Hello everyone! You're in for another long post so it's time to jump straight into our San Francisco adventures!

We drove straight from Monterey to our AirBnb in San Rafael. Our host was the absolute sweetest and super helpful with any questions or concerns we had. After getting settled in with our stuff and the space, we grabbed a quick lunch before going to Muir Woods National Monument. The temperature in this area was in the low 60s and if you know me, that's freezing. Luckily, I was prepared with my flannel and jacket.

There were signs all along the main trail asking visitors to walk quietly and enjoy nature. And that we did. We made sure to take our time so that we could really observe our surrounds and take it all in. Muir Woods was such a peaceful place, I definitely recommend making the stop here if you're in San Francisco.


We left Muir Woods to head up to the peak of Mount Tamalpais. The drive up was spent going through winding roads and we were surrounded by the low hanging clouds. We finally got up to the top and HOLY COW, Y'ALL! The views from up here were absolutely incredible. At this point, we were high above the clouds and the sun was shining so bright. It was such a drastic change from the drive up. We spent some time exploring Mount Tam before heading out for dinner.



After dinner, we took a drive up to Santa Rosa so that Lyle could go check out a brewery he's been dying to visit, Russian River Brewing Company. He was so excited and this was probably his favorite part of the entire trip.


Tuesday was our only full day in San Francisco so of course we had to fit as much in as we could. First stop of the day: Marin Headlands. Of course, there's tons of people trying to get their view of the bridge so there was no parking. We drove a little further into the headlands and got a nice peaceful view of the bridge all to ourselves. We spotted whales here as well! We saw so much marine life over the past few days and it was incredible.




We went on to explore the rest of the area. Turns out there was a bunch of bunkers and barracks from The Cold War set up to protect the bay against any foreign invaders at that time. It was really cool seeing nature grow into the history of the area.


Once we finished exploring the headlands and Golden Gate, we were starving, so we went to 4505 Burgers & BBQ. Holy...you guys, the food here was so delicious. Lyle and Russell ordered burgers and I ordered a brisket sandwich. I have not had such good BBQ since leaving Texas. It was so satisfying of my BBQ craving. I highly recommend it! After lunch, we stopped by the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square since we were right around the corner. If you don't know what the Painted Ladies are, they're the "Full House" houses.


Next, we went to Pier 39. I had actually visited San Francisco when I was 17 and I remember going to all these places. It was fun to do it all again though! We checked out the aquarium, walked around a bit and of course, we had to check out the infamous seals!


We decided to move on to check out what was going on at Haight-Ashbury. On our way there, we took a small detour and drove on the famous Lombard Street. There were so many tourists taking pictures and standing in the middle of the street! They were really stressing Lyle out. After that, we finally got to Haight-Ashbury. Despite our sunny day out at Pier 39, Haight-Ashbury was very foggy. Coincidentally, this is where all the hippies live. We checked out some shops and got to explore around the neighborhood before we realized we could catch the end of the Spurs game. We ended up at a bar and, sadly, watched our boys take a loss.


Lyle's friend, Nick, recommended pizza for dinner at Little Star. The place was small, cozy and dark and not too busy. We couldn't decide what kind of pizza to order, so we went with trusty ol' pepperoni. The pizza was super tasty and the crust was perfectly crunchy.


After that delicious dinner, we went on to meet Lyle's friend Nick. He was really sweet and welcoming. He showed us his great view of the Bay from his balcony and talked with him for a few hours. We really got to know the guy who has half of Lyle's heart. (Side note: they play video games together pretty much everyday. That's how they know each other.) We headed back to our place as Nick had to work the next morning.

Wednesday morning we woke up, packed up our things and thanked our AirBnb hosts for everything. We grabbed some breakfast at a little cafe, which was AMAZING, and then went to Fort Point for our last bit of exploring the Golden Gate Bridge. At this point, we had pretty much seen it from every angle. It never gets old though.


We then headed to the Palace of the Fine Arts to see what was there. We pretty much just walked around the little pond, which was nice for Sadie to stretch her little puppy legs. There were swans in the pond and one snapped at her! She made sure to stay away from the water after that.


After that, we went to Four Barrel Coffee in Mission District. If you know me, you know I love trying new coffee places and this place was an A+ on my list. If you're ever in the area and need some fuel, definitely check this place out!


From there, we went on to Twin Peaks. No, not the restaurant! It's a centrally located natural area that rises more than 920 feet! It's the second tallest peak in the city. The view was absolutely incredible! You had a panoramic view of the entire city and the bay area. We first climbed the peak and holy moly the wind was insane. I honestly thought I was going to be blown away. Then, we went down to the main vista point where plenty of others were gathered. We chilled out, snapped a few pics and then were on our way back to good ol' LA. Lucky us that we had a local to give us some bomb recommendations. Thanks, Nick!

Next up, I'll spill all about how my actual birthday went, so be sure to check back for that! Thanks again for tuning in!