San Francisco, Part 1

Morning y'all! Pardon my lack of posting the last few days, I'm in recovery.  Traveling with a toddler is like taking 8 hours of boot camp class and my little body is plum wore out.  Edward is actually a great traveler and we are very lucky that we can take him most places.  We packed a lot in to our two days in San Francisco.  It's funny because vacations with a toddler are very different than they are with just the two of us, but I've found that since I've changed my expectations and redefined what a vacation is to our family now, I've really been able to enjoy traveling in a whole new way.  It's all about fun experiences and exposing Edward to as many awesome things as we can.  Moments of quiet and relaxation are now pleasant surprises, but not part of the plan.  You can't fight your toddler's toddlerness so you might as well enjoy it, right?

Bear with me as I share a few photos from our trip, and then we'll get back to designery goodness, I promise.

We went everywhere and pretty much hit everyone's suggestions.  Below is a view of a tree just outside the California Academy of Sciences.  I know, I'm soo artsy not really.

Edward loved the feesh.  He ran through the aquarium like it was the most magical place on earth.

Of course, I had to visit the famous painted ladies.  This is what was playing in my mind as I snapped the picture: Ahhh Ahh Ahh Ahhh Ahhhhhahhhh What ever happened to predictability? The milk man, the paper boy, evening T.V. ... Everywhere you look (everywhere) There's a heart (there's a heart) A hand to hold on to. Everywhere you look (everywhere) There's a face of somebody who needs you.

We then headed to Pier 39, checked out the Sea Lions and had lunch at Fog Habor Fish House, which had great views and great food.  Sea Lions fascinate me.  They're so squishy and blubbery and they love to lie around and snuggle and yell at each other.  It reminds me a lot of my college days.  I could watch that for hours.

We walked around a bit, and I bought some chocolate at The Fudge House. It was delicious, of course.  After Pier 39, we headed to Gumps, which I'm saving for tomorrow's post - lots of blue and white! Then we had some time so we went to the Ferry Building Marketplace, where I wanted to buy everything.  I love a good farmer's market!

I found my favorite pasta sauce that I can only buy in the fall at Costco in KC.

I heat it up with chicken sausage and pour it over spaghetti and it's like the easiest, yummiest meal ever.  My friend who introduced me to it uses it as a pizza sauce with chicken sausage, carmelized onions and mozzarella, which is also amazing.  Two recipes for y'all! Boom!

That night we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to have dinner at an awesome restaurant in Sausalito  called Sushi Ran.

How gorgeous is that sunset? Not only did I have some of the best sushi I've ever had (like melt in your mouth delicious), but the atmosphere was so lovely and chill and comfortable.  Edward slept in his infant carseat/stroller contraption at the table with us -- he still hasn't reached the weight limit so as long as he sleeps in the car, I'm keeping him in it.  It was the perfect ending to a super busy day.  

Tomorrow, I'll share pictures from my trip to Gumps! It's a fabulous store!  I was in hog heaven.