes available for tourist around their campus. We explored the reception area, and took pictures of the dessert statues. Maybe there was one little green robot among the desserts, I might have just been a little hungry.

Our last stop was Stanford University. What a beautiful campus! Stanford University is one of the most reputable universities in the world. Stanford's undergraduate program is one of the most selective in the country. Since, it is unlikely any of our kids will be attending there, sorry kids, we visited instead. We spent most of our time roaming the grounds, and finding souvenirs in the book store. I loved strolling through the stunning cathedral walkways with the sun beaming through the archways. It is a beautiful campus.

Marathon Day was of course our favorite day, and the reason for our trip. The San Francisco Marathon starts on the Embarcadero and continues through many tourist attractions such as Fisherman's Wharf, across the Golden Gate Bridge (and back), through Golden Gate Park. It is a loop course, so once you pass behind AT&T Park you are almost done. Runners must be able to complete the 26 mile course in under 6 hours to qualify as an official finisher.

Us non-marathon runners, woke up much later than the marathon runners, watched the production of a movie in front of our hotel, had a leisurely breakfast, and walked down to the end of the marathon. We thought we would be able to watch and cheer for Brent and Alysha along the way, but taking a car anywhere during the marathon was not a good idea.

Unfortuatenly, Alysha had a medical problem, and was warned by the marathon medical team not to continue after they treated her. She completed the half marathon before she was told to stop, and was able to receive a metal. We were so proud of her. She is such an ambitious young lady.

We were all waiting by the finishing line, as Brent completed the marathon. Both Brent and Alysha were running in honor of their mother who passed away in January. Their family had T-Shirts made with the nick names Angie had for each one of them printed on it, as well as the date she passed, and Team Angie. They proudly wore these shirts honoring their mother and Brent's wife. It was a tender moment watching them at the finish line together. We were so proud of them!

We walked from the end of the marathon back up to our hotel. Pretty impressive for those that just finished running. Once our marathon runners recovered, we ventured out to China Town, and walked, and shopped around town. Ben loved China Town with all it's junky trinkets. He begged me to let him buy a harmonica. Being a seasoned mom, and owner of a recorder (school requirement), there was not a chance I was going to let that happen.

Evenings in San Francisco are absolutely wonderful. It is such a busy, beautiful city. I loved walking around town, and basking in the ambience. The kids took off shopping together and Brent and I walked through the city. One evening we were walking through Union Square and happened upon a basketball hoop event. We watched as the experts took to the hoops. It was pretty impressive.

After dinner one night, Brent and I went shopping with Shay. We were able to catch a ride from the cable car on our way home. You can't visit San Francisco without riding a cable car. It was such a treat to ride and an excellent way to make our way up the steep street to our hotel.

Our last day, we rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a cooler day, which was perfect for riding bikes. The views from a top the bridge were spectaular. We were able to see San Francisco's city skyline, the beautiful town of Sausalito, Alcatraz Island, and the Bay waterfront.

We had a wonderful time in San Francisco, and as the saying goes, "I left my heart in San Francisco." We hope to return soon.