.. from mel ..: san francisco

Our first flight without kids since New York 2009. Then, I was about 4 months pregnant with Jack and we went to the Big Apple for John to receive an award and took good advantage of our time there. It was lovely.

And so was this trip. Quite reminiscent of our last duo trip and a breath of fresh air.

I may or may not have talked about our kids for the first 24 hours and felt really heart sick for them. Yikes. I kept telling myself to enjoy those three days because before I knew it I would be back home and thrust back into the whirlwind of motherhood, but alas. My heart still reminded me of the little critters that normally inhabit my business. Haha.

John may or may not have caught me looking at pictures of our cuties while I was on the airplane. He'd tease me graciously and I'd pick up a magazine or my book and enjoy some peaceful, uninterrupted moments.

So, this is the part where there's lot of selfies of the two of us because, well, this is my only place to document all of this and remember the fun we had. So there ya go.

We drove into the city with this kind of weather. Which we love. We live in Arizona, we dream of cloudy days. However, having been up since 4am and now on our way into a huge city I prayed the sun would come out and the fog would lift.

I had done loads and loads of research for the best restaurants in San Fran and I had a whole document full of 'em. Addresses included.

However, I realized I am not too keen on waiting in line to eat breakfast. For sure I'm fine when it's waiting in a line up to a window or something, but waiting in line for a table? Yeah, I'm okay. It can't be that good. And if it is, my loss.

So when we finally found a delightful brunch spot I was famished (and a little annoyed) and needed some filling food.

It was so filling I forgot to take a before picture. But let me tell you, it was incredible.

We then took a leisurely, steep walk and took pictures like this.

and this.

Because we could, ya know. Because all we really thought about was where to walk to next and where to eat next. And we talked and stopped in every little cute shop we could and starred at the ocean for long periods of time. 'cause we could and because it was just us.

I realized a few things while away with this guy. 1. We are (or have become?) a lot alike. I think we've adapted parts of each other's personalities and have learned along this 6 year road of marriage to give and take in ways that first-year-john-and-mel might not be too willing to do.

and 2. We are both the youngest (though for me I was only the youngest for 7 years, but still, I carry those traits possessively.) and neither of us really LOVE makin' a plan. We enjoy someone mapping out the plan and we will do our best to follow it. (this is not normal for John, but his vacation-mode.) But particularly on vacation we would spend a lot of time asking each other "well, what do you think?" and trying to come up with a plan. Vacation John and Mel like to take a break from planning anything (meals and activities included!) Doesn't leave much so we did our best to gather some activities to do, though most were planned beforehand.

I love learning these new things about our relationship. It's like another episode of a really great show. Kind of like this one. So very well character driven and plot driven. Man.

Though, p.s. our life is nothing like that show. At all. That would be crazy. hahaha.

Anyway, back to San Fran.

also, sorry for the poor quality of pics. I don't love instagram-ing our adventures as I have totally been guilty of vacation-envy when someone posts a play-by-play of their amazing trip while I'm home, workin' away and feeling kind of out of breath. I just don't want to do that to anyone. So I didn't get a chance to filter all these pictures. Here there are though, raw and serious.

This place was delightful. Everyone said Fisherman's Wharf is too touristy, but we loved it! I love touristy things and am not ashamed of it. I am not as into finding the "coolest" thing in a city that size and with only three days to explore I'd rather hit a goldmind that diamonds in the rough that have potential. If I were a local, absolutely, but having a limited amount of time I was not afraid to be a tourist. Though I did not wear a fanny pack. I draw the line there.

I found this awesome fountain that I thought friends would love of this MERMAID nursing her MERMAID BABY! It really made my day. and made me a wee bit homesick for the babe I have just weaned?

...yeah, a little.

And then the sun came out and the breeze was blissful and we were in our happy place.

Note: a girl was screaming as we ran out of Gheradelli Square and of course I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We saw some coast guards patrolling the water, but no drama. Unfortunately. For us, hopefully not for her.

The fog lifted just enough for us to see ships and Alcatraz and it was really perfect.

I loved the difference between southern California and Northern. Like different states all together. Both have their perks, but I think I prefer the weather of the north.

We took these for Jack (this was the end of the second day. I was really missing them by then. )

But I got over it, don't you worry.

We went to this six story movie theater and watched the new Star Trek (we don't get out much here.)

And it was so good. I kept leaning over to John to say, "I'm so glad we did this. I'm so glad we did this." and I really was.

I also eventually got used to the drug dealers and pimps out our hotel room and the constant flow of homeless people in the area. Once we got a handle on the location of things, it really became more enjoyable. And we hardly saw what there is to see there.

I LOVE that it's cold enough to wear things like that, but sunny enough for sunglasses. That is so my idea of perfect weather (sorry Arizona, no hard feelings.)

Again with the selfies. I was literally almost falling asleep with the swaying of the boat and the very informative facts about San Francisco.

Out of the giant list of restaurants there were quite a few gems that didn't require a two hour table wait.

This was one of them and my man, he loves his bacon. And this bacon was divine.

The trip was so recharging yet exhausting. It really recharged our marriage, our friendship, our communication and comfortable companionship that allows for long silences to just be. It was exhausting as I did more walking than my body is used to, but I am surprised (and a little proud) to announce that I did not get shin splints.

That is a first for this girl.

Sunset ocean watching.

Our last night we finally found the hipster part of town (we felt so old) and some of the best restaurants and the cutest (overpriced) shops I have ever seen.

We found this packed but mouth watering restaurant around 4:30pm. We were starving. We got seated and had the best fish tacos my mouth has ever tasted. Everyone was dressed as hip as could be and I felt a little bit lame, but not too lame to ask them to return my drink because I'd rather have the fruity one that John did.

We were without kids and we don't hold back, ya'll.

The only food picture I took, cause food pictures are a little over rated (and make my stomach growl) but I had to remember these. They were that good.

Oh yes! We also saw seals! Since I was a kid I've had a deep love for sea lions (and most sea animals) but particularly sea lions and orca whales. My personal favs. We just stood and gawked like all the other tourists at these amazing creatures as they lounged like fat cats in lazy boys. They were hilarious.

Though lovely, San Francisco was not our all time favorite city we've visited. As we awoke extra early to catch a 9am flight on Sunday we had to drive about 30 minutes out of the way to make room for a big race that was taking place that day. I loved getting to see all the runners dressed up, but I think for others of us it might have cemented the overall kind of dislike for the city itself.