After an incredibly busy six months, including a hospitalization for a possible heart attack (fortunately the reports are negative – no attack), we packed our bags and headed west for San Francisco!

Laura’s brother lives in Oakley, CA, about an hour outside of San Francisco on the California Delta. His place on the water is quiet, serene, and very accommodating. Check out the Delta Cottage for info.

And so while everyone else was watching fireworks, we saw them from 30,000′ as we headed west from Jacksonville on Sunday, July 4 (Emily met us the next day, flying in from NYC).

After some much-needed rest from jet lag (and life), we ventured into the city on Tuesday, July 6, looking like tourists and enjoying every minute of it. We started out at the Embarcadero, had lunch at the ferry terminal, and spent the rest of the day figuring out the layout of the city and how to get from point A to point B.

SF isn’t laid out like NYC on a grid, so it’s hard to figure out how the street cars run, where to catch a bus or trolley, and the BART schedule (in spite of my iPhone BART app). And cabs just aren’t as numerous as they are in NYC. After spending the day in the city we got back to the Delta Cottage late and enjoyed sleeping in the next morning.

Our 2nd day in the city found us with renewed energy and a sense of direction – so much so that we drove into the city instead of taking BART. We took in the Golden Gate Bridge, lunch at Union Square (The Burger Bar is great), China Town (dinner at Empress China), and shopped as late as the stores were open (not very late).

On Thursday we all decide we needed a day away from the city and Laura’s brother Wayne and his wife, Joella, took us on a day trip to the coast. We stopped mid-way at a delightful local restaurant, the Half-Day Cafe, and had a terrific lunch. On to the Redwood Forest, ending finally at Point Reyes National Seashore where we enjoyed very cold temperatures (40′s with wind chills in the 30′s). The view was amazing and well-worth the LONG drive there and back.

On Friday, we chilled out at the Delta Cottage, taking in some boating, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, etc. before getting to bed late. The next morning we packed up and headed to the BART station for the hour’s drive to the airport.

After months of indecision about where to spend our family vacation, we are glad we made it to the west coast, especially since neither Emily nor Elliott had ever been to San Francisco. We were blessed to have a wonderfully comfortable place to stay, great company with Wayne and Jo, and a much-needed change of pace.