Fall really is the best time of year in the Bay. Look at this amazing, golden hour, moonrise over the city!
Last weekend, my brother and his family came in for a quick visit!
Weeks before their arrival, I sent them a bunch of options of things we could do. They kept saying 'we just want to hang out with you', but, when they got here, they preceded to ask 'what are we doing next?' any time we had a moment to rest. Luckily, I knew they would do that, so I had a plan to run them nonstop with an invitation for them to veto at any point. :)
Here's the list:
Saturday afternoon - night
- Ferry building - we got bagels from the farmer's market for lunch/snacks after they arrived.
- Exploratorium - the kids LOVED the Exploratorium. My brother and sister-in-law also loved it!
- Stoa - Stoa is not really meant for kids, but we managed to find some things they liked. Everyone loved the pork shoulder and the donuts, and they were all really happy to just try the amazing menu and be there!
- Twin Peaks - this was vetoed by the kids! When I asked if they wanted to see the city lights or go back to the airbnb, the kids said "airbnb!" without hesitation, and then they promptly fell asleep in the car. :)
Sunday all day
- My place for breakfast - omelettes, meeting Epiphany, checking out the rooftop deck/views, and playing on my pull up bar / silks.
- Treasure Island Pumpkin Patch - we didn't stay long, but we did have some time with the view of the bridge and the city.
- Waymo ride - our first self driving car experience! It was really nice! Also, don't try to break the rules, they totally know... 😅
- Pier 39 - sea lions, walking the Pier, and clam chowder in a bread bowl. This was actually more for J- than anyone because in all of his years living in the city he'd never seen the sea lions or had clam chowder in a breadbowl!
- Walk through North Beach and Chinatown - I love how the city changes from the Pier to North Beach to Chinatown. It's so distinctly different in each neighborhood. The kiddos didn't love this walk, but they were also just fine, and my niece was randomly drawn to the same store I always go into in Chinatown!
- Golden Gate Bridge - lovely moment just before sunset by the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point. J- took this opportunity to race my niece and nephew, which I found very cute and funny. J- won, and he was very proud of that, haha. :)
- Korean BBQ - we went to a place in Japantown for dinner and it was not good. The meat, banchan, service... all not good. Total bummer. I'm not going to name it in hopes that it was just a bad night, but if you want great Korean food in Japantown go to Daeho.
- Mitchell's Ice Cream - quick stop for ice cream, but the line was long, so my brother opted for them to grab a half gallon pre-pack that they ate a fraction of, and that now lives in my freezer. 😜
Monday morning - afternoon
- YouTube - I was able to bring everyone on campus as my guests for breakfast and to show them one of our event spaces where I've produced a lot of shows over the years. My nephew said visiting YouTube was his favorite part of the trip!
- Pilot Light - cute little cafe by a small plane airport near Half Moon Bay. Yummy food and they have Dutch pancakes! We didn't have the pancakes, but we saw someone order them and they looked great. Part of me thinks I've maybe been there before...
- Fitzgerald Marine Preserve - beautiful area near the ocean. We took a trail from the parking lot to the tide pools, and we saw seals below the cliffs along the way!
It was fun having my family in the Bay. :) I'm glad I got to share a bit of my life in California with them and that we were able to have some new experiences together.
