Wow! What a fantastic weekend we had. We both absolutely loved San Francisco, and I think we’ll be visiting there again some time. There is so much that we didn’t get to do, but we enjoyed all the things we did have a chance to see.
HOTEL: We woke up so early because it felt like it was 2 hours later! Gotta love the time change. We stayed at the historic Hotel Majestic on Sutter Street. It’s a beautiful hotel that dates back to the 1800s. So we checked in and the clerk told us that we were upgraded to a Junior Suite! Awesome, right? Then he says, “Do you guys like ghosts?” Derrick gives me this “oh crap” look, but my eyes light up! I love spirits and haunted things, 
well nice spirits at least. We were a little bit freaked out when we went to our room because both of us tried to get the door open, and it wouldn’t open. We were literally throwing ourselves at the door, and it didn’t budge. The clerk came up and got it open so easily on the first try! He said, “See, told you. Welcome to the haunted room.” We both exchanged the “oh crap” look at that point. So we get inside, and Derrick started looking up stuff about the hotel to see if others encountered any haunted happenings. He succeeded in creeping himself out, while I was smiling and scheming about a way to get him in the morning. 
We made it through the night, and I woke up a little bit before our alarm was supposed to go off. I snuck over (a task in itself since the old floors creaked so loud) to where Derrick had laid his shirt and pants on the table. I draped his shirt over the lamp, and put his pants on the couch. (I’m kicking myself now for not getting pictures of this, but I was trying to be discreet!) Then I grabbed the couch pillows and decorative bed pillows and stacked them up in front of the door, and I snuck back into bed. 
When we woke up it took everything I had to not laugh or look over to the “scene of the crime”. Derrick saw the shirt first, and asked me why I put it over there. I told him over and over that I didn’t do it, and I played it up so good! I acted freaked out, then he walked over to the bathroom and saw the pillows! That was hilarious because he jumped back. After reassuring him several time that I was not “F***ing with him”, he said, “Oh my God, this place is really haunted!” At that point I could not pretend anymore. I started laughing and cheering that my plot worked! He laughed too, and now we’ll always be trying to one-up each other on the pranks. This is the first time I’ve ever really pranked him and gotten away with it. One point, Steff!
DAY ONE- CITY TOUR: After we calmed down from the excitement of the morning, we got ready to catch our shuttle to the tour office for our San Francisco City Tour. The weather was pretty chilly, and silly me only packed a jean jacket. Thank goodness I was smart enough to pack a scarf! I was really excited about the city tour because the info I read said we’d be making several stops for photo opportunities, and that we’d be seeing everything I wanted to see. That was not the case unfortunately. It was pretty much 3 hours of listening to an annoying tour guide who thought he was funny, but really he was the only one laughing! We pretty much just drove around and saw everything from the bus window. But I guess this wasn’t so bad, since it was cold! We did stop at the Golden Gate Bridge and a lookout spot to see the view of the entire city. I got several pictures of the bridge and the city, so I’d say it was an ok tour overall!
DAY ONE- ALACATRAZ: Derrick loved Alcatraz! It was so awesome to see the old prison. We took a ferry across the bay over to the island, and as we got closer the chills just went down my spine. It was a little bit eery to me to think that this place was the highest security prison in the nation back in the 1930s to 60s. Some of the famous villians were housed there like Al Capone and the Bird Man. The tour of this place was very interesting, and we listened along with an audio tape narrated by guards who worked there and some of the prisoners themselves. We walked through the cell blocks and got a great look at a day in the life of a prisoner at Alcatraz. We also learned about the escape attempts, and saw and felt bullet holes on the walls and floor from one of the big uproars between the inmates and the guards. This tour thoroughly made up for the not so great city tour earlier in the day.
DAY TWO: On the second day, we decided to see the things we had hoped to see on the bus tour. We also wanted to ride the cable car, so we found information for a route that would drop us off near Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. We had to walk about 14 blocks from our hotel to buy our tickets for the cable car, and we ended up walking through Union Square, which was awesome! We had driven by there on the bus tour, and I saw these painted hearts on the corners. I really wanted a picture of them, but of course through the bus window, that wasn’t possible. I’m a freak about hearts, maybe because I was born on Valentine’s Day, but I was so excited to see that we had to walk through the square to get to the ticket office. 
We got our pictures then walked the rest of the way to get the tickets. I loved the cable car. It reminded me of Full House! I know, I know, that is so cheesy, but I lived and breathed that show when I was little. We got seats right in the front, and I was able to get pictures of some great views. We got off the cable car and walked around the Wharf for a while. First, we visited Pier 39 to watch the sea lions. They were hilarious. 
Some were lazy, others were very territorial, and the little ones were playing. Next, we did a little bit of shopping and had a smoothie. Derrick bought me a hat, and we bought some other souvenirs. 
Then we made our way over to Ghirardelli Square for lunch and dessert. We ate at a cool little place called Lori’s Diner. It was decorated 50s style and had lots of vintage coke machines and gas pumps to look at. We both had hamburgers which were very good, and Derrick had some amazing garlic fries. We didn’t eat too much though because a hot fudge sundae at the ice cream shop was calling our name! Let me tell you, that ice cream was heavenly. It was so neat to be inside the factory where they make the chocolate. It smelled so sweet and delicious in there. They should make chocolate scented candles because I think I’d buy at least a dozen! After the ice cream, we grabbed a cab back to the hotel. We took a nap then went out for dinner, or at least we tried to go out. I recommend booking your dinner reservations in advance with your hotel if you travel to San Francisco otherwise you’ll be looking at a 2 hour wait! We didn’t want to wait that long, so we walked back to the hotel and ate at their cafe’, then we called it a night.
Overall, this was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken together. It rates up there with our honey moon to St. Lucia. We laughed a lot and had so much fun together. We succeeded in not thinking about anything other than us, and we left all other things at home. Makes for a great vacation when you can do that!
Yummy Cilantro Lime Rice!
Awesome!!! You are good at this blog thing. I hope to take trips like this with my husband….hopefully at least once a year for the anniversary…..oooooh i get to say that now….yay!!!! Cant wait for the next post.
Thanks Rena! You’d be good at a blog too
I hope you do get to go on trips like this. It is great bonding time! Love you deary!
It was a great time!! I love the blog baby! Keep up the good work.