Cali Trip, Part Two

On Thursday Ken and I headed off on our own again, this time to hike in Muir Woods. It was a little chilly in the forest, surrounded by immense trees with little sunlight peeking through the dense canopy. We walked the trails for just over an hour, drove down to check out Muir Beach (cold and not very exciting), then stopped off at the Pelican Inn (upon Debbie and Paul’s recommendation) for pre-lunch drinks. The inn looks like it was plucked right out of England! So cute.

Muir Woods

  The Pelican Inn

After drinks at the inn, we drove to Sausalito for lunch. We both were in agreement for where to go: Horizons, the restaurant on the water where Paul and Debbie took us 7 years ago and the place where we first tried mussels. They did not disappoint us this time, either! Not nearly as rich as the dish we love at Martinique in NOLA, but very fresh-tasting and delicious. It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon, so we walked around town a bit after our fabulous lunch. Then we went back to the house to meet up with Debbie and the kids, got right back in the car, and headed out to the boys’ t-ball game. While they had fun running around in the dirt, the adults enjoyed beers and tacos from Cactus in the outfield!

Fantastic food with a breathtaking view: we sat next to each on a bench right by the water.

T-ball time

Friday was our last full day in Cali. We decided to take the kids to the new California Academy of Sciences museum in San Francisco. The place is huge with so much to see, and it was a little crowded, but we managed to get in a good couple of hours there. My favorite part was the top floor of the rainforest exhibit, where lots of butterflies are freely flying around. So cool! We even got to go on the “living roof.” Check out the pics below.

After the museum, we walked around San Francisco for the rest of the afternoon, including visiting one of my favorite places in the city: Ghirardelli Square. We of course had to get ice cream, and it did not disappoint. We had our treat on the grassy area in front of the square overlooking the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge and decided to take said bridge back to the house so I could get some pics.

  

We had a quiet night at home, a relaxing next morning, and all of a sudden it was time to leave. But we managed to squeeze in one last picnic on the Embarcadero before we had to go to the airport and tell them goodbye. Thanks for everything, you guys; we had an incredibly fantastic time spending the week with you!

When can we come back??? :)