whatever happened to predictability

when venturing to SF, there are a few "must see" stops. we missed about half of them- but the ones we did see were oh-so-great. here is everything we managed to squeeze into one day...

THE BRIDGE

did i mention it was freezing? it is worth mentioning again.

little vi was all wrapped up the entire time we viewed the orange beauty. (or is it red...?) this is the best shot we could get of the burrito baby.

while vi and i huddled together for warmth, cade enjoyed using his zoom lens on the camera to take pictures of all the other tourists. this fam looked like fun.

LOMBARD STREET

we rode down it three times... even after reading this sign:

the caravan knows no rules.

really though, the flowers were so pretty, the homes were so cute and the neighborhood was charming.

CHINATOWN

after quite the parking dilemma, we finally found chinatown in all its glory.

violet made friends with these ladies in the store where we all bought a jacket or two to keep warm. they loved her... in fact, they loved her so much, they even remembered to put on gloves before holding her. i appreciate a good germ-a-phobe when i meet one.

after a little shopping, we ate at the famous nanking restaurant for our chinese experience. soooo yummy. oh-so-yummy.

THE PAINTED LADIES

i love full house. i know all the characters, i commonly reference episodes in order to solve everyday problems and i have always wanted to go to the park from the opening credits of the show. well... wish granted.

all my full house dreams came true. cade and i ran through the park hand in hand while i giggled like a child. we also sat down to a pretend picnic, just to make it more legit. meanwhile, violet and grandpa patiently waited in the car for me to get my fill of full house love. thanks, you two.

BASEBALL

the giants were playing away games while we were visiting, but luckily the bay area has two teams to enjoy. we all bundled up and headed out to an a's game. it was a PERFECT game to watch. there was a little of everything in the game: double plays, pickles, homeruns, a balk, extra innings and more.

cade had contacted guest services beforehand and told them that my dad is a huge a's fan (not true) and that he had been saving up for years to take his entire family to see the game (also not true) and that he would love to have a little recognition for all his loyalty to the club (for sure not true). well, they sure did give us all a welcome! here is cade with one of the ambassadors they sent to greet us, seat us and woo us with swag.

meanwhile, my dad hid behind a pair of binoculars. he didn't want any part in this whole recognition thing.

so there you have it: all this packed into one day. the best part is, we woke up the next day and did it all again (with new sites, of course)....