6:00AM alarms rang, and we all crawled from our comfy beds
(the first real bed Dave and Alex had in weeks). Once dressed, we hopped in Kevin and Sam’s
rental car, and made our way towards Muir Woods National Monument for some
hiking. Along the way, we made a
pit-stop at a roadside coffee and bakery to fuel our adventure.
After driving up the long and winding road to the parking
lot, we quickly found a place to park in the nearly empty parking lot. After Sam helped Kevin prep his feet for the
day, we started to hike along of the paved paths in the cool, damp air. The weather was a welcome change from the
scorching heat and sun of Yosemite. We
pieced together several different trails to form about a 6-mile loop around the
park. We enjoyed a leisurely hike,
drinking coffee and snapping pictures along the way. When we found ourselves back in the parking lot,
it looked vastly different than it did when we left. The lot, as well as the extra lots, were now
completely full of car and tour buses.
As usual, we were thankful we chose an early start!
Back in the car, we headed south towards San Francisco, stopping before reaching the Golden Gate Bridge to take some pictures. Once in the city, we found a place to park, and spent some time in the Prana store before heading to Roam Artisian Burgers for a delicious lunch. Alex suggested taking a walk to see the “Painted Ladies” which were about a mile away. After taking some pictures, we settled in the grass of the park across the street to figure out what to do with the remainder of the afternoon. We decided to move the car closer to the Pier 39 area. Securing a parking spot, we meandered around the shops and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. We decided to walk through the crazy masses of people in the “boardwalk” type area towards Pier 39 to see the sea lions. Sadly, we arrived there to find out it was the wrong time of year… and there were no sea lions to be seen.
The Painted Ladies
Alcatraz
We all decided we were ready to head back to the car and
head back towards the hotel.
Unfortunately, we were hitting rush hour traffic. As we moved along, we started to think about
dinner. As we all began searching, Alex suggested
a Mexican restaurant, Taqueria La Bamba, that was about a mile away. Fortunately, the needed exit was just ahead,
but involved crossing 5 lanes of traffic.
Thanks to evasive driving maneuvers by Dave, we made it off the exit and into
the parking lot. The building was not
much to look at, but inside we were served delicious vegetarian burritos and
the best shrimp quesadilla we ever had!
With full bellies and leftovers for later, we headed to the car and back
to the hotel. Kevin and Sam would be
flying home tomorrow, so we spent the remainder of the evening packing up and
relaxing.
