SF sweetness

one of my favorite things about san francisco

is that i can visit the ghirardelli shops

we love their little chocolate square samples

and

stacey and i LOVE their white mochas

so we visited often

this eventually led to a bigger treat at ghirardelli square

it's probably good it was a short trip ;)

los banditos

as part of our bus trip

we were given tickets to a 7D interactive game/movie

we chose to take on a group of robots

i'd say that we were highly successful

taking 4 of the top 5 spots

and drew winning it all

just thought i'd let you know ...

if and when the world is being overtaken by robots

you want to be on our team

the rock

one of the boys favorite stops

and one they've been talking about ever since our trip

was alcatraz

we weren't sure what they would think about it at first

but they LOVED it

we started out our tour exploring the outside areas of the island

and then made our way in to the actual prison itself

we were each given headphones that directed us around

and gave us facts as we explored -

something that the boys thought was cool was that

the narration is done by some of alcatraz's famous criminals

we explored their cells

their outside rec area -

which is very windy and cold

the solitary confinement area -

D block

and learned all about what daily life was like for a prisoner.

we heard details about escape attempts

and the 3 prisoners who actually did make it out

the place is incredibly interesting -

and does offer great views of san francisco ;)

but being there is very eerie

and i'm VERY glad we were just visiting

pier 39

another of the places that i was excited to show the boys

was pier 39

where else do you see a whole group of sea lions

just hanging out ...

wrestling ...

barking ...

while in town

we visited a few times - 

and each time the sea lions gave us a different show -

one of the times we even got a show of a different kind ...

cheap entertainment AND a way to be out in the sun

win.  win.

golden gate beauty

when the boys found out we were going to san francisco

one of the things they were MOST excited for

was the golden gate bridge

lucky for them

they got to see it a few times

AND

they got to ride over it a few times as well

despite the crazy wind on and near the bridge

the boys had their phones out attempting to take pictures - 

so excited to post and share it with their friends

we even attempted a few family shots

i don't love san francisco for the temperatures ...

and there are other parts of the city i could do without -

but the things like this

that can't be duplicated anywhere else

THEY

are what made this trip.