San Francisco

 Katie and I met in Sacramento and used to live there for a year before moving to Arizona. We haven't been back since 2008, so we decided to go visit her Grandma, who still lives there and spend some time in San Francisco as well. 

Our trip didn't start out on the best note, when our flight was delayed and we were stuck at the airport with a toddler who was running around like a wild child. 

Well, I guess we could count ourselves lucky to be even allowed through security, because Katie had booked my ticket under my maiden name (for whatever reason, I changed it over 4 years ago...haha) and the only identification I had on me with that name was a Costco card. I didn't know if I was relieved or scared that they let me go through with that!

We were supposed to get to our hotel that afternoon, but didn't make it until around 9pm, which was about two hours after Fox's bedtime and he about had it, but did surprisingly well, considering the circumstances. 

 The first day in San Francisco started out with a trip to the Aquarium, which was Fox's first time ever.

 

 

 

 

 

He enjoyed running around and looking at the fish, before he passed out in the stroller on our way back to the car. He never sleeps anywhere but his crib, so this was very surprising, but very welcomed!

After he woke up, we headed to the San Francisco Zoo! 

We kept talking about how different this trip was compared to previous childless trips. This trip was all about Mr. Fox and while we would've enjoyed some quiet dinners, we had so much fun exploring the city in a different way. Luckily, we've been to San Francisco many times before and didn't need to go sightseeing. 

 

He was so happy to be able to run around without restriction.

We didn't remember how bad the traffic in SF was and just going three miles would take like 30 minutes and Fox hates the car, so it was a sheer nightmare going anywhere. Plus, once you got there, it was almost impossible to find parking. No fun!

 

But look at that face!

 

It was freezing in San Francisco and we were so grateful for our friend, who lent us her son's winter clothes for the trip, because Fox had outgrown all of his winter clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

Petting a baby alligator.

 

 

Katie just loved the Zoo, she was so excited to be there and kept talking about how different and better it was from the Phoenix Zoo. 

She got especially excited when she found dinosaurs...lol

 

 

This kid is so independent these days. He doesn't want to hold hands and just wants to do everything by himself. He's still a little wobbly, when he gets too tired or too excited, so we had quite a few face planting incidents. #Momsoftheyear

 

After another hour car ride home, we let him run off some steam in the hotel hallway, seemed like it was the best part of his vacation, he was just so happy!

 

The next day, we headed to the San Francisco Bay Discovery Museum. It was located right at the base of the Golden Gate bridge.

 

 

 

 

We weren't too impressed by the museum, they had one toddler room, but the rest of the museum was suited more for bigger kids and so we didn't spend too much time there. 

 

When it was time for Fox's nap, we took the opportunity and drove 2.5 hours north, to Sacramento. 

As I mentioned, we planned this trip to visit Katie's grandma, but found out a day before our arrival, that she wasn't going to be in town after all (she confused our dates). If we had known this in advance, we wouldn't have gone to Sacramento or planned such a long trip at all (we were gone for a week), but there was nothing we could do at that point. 

We stopped at Fairy Tale Town, which is a little playground/park, where Katie used to go when she was little. She loved it there and it was probably her favorite moment of the week, to see Fox run around where she used to play!

 

 

 

 

 

 We finally made it to Katie's grandma's house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we visited the Folsom Zoo, which was pretty small, but it was fun for Fox and that's all that mattered. 

 

 

 

On our way back we stopped by our old apartment, which was not only my first apartment ever, but also Katie's and mine first place together. Oh how far we've come!

 

 

I talk about this little 1 bedroom apartment often, how cozy it was, and the memories we made there, so it was fun for me to go back and see it again! 

We originally planned to spend three nights in Sacramento, but since Katie's grandma wasn't there and her house was pretty much a death trap for Fox (stairs everywhere, nothing child proof and stuff to get into in every corner), we decided to head back to San Francisco a day early. 

 

 We visited the painted ladies, which is my favorite spot in San Francisco and the only thing I wanted to do on this trip.

 

 

 

 

 

We checked into our new hotel after and it was so beautiful! Katie always does such a great job planning our trips and she didn't disappoint. We were on the 38th floor and could even see the Golden Gate bridge from our room. 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we headed to Golden Gate Park and did a quick Pit Stop at the "Full House" House.

 

 

It was still freezing cold with a little rain, so we didn't stay too long.

 

 

During our last morning in San Fran, it finally cleared up and we spent some time at Pier 39 before going to the airport.

 

 

 

 

Traveling with a toddler is definitely different than what I've imagined. Looking back, I wish, we would've done a cruise or some kind of a resort vacation instead, because a City trip with a one year old who doesn't like to be strapped in his stroller or car seat, is not fun. 

Combine that with him getting three teeth (including two molars) that same week and not getting much sleep because of teething pain, it felt like my real vacation started, when I went back to work...haha. Don't get me wrong, we still had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories, but our next trip will definitely be a little more relaxing!