San Francisco Part I

Since both Madelyn and I were off work the entire of week of Christmas we thought it would be the perfect time to take a vacation. The problem was we didn't know where to go. Once Madelyn told her parents we were thinking of taking a vacation they thought it seemed like a lot of fun, so we invited them to join us on our post-Christmas trip. Someone suggested visiting San Francisco (which I have never been to) and we were off! This was excellent news for Madelyn's sister, Lacy, who lives in California.... and soon enough our trip had three more (her husband Brandon, and their 1 year old Elly). The day after Christmas we were on our way to California....

From San Francisco

What would a vacation be without stopping at a tourist trap? So after an omelet breakfast (as you can tell from our last post.... this would be two omelets in two days) we were off to the Winchester Mystery House. The story goes that Mrs. Winchester (the wife of the owner of the rifle company) thought the ghosts of all the people killed with Winchester Rifles were haunting her house. So, on the advice of a psychic, she decided to build on to her house continuously for 32 years, 24 hours a day. The result is a crazy Victorian mansion with staircases to nowhere, rooms with no exits, and a continued stream of tourists.

From San Francisco

This is a door to the outside of the house.... on the 2nd floor.

From San Francisco

This is somewhere near the top of the house. I can't tell you how we got there or how we got back down.... but the view was nice.

After a quick drive through memory lane at Stanford University Hospital (where Madelyn was born and Robert completed his internship and residency) we were off to San Francisco. We stayed near Fisherman's Wharf, so the logical next step was to eat some good seafood on the Wharf with a view of the Golden Gate bridge.

From San Francisco

From San Francisco

That's the Golden Gate bridge in the background.... it was a fantastic view while we ate some amazing seafood.

After dinner we headed over to Ghirardelli Square for the best hot chocolate I have ever had. It was amazing and perfect for a very cold and windy night in San Francisco. It was so good we made sure to visit again.

From San Francisco

From San Francisco

After an EXTREMELY long day (we woke up at 4:30 am Texas time - that would be 2:30 am in California!) we went to an action movie so we wouldn't fall asleep.

Stay tuned for San Francisco Part II!