miura-adventure.comLife should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!!"

Using Napa as our home base, we drove the highway into San Francisco via Oakland, saving the Golden Gate Bridge for the return trip. We parked near Fisherman’s Wharf and walked and walked, taking in all the smells of the sea. Hoards of people selling crabs and shrimp surrounded us as we made our way to a restaurant over looking the ocean. The waiter started us off with a loaf of sourdough bread and I can’t remember a time it tasted so wonderful. With the exception of Nikki who had a hamburger (and she’s our “pasta-vegetarian!) we all enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch.

After our meal, we waited in line for the much anticipated cable car ride. We jumped on and rode to the end. Ken, Andrew and Nikki sat on the outside and sucked in their stomachs as other cable cars passed by closely and swiftly. We all jumped off at the very end and walked through an amazing mall full of expensive designer shops, saranated by holiday music (isn‘t it a bit early??) Nikki was in heaven and wanted to simply camp out for hours but alas, we needed to hop back on the cable car before dark so we had to literally DRAG her out of the mall!

We lured Nikki out of the mall with the mention of Ghirardelli and CHOCOLATE!! We all enjoyed a yummy and oh so high calorie desert at the famed Ghirardelli ice cream shop and the kids loaded up on chocolate, their “Halloween candy” for the season!

We departed SFO on route to the famous Golden Gate Bridge. The kids were SO excited! The day was beautiful with white puffy clouds and a soft warm breeze. Seeing this magnificent human endeavor is something one can tire of seeing. We parked on the north side of the bridge at the overlook and just took it all in. Breathtaking.

Our next visit into SFO included a stop at “Heaven on Earth”, Sausalito. This little town on the bay is densely populated with little quaint houses and some newer more ambitious endeavors. The little shops that dot the streets are full of wonderful colorful things – nothing that one really needs but fun to look at anyway. Ken and I stopped by the restaurant that was the site of our first “real” date. (Ken surprised me and flew me from Los Angeles to San Francisco so we could have dinner overlooking the water in Sausalito. Any question on why I married this man??)

We left Sausalito for a much more ethnic locale, Chinatown!! Ken is of the opinion that when in a town such as this, eat where the locals eat, the more crowded the better. We lunched at a place where I still am not quite sure what it was we consumed but it was yummy nonetheless. We dodged the raindrops and headed to a wonderful “hands on” museum near Golden Gate Park called Exploratorium. Wow!! Fun for children and adults alike. We got to run inside a tornado, create an earthquake and see how it is that we really can’t listen if we are occupied with ANY other activity other than simply listening. Pretty darn cool!

On our way back to Napa, we surprised our new friends from Canada. They were happy to see us and we them as we chatted away while the kids jumped right back into their new friendships. We helped them with their trek through California, ensuring they skip their plan for Barstow and trade it for a more fun week in Malibu! Good thing we got to them when we did!

The kids won’t soon forget this wonderful city, San Francisco!

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