san francisco travel diary

For Zach's birthday we headed up to San Francisco to celebrate with friends.  It was amazing weather for this time of year so we tried to get out and do as much as we could!

We arrived late on Thursday and enjoyed dinner at NOPA.  It was completely laid back, packed and fit the bill for our late night arrival.

Friday came much too quick and since it was Zach's birthday, we headed out to explore the city.  We started our day with a drive through the Presidio to have breakfast in the Marina. From there we walked to Crissy Field to see the Golden Gate, the dog walkers, the bike riders and on this very windy day, the kite surfers. My only request for the trip was that we make it to Hayes Valley to scour all the great shops and Zach obliged.  We window shopped boutiques and antique shops until we fell upon Lunch Pad, a great sandwich shop.  Since Alamo Square Park was just a few blocks away (known for it's view of the Painted Ladies, aka where Uncle Jessie lived on Full House), we opted to take our sandwiches to-go and had an impromptu birthday picnic! After such a full day we had a low key night with margaritas and mexican fare at West of Pecos.

It was so beautiful Saturday, we crossed the bridge into Sausalito for some beers and bocce.  We soaked up the sun, had pizza, drank pitchers and played bocce.  It couldn't have been a more perfect day.  As you know, I couldn't wait to visit Bar Agricole and let me tell you, it didn't disappoint.  Dinner was second to none but no good trip would be complete without a dive bar, right?   As though it was meant to be, after our nice dinner we found ourselves in one of the city's diviest of bars, Butter. We walked in to find a Winebego inside the bar and gangster rap turned up loud, it was perfect.

Needless to say, Sunday was a struggle, but the trip was just what the doctor ordered.  A few days away from the grind spent with great friends!