Day 19 - Tue 26 Aug 2014 - Napa - San Francisco
Drive: 65 miles
Highlights: Discovering San Francisco again
Up early again, but had time to check up on plans for San Francisco and the start of our trip back home. It's going to be a struggle heading home and missing out on the warmth of the west coast. Went out to the Butter Cream Bakery for breakfast - typical American breakfast - we both went for eggs and bacon with hash browns and toast. It was very noisy, and very busy - it's a place that the locals go to, so that's a good recommendation.
Headed back with the top down. Took one last photo of our beloved Mustang - it will be dropped off at SFO airport later today. We can do all of our travel using public transport in SF and avoid the parking fees at the hotel.
The earthquake is still getting a lot of news coverage - we seem to have news crews staying at our hotel.
We packed up and headed out on our drive to SF. It's not a long drive today - only about 60 miles, and we plan to stop at Sausalito just before the Golden Gate Bridge for lunch. It's a popular stop prior to heading into SF.
Got to Sausalito without too many problems - found Starbucks, indulged in our favourite drinks, and sat on the side of the road looking at the Bay Bridge in the distance with a perfect sky - no clouds - minimal mistiness (which is typical of San Francisco in Aug) - it's the best we have ever seen SF. The temperature is lovely - about 75 degrees - it's warmer than it was in Napa which is unusual since it's normally at least 10 degrees cooler than inland.
Moved on to the Golden Gate overlook - took us a while to find it - we always seem to go the wrong way when we come from Sausalito! Got there in the end, and with the fabulous sky conditions made for some great photos.
We then headed over the bridge and I took a video of the crossing. Headed to a gas station so that we could fill up prior to dropping the car off. It was then a further 20 miles to the Hilton Bayfront. We left the car outside the hotel, checked in on to the 15th floor, and then we drove back to the airport to drop off the car. The room was a decent size, clean as you would expect with a great view.
Catching the Air Train to pick up the BART was a bit of a pain since it took ages to go the wrong way around to reach Parking Garage G. Got there in the end and then caught the BART to Montgomery Street.
After posting a letter, we headed to Macy's to pick up a pair of sunglasses for a friend (Ray Ban Wayfarer) for a really good price (exchange rate is in our favour right now of course). Then it was on to Union Square and into the Cheesecake Factory for an early dinner!
We started off with a Pina Colada - we love these!
Then we shared an guacamole with chips and had a salad each as a main.
I had an ice-bucket challenge moment half way through our meal - we were talking to the waitress and about to order desert when I caught my hand on the straw in my glass full of iced water, and it poured into my lap - wow was that cold! I used about 20 napkins to try to dry myself off - cloth napkins are not the most absorbent of materials!
We may have ended up with a Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake - one between two - for medicinal purposes only. Headed back on the BART and it seemed a lot quicker on the way back. Just timed it right with picking up the Hilton shuttle bus to get back to the hotel, and it took us about 50-55 mins in total to get back - not bad.