San Fran Sans Kids......

I've been whining to go on vacation with Shawn (without kids) for quite awhile now. Seems like my efforts are fruitless. So. When I heard that Shawn would be taking his oral boards in San Francisco, I booked me a ticket too. I figured he could take his test and then we could stay the rest of the week and explore the city. He was all game. It wasn't until a month before the trip that I discovered it was also the week of the Annual Anesthesia Convention. Which he needed to attend for Continuing Education Credit. Boo. A working trip. I admit. I was irritated at first. But. Then I realized something. I'd still be in a glorious city. Without kids. With Shawn. My irritation abated. (Did I mention I wasn't taking kids?!)

Kate flew in to take care of my babies. All 5 of them. (Which she rocked the motherhood role by the way) Shawn flew out Friday, took his test Saturday. I flew in Sunday. He met me at the airport and we caught the free shuttle back to our hotel. There was one flaw in this trip. And it was kind of major. The hotel where the convention was taking place (and where we were staying for close proximity to said convention) was 30 minutes away from the actual part of San Francisco that we wanted to be enjoying. I'm sure San Mateo is fabulous......if you have access to a vehicle. Which we didn't. We learned how to work the cities transportation system quite efficiently. But it took serious planning and time to get where we wanted to go.

Day 1: After we dropped my luggage at the hotel, we caught the free shuttle back to the airport. (It only leaves on the hour every hour. Time constraint) 20 minute ride to the airport where we hopped on Bart. The Subway system.

Thank goodness for Bart. Or we'd still be wondering what San Francisco actually looked like. 45 minutes on Bart dropped us at a mall right in the heart of the shopping district. Lovely. This particular day it was pouring rain. We weren't sure what we'd be able to do and see. If anything. We grabbed lunch (nothing special because we were starving!), and then walked around inside until we couldn't take it anymore. (20 minutes) Outside we discovered it wasn't raining all that bad. Drizzle never hurt anyone. We headed in the direction of Pier 39. We passed up all opportunities to hop on the trolley and decided to use our legs. There are some serious hills in this city! But. We didn't think we could see all that we wanted by riding. It took a lot of walking to get to our destination. What a great city to walk in. So much character.

We walked to the ends of one pier, and noticed the seals across the way. We wandered over to where they were and watched them for awhile. All the while it was sprinkling rain. Best. Day. Ever. My main squeeze and no obligation to be anywhere or doing anything. Just exploring. Awesome. And extremely rare.

We started to get hungry and the restaurant "Players" smelled good to Shawn. So he said. Come to find out with a HDTV at every table or in every corner playing the game he was hoping to catch smelled better to him than the food. No objection from me. They had clam chowder in a bread bowl. And I didn't have to help anyone else eat. Just myself. (Am I a little too excited to be away from my kids?)




Sadly, we had to start heading back at this point. It was nearing 7 o'clock and we had to catch the last shuttle back to our hotel at 9:15. And it would take that long to make it there. We hopped on the trolley for our return trip.

We made it back in time for the last shuttle. Barely.

Day 2: Alcatraz

We were going to Alcatraz with the anesthesia group at 3. So. I slept in. Spent time in the hotel's gym. And read my book. I was all done doing all those things by 11 when Shawn finished. Remember the location issue? It was also a food issue. The only place near the hotel was 7-11. With hot dogs. Pretty pathetic. Or. We could spend 10 bucks on a sandwich made in the hotel lobby. Sad. Especially when food is one of my main reasons for travel! We ended up walking to explore and wandered around for 2 hours. It was fun to see the local neighborhood.

Because we were traveling with the conference, we all rode on a bus to the Alcatraz departure boat. Nice. Otherwise we would have had to have left at 11 just to make it to the departure dock.

Alcatraz is an island off San Francisco that housed criminals for a number of years. "If you were trouble, you were sent to prison. If you were trouble in prison, you were sent to Alcatraz."

It was interesting to hear the evolution of Alcatraz Island, and all the stories that went along with the history.

We were there for a few hours. When it started to get dark Shawn snuck outside to watch the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge. By the time he found me I had missed the best part. But was still able to enjoy the view of the city.

We headed back to our hotel on the bus, without having a chance to grab dinner. We couldn't stomach 7-11 hot dogs twice in one day, so decided to take a cab to a Vietnamese restaurant close to our hotel. Not close enough to walk at 8 pm, but not an hour away. We enjoyed dinner, and headed to bed.

Day 3:

Shawn was booked with meetings all day, so I decided to venture downtown all by myself to enjoy all the H&M's and Gaps I'd seen while wandering earlier in the week. Turns out some friends from medical school were there for a different medical conference. Alana and Brett invited me to lunch this very day. Sushi. Yum.

During lunch Shawn called to say he finished early. Like 8 hours early. So. I changed my shopping plans and we explored China Town that afternoon.

The commercial China Town was just that. Commercial. Two hours down a street full of vendors trying to cater to Americans. The best part of China Town was our return trip down another street. The one where Chinese were catering to the Chinese that actually live in China Town. The culture was awesome to witness.

I seem to have lost whatever it was we did the rest of that night. I'm sure we ate somewhere, at some point. I know we made it back to BART and in time for the last hotel shuttle. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I was tired that night.

Day 4:

Our last day to explore. I know we were both tired by this day. Shawn had been trying to soak in all things anesthesia while also trying to enjoy the city life. I was trying to do everything I can't normally do with kids. Tired. We heard about a McDonald's 2 miles from our hotel that we thought would be worth the hike for lunch. Only because it sounded better than 7-11. (sad that those were our best options) We enjoyed the walk, however. Perfect weather, perfect company. We noticed some duplexes for sale while on our adventure. Small 2 bedroom, 1 bath places that cost more than our entire home in the Midwest. How do people afford to live in this city?! After lunch? Nap time. Glorious. Then. I wanted to shop. To shop at those places I missed the day before by changing my plans. So. 2 hours later we were finally in those lovely places. After a few hours we ate in a restaurant called "Mortons" which had rave reviews. Superior Service. Fancy Schmancy. But. The food? Mediocre at best. (remember we had been eating at 7-11 so this can be regarded as a serious assessment) While eating and looking around at other tables, we decided Mortons ploy was to get all their customers liquored up and then serve them food. Since we don't drink, their ploy failed. We didn't regret eating there, because now we can say we did. And won't again unless it's on someone else's tab.

I didn't want to leave this city without seeing Ghirardelli square for myself. And Shawn has never had one of their hot fudge sundaes. We took a trolley car to get us closer, then walked the rest of the way. I indoctrinated Shawn to the world of Ghirardelli. He was an instant fan.

After all our indulging of the stomach, we decided to enlighten our minds by viewing the art galleries. Unfortunately, we got trapped in one for at least an hour by an art vendor that was determined to decorate our entire home from his particular gallery. No dice. But we did enjoy the art. We trolleyed our way back to Bart, barted our way back to the airport, and then had to pay for a taxi. We missed the last hotel shuttle. And it was worth it.

Day 5:

Home. Early to the airport (which has zero food selection). Then home by 9. Kate was excited to see us. Kids were already in bed ready to awake early to don Halloween costumes for their school parties.

We had such a great time. It's trips like those that remind me how much I enjoy Shawn and spending time with him without all the competition. Thanks Kate. Couldn't have done it without you.

**Girls (you know who you are) if we ever decide to do a trip to San Fran, we are staying downtown and eating our way through the city. I know I can count on you to find some seriously good eats! That was my only disappointment this trip. Food. You girls have obviously taught me well!**