The first day I was there, Sean and I drove to Yosemite National Park and we hiked Glacier Point and Vernal Falls. First, a few tips: there are not any gas stations at the entrance of Yosemite, you may want to fill up at a town before reaching the park and the cost to get into Yosemite is $30. The views from Glacier Point were stunning! This was a rather short "hike," that was about .2 miles in total... from the parking lot. If you don't go to this stop early in the morning, you will be waiting a while to park. The lot is a one way road and everyone vies for the front row. After parking, you will be walking past a visitor center, many children running around with popsicles, and people who think this will be a trek of a hike with their camelback backpacks on and ready to disperse water. We continued our "hike" to the overlook for Half Dome and were in awe with its magnitude.
After taking in the views at Glacier Point, Sean and I drove to Vernal Falls. Again, because we got there in the afternoon, we were fighting with traffic most of the way and it took us a while to park. After we found a spot, we walked to the trail head. I didn't know what the hike would be like, but now that I know, I can share it with you. It isn't a terribly difficult trail if you are one who practices cardio workouts regularly, but for those who do not... you will be taking a break... or ten.
Vernal Falls is about 2.1 miles one way on a steep incline. The trail is well maintained, which helps with its difficulty. The first half of the trail is simply the steep incline. Sean was laughing at me because rather than taking in the sites on this portion of the trail, I was using it as a workout. I was keeping a consistent pace. I was walking up the steep incline like a boss. About halfway through the trail, there is a "rest stop" with a water fountain and sink. We stopped here to take in the sights.
The next half of the trail was just as, if not steeper as the first half. The difference on this portion would be the steps made out of rock to help you get to the top. This was nature's very own, man-made stair master. Again, people were stopping and taking breaks whenever they could. Sean and I only took breaks when I wanted to take pictures of the water falls.
When we got to the top of the hike, we found ourselves at the top of the waterfall. It was very calm and peaceful. We hopped over on some rocks and relaxed for about an hour. Sean carved our initials into a log that everyone seems to do. We ate a snack and watched the clouds change shape. This moment was perhaps my favorite part of the hike. Where we were wasn't so busy and we were able to simply enjoy the outdoors.
When we decided to hike back down the mountain, I found my "uphill battle." The incline was just as steep as before and with no hand rails to assist you in case you were to slip. Furthermore, the waterfall would splash its water onto the rock stairs, causing them to become more and more slick. If you know me, or any woman in my family, you know that we are not the most graceful when it comes to things like this, or just walking on flat land. I was nervous. Sean knows this about me and allowed me to use him as my hand rail. It may not have been the safest or most efficient means of getting down, but it worked.
The next morning, Sean and I made our way to San Francisco, a three hour drive from Fresno. Because we were meeting up with his sister and brother-in-law, we just drove around downtown to kill some time. We drove along the bay and saw the piers. We made our way inland and were greeted by Chinatown.
The first stop the four of us saw together was Lombard Street. Unfortunately, we didn't drive down the road, but that was because at the time of day that we were there, there was an enormously long line. It was just as nice to walk down the sides of the street so we can take pictures. The entire way down all of us kept saying that it would be awful to live in one of these houses that line Lombard. You get no privacy and you can't enter the street or your driveway without a traffic cop allowing you to enter through the crowd of tourists wanting pictures.
After Lombard Street, the four of us met up with a couple of friends at The Plant Café Organic. Apparently (from their website), there are multiple locations, but the one we went to was on Pier 3. The Plant prides itself on using organic produce and meats and being as eco friendly as possible. Their menu is seasonal, but always has food that can satisfy all appetites. Sean and I ordered the Plant Burger and Margherita Pizza. The table had a few sides: Shiitake Spring Rolls and Crab Cake. For dessert we ate the Banana Bread Pudding.
After dinner, our group went walking around to find a good spot to watch the fireworks show to celebrate the 4th. Before getting to our spot, we went into a candy shop, Z. Cioccolato, and loaded up on some sugar.
We then walked up a steep hill to Coit Tower, which overlooked the Bay. Though we weren't ther to visit Coit Tower, its history is rather interesting. Coit Tower was built between 1932-1933 in honor of firemen who died while helping put out several fires in the area. The tower is built with three concrete cylindars, one built inside the other. This serves as not only a viewing area for the bay, but also houses murals at this historic site.
San Francisco's 4th of July fireworks show is rated amongst the top in the country, and unfortunately, I still wouldn't know. There was a little issue of fog that covered the bay. Essentially, we saw clouds light up into different colors and watched the fireworks fall from beneath the fog layer. Whenever I say this to anyone, their first reaction is "cool." I disagree, however, because I was there and we literally couldn't see anything. What I did like is that there were two shows going on simultaneously so more people can watch them from more locations.
The next day, the group drove out of the Bay specifically to eat at Howard's Station Café. On our way out, we stopped by the 16th Ave Tiled Steps. Inspired by the decorated steps in the Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, these 163 steps stand proud facing the Bay in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, a project that began in 2003. How did I hear about these steps you may ask? Well....... Pinterest. Yep! That's right. I know I have seen them on TV once or twice, but I never knew they were in San Francisco. So, when I knew that I was visiting the city, San Francisco was put into my search and the steps just popped up. Yes, the steps themselves are beautiful, but the view over the Bay that can be seen from the top is equally as amazing!
Howard's Station Café can be found in a small town called Occidental, CA. The background on how this Café got it's name is rather interesting. This is the story from its website:
"“Dutch Bill” Howard was not Dutch, nor was his name William Howard. He was in fact, a Danish sailor named Christopher Thornassen Folkmann, born in 1823. Folkmann was serving as an able bodied seaman on the U.S. Ship St. Mary, which dropped anchor in San Francisco Bay in 1849. Unable to resist the lure of California’s recently discovered goldfields, Folkmann jumped ship, stole a small boat and headed north, somehow acquiring an unclaimed timbered plateau that was to become the site of Occidental.
In the early 1870’s, when the North Pacific Coast narrow-gauge railroad was proposed, Howard granted the railroad company a free right of way through his property. In return, he was granted a free, lifetime railroad pass (the train often stopped at his gate for him), and the railroad station was marked with a sign which read “Howard’s.”"Howard's serves fresh, organic food with a variety to serve all appetites. Sean and I shared the Howard's Homemade Granola with fresh fruit and yogurt and The Californian burger with avocado, tomato, and sprouts, served with "fresh-cut" french fries. They have very specific lunch hours and will make you wait if you want lunch for breakfast and will not serve breakfast for lunch. Also, make sure you have some cash on hand as they don't take cards.
On our way back to San Francisco, I demanded Sean stop at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge so I could snap some photos. There are many places you can go to see the bridge, but we went to Battery Spencer Park, giving us San Francisco in the backdrop. The Bridge got its name from early settlers who referred to strit leading into San Francisco as "Chrysopylae," or "Golden Gate." Why golden? This was the time of the California Gold Rush.
Our last day in San Francisco wasn't really spent in the city. We left early in the morning to drive down Highway 1 to Big Sur. The place we got out to walk around was McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I can honestly say this place may be the most striking site I have ever seen. Though you get a taste of it from the pictures, they don't do it any justice. There is a hike around the area so you can catch the views. We only went a portion of the way, along the beach. Take a look at these shots!
Well, I would say that is a great first trip to San Francisco and one for California. Until the next adventure xxx
