Take Me Home, San Francisco

San Fran is obviously a must-see if you're going to be in this part of California.  We didn't plan to stay super long.  We did want to experience the city, see the Golden Gate Bridge, and visit the Marine Mammal Center (at Jonah's request).  We were staying about an hour outside the city limits.

We started the day at the Marine Mammal Center.

This is the view from the parking lot.  Seriously.

 

It was totally doable in under thirty minutes.  We spent most of our time there in the gift shop.  The kids got matching t-shirts featuring seals and sea-lions.

The cool part was the viewing area, where you could see baby elephant seals in re-hab.  I didn't take a photo, because they were distant and behind a fence, but we could see them, hear them, and watch them as they nuzzled one another and took dips in their pools.  

Afterward, we headed for down town, across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I called my mom while we were crossing and sent her pictures as we went.

We took our lives into our hands and drove down Lombard Street.

Then we headed to the wharf area and Pier 39.

 

We decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe.  Which means we've done Hard Rock as a family in Orlando, San Antonio, and now San Fran.  I find that a very cool mix.

I experienced the most satisfying macaroni and cheese on the face of the earth + shrimp and mashed potatoes. 

And we were finished.

We didn't see all the sites, but we left when we needed to, before everyone got insanely tired - and that made for the best sort of day.