San Francisco and Lake Tahoe

Matt, his dad and brother (George and Nathan) all had union meetings in San Francisco this summer. So of course, the wives had to go along for the trip! :) I will start with a word to the wise though. 6 adults + very crowded minivan + extremely long ride = not the best time. However, we all survived, and we have some quite memorable experiences and stories. ("Is Nathan Driving?")
We were able to do something fun every night we were there. We arrived in SanFran on the 4th of July. That meant that we got to watch the fireworks over the bay. What a fun experience! Before the show we ate at a yummy seafood restaurant. I have to say that FRESH seafood is the best! We had a little time to explore before the fireworks. It was fun to go into all the shops on the wharf.
The fireworks were amazing. They actually had two of the same show going off at the same time at different spots so everyone would have a great view. They were so beautiful. It sure does put 'The Biggest Show In Idaho' to shame.
The next day Matthew and Nathan had some hazmat classes and George had a golf tournament so me, Paige and LaRae went on a city tour. I've gotta say that it was a little boring just driving around town in a bus, but we somehow got on the bus for free and it was something to do. AND lunch was provided. It was YUMMY!!! We had salad, a seafood enchilada, and homemade ice cream. Oh, and this will make you super jealous... we got to see the house were 'Full House' was filmed. I know, you are hating... :)

The Golden Gate Bridge was cool to see again. It hadn't really changed much since Matt and I saw it in 2007. It kind of feels like if you go to SanFran you HAVE to see the bridge though. There is so much history involved in it.
On Monday the boys all had meetings and once again, we somehow got on a tour for free. This one went to Muir Woods. We crossed the GGB into Salsalito and after a short drive we were suddenly in a red wood forest! It was amazing. It was such a beautiful day. Once we entered the forest it was so peaceful. It is crazy to think that as close to the city as we were that a place like that could exist. I loved it. If we ever make it back to SanFran, I hope we can make time for the woods.
That night we got invited to go on a dinner cruise. Now, I know this sounds like dinner on a cruise ship, but it is not. It was a medium sized boat and dinner was self serve buffet style. It was pretty good, but we were a little disappointed because we had such high expectations. We did get to cruise past Alcatraz and under the GGB, so that was fun. Paige even thought that it would be a good idea to walk out on the deck. Um, it was super windy, and her dress was knee lenght... Yeah, you get the picture...

The last day before we left we slept in! YAY! (Except the boys... they had meetings.) We did a little shopping around our hotel. I must say I was too scared to even walk into most of the stores because I didn't even want to see the price tags.
That night we went to a Giant's baseball game. Their stadium ROCKS! Two sides of AT&T park are surrounded by the bay. That means that the view was awesome. The union hosted a tailgate party before the game for us. It was a little windy outside, but it was still fun. Once inside the stadium we enjoyed some YUMMY garlic fries. (One of my clients told me this was a must.) The game was great. The Giants won.

Matt and me at the game

We were here while the sun was setting, so the view was always changing. No matter what time you looked out over the stadium it was such a pretty view.

The last day we were there Nathan INSISTED that we ride a cable car. I gotta tell you... It wasn't worth the $5.oo per person ONE WAY! After our wonderful ride we had to pay to ride the bus back to our hotel. Oh well. The boys were in meetings, so they didn't really get to see very much of the city, so I guess Nathan was allowed to pick one thing to do. :)

After SanFran we drove to Lake Tahoe. Matt's older brother Michael and his family live about 20 minutes outside of Tahoe, so we rented a condo and stayed to visit and play for a few days. Tahoe was so beautiful! The water was a little chilly, but it was so fun to play on a beach and lay in the sun.

Paige, Nathan, Matt and me

My cute nephews, Benjamin and Abram
A view of the lake.

We had a great vacation, but 10 days is WAY too long to be away from our little man. My mom kept him for us. I probably drove her crazy calling 5 times a day to talk to him and check on him. Her and Caitlyn made sure to send plenty of picture messages and videos so that I wouldn't have a complete meltdown. I don't want to be away from him for awhile though, that is for sure!