donuts and sourdough

Mark and I try to get away on a trip once a year without the childrens. We looked at the locations he had booked to shoot weddings this year and went from there. I'd never been to the Bay area and he had a wedding there the first Saturday in June so we made a trip/anniversary celebration out of it.

I planned way ahead of time and was very prepared (mostly organizing things for the girls with their stuff and who they'd be with) so I was able to easily relax and get into vacation mode as soon as we left the house. Even when our flight was delayed, I enjoyed having nobody to watch or chase and just did crossword puzzles, and made fun of the guy across the row wearing floods, and socks with sandals.

We did everything I'd wanted to do. It really was a perfect trip! No injuries, problems, etc.  We've learned through past trips that it's not worth skimping on accommodations. We used Priceline to bid on a hotel room and I'm so glad we did! I have never stayed in such a comfy bed (but pretty much anytime you go from a Queen to a King you're going to sleep better right?) I loved the location (Nob Hill) of the hotel and the views. It was my kind of vacation...see the area by foot and bike. This means, you eat all you want, and feel great!

San Francisco has great food-Bob's Donuts-Hands down best glazed donut we've ever had, so good that we went there 3 times within the 4 days we were there. Twirl and Dip-it took the dip cone to a new level with the vanilla bean soft serve and sea salt to top it off. Thai Spice-so delicious I ate the leftovers for breakfast. I loved all the touristy stuff like biking the bridge over to Sausalito/Mill Valley/Tiburon then riding the ferry back, hot fudge sunday at Ghirardelli, The Wharf/Pier 39. We ran from our hotel to Golden Gate park, and by time we were about back to our hotel we were dying for some calories. San Francisco has so many zillions of places to eat it makes it harder to decide. We used Yelp, a lot.

And Segway tours? Its a natural instinct to make fun of them. Chinatown-definitely the way to go if you want to get produce. We were at Trader Joes where strawberries were about $2.75. Go to Chinatown and get the same thing for $1. The wedding Mark photographed was really small and simple. He finished a little early so we headed to Stinson beach. I don't know how you would not get sick on that drive. It didn't help that we were in a hurry to get the rental car back. It was beautiful though. I'd only been to southern california and I was surprised at how much I love the rocky coolness further north.
Thanks Mark for the memorable trip! Go us and our 7 years of marriage. I LOVE YOU!

brain games

I'm all about more pictures, less text on blogs. Not today.
I read somewhere that you should try to do exercise that is challenging not just for your body, but for your brain. In my case, anything more than 2 step repetition would work. I got one of the '10 Minute Solution' DVDs from the library...the 'Hip Hop' version. It's ok, I won't feel bad if you're laughing right now.
I just did it and can confirm that it did indeed prove challenging and I  would never ever ever post a picture or video of me doing it.

and

Go to the store and get a watermelon so you can cut it up-its the ultimate smell of summer. That, and sunscreen. Although I don't have my nice new bottle of it because I had it in my pack while going through the airport security check. I understand there must be laws of the land but C'MON PEOPLE, I SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT  TO TAKE MY SUNCREEN WITH ME!  I'd at least feel better if I knew the security agent was going to use it instead of toss it. More about our trip to San Fran coming up.