San Francisco, a timeline!

It's time for another timeline since I just returned from an 8 night trip to San Francisco.  Mr. Louisville was going for a variety of actuarial ditties and invited me to tag along.  Oh, hell yes.

**Fair warning: Long trip = long post.

Wednesday, July 18, 2014
Hop on a direct flight from CVG to SFO.  I leave at 5 and arrive at 7.  Score!
Tyler picks me up from the airport and takes me to his favorite little taqueria for chorizo tacos and beer.

The view from Tyler's balcony.

We go to his new apartment in the Cathedral district to have a bottle of wine, catch up and play Monopoly Deal. 
Since it doesn't take me long to adjust to the new time zone I stay until around 12:30am until he drops me off down the street at Hotel Nikko.

Thursday
Up and at 'em to check out the neighborhood shopping situation and meet up with Tracie.
We head to the Ferry Building to explore and then discovered Belden Place for lunch.  We decide on Belden Taverna because it had an outdoor dining area.  We each had the Warm Brussels Sprouts Caesar and split the asparagus.
After a little more shopping we retired to our rooms to get ready for the evening.
Around 6 Mr. L and I walked to Water Bar to meet a group for supper.
5 of us shared an obscene seafood platter of oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster, crab and ceviche.  Afterwards, I enjoyed the peach and fig salad with chevre stuffed squash blossoms, rosemary, watercress and white balsamic.
Perfection.

Friday
At 10am Tracie, Kathleen and I are off to walk 3 miles to rent bikes for the day. Coincidentally near Haight/Ashbury and a place called MILK Bar which reminds me of my homey, Damon.
We go on a nearly 3 hour tour of Golden Gate Park, along the coast, across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito.  Biking in SF is no joke!  No shame in walking the bikes up some big hills a few times.

A view along our ride.

We enjoy lunch with a view of the water at the Barrel House Tavern.
I have the grilled peaches and burrata salad with pistachios, honey, arugula and balsamic gastrique.  I also share the flatbread with local mushrooms, caramelized onions, fontina and ricotta cheese,arugula and truffle oil.
After lunch we take the Ferry back to the city, return our bikes and head back to the hotel.
From 5:30 - 7 we partake in free drinks and snacks at the Actuary recepection with our fellas.
Around 7 we go out with a group up many hilariously steep hills to dine at Osso Steakhouse. More seafood for me!  I have a large helping of iron skillet-roasted shrimp and mussles.

Saturday
Adventure day with Tyler!!
He picks me up at 8:30 and takes me to breakfast at Hollywood Cafe.  Seriously good fruit!! 
Afterwards we pick up supplies and head to Muir Beach.

The essentials: Champagne & OJ, Jerky, beer, wine, water.

Me and Tyler at Muir Beach.  A passerby offered to take our picture because he said we looked like we were having such a good time.

After we finished the bottle of champagne we head up Hwy. 1 to Point Reyes National Seashore.
We stop off at Kehoe Beach where we have to hike about a mile back to reach the shore.  Hardly anyone is there besides us.  Bliss!

The hike back to Kehoe beach.

After Tyler drops me off back at my hotel I get ready for date night!
Mr. L and I head to Tony's Pizza to put our name in for a table and go to Rogue for a beer and an appetizer of bacon to hold us over.
Once our table is ready we enjoyed meatballs and pizza and walk back to our hotel.  Perfect evening.

Sunday
Napa Day!!
Mr. L and I switch hotels in the morning to the Hilton.  Luckily, right next door!
A limo picks a group of us up at 10am to head to Napa.

We stop off for beer for the non wine drinker but we all partake.  It's going to be a long day.
We do official tastings at Cakebread and Mumm with a lunch at Mustard's in between.  We stop off at another winery but I can't quite remember which.  It was such a fun day!

ML and I.

Tracie and I at one of the wineries.  We been drankin'.

As soon as we return we meet up with Aaron and Heather who were in from Colorado!!
After a drink at the hotel bar we go to a quick little sushi place and then for a nightcap at Jasper's.
It was a long day!

Monday
We take it easy after Napa!
Kathleen, Tracie and I meet for back in Belden Place where we dine alfresco again at one of the restaurants there.
We walk to Union Street where there are a strip of neat boutiques and then back to our hotel.
It's round 2 for an Actuary reception. Free drinks and snacks!
After the reception a group of us head to Kuleto's, per my mom's recommendation for an Italian feast.
Mr. L and I go out for one more drink at Jasper's, yet again.

Tuesday
I meet up with Heather first thing and hop on the BART to meet her friend, Stacey in Berkley.
We have breakfast at a diner and poke around at the shops.  One of the only things I buy from the trip were a few boxes of iced tea (mango and peach) from Peet's. 
We head up the hill to pick up Stacey's husband from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
I have the best deep dish pizza of my life from Zachary's then mosey around Telegraph Avenue and UC-Berkley's campus.

So good.  Soo good!!

I head back on the BART by myself to get ready for dinner.
7 of us randomly take a limo to Forbes Island and from there take a 2 minute ferry to the restaurant.

Brian, Tacie, myself and Mr. Louisville on the ferry to Forbes Island.

After dinner, M and I have a nightcap with some of his friends at the Hotel bar.

Wednesday
I meet Heather for breakfast at Cafe Mason.
Mr. Louisville finishes around 1pm and we head immediately for lunch at Akikos.  The place is busy so we grab a drink next door at a bar where everyone was watching the World Cup.
Soon our table was ready and we had the best sushi ever.  Highly recommend this gem!
We catch the Trolley with the Pauley's and head to the Wharf where we meet Heather and company at The Buena Vista for Irish Coffees.
M and I decide to stroll back to our hotel and go down Lombard Street for kicks.
We meet the whole gang for dinner at the Redford where we had the entire balcony to ourselves.
Many drinks and much merriment was had with good food, to boot!
Heather and Aaron and Mr. L and I stop off at Jasper's one last time for a nightcap.  The service sucked there but it was so close we kept going back.  Ridiculous.

Aaron, Garrett, Heather and I.

Thursday
Mr. L leaves at 5:30 to catch his flight home.
I wake up around 8 and walk to Boudin to pick up some fresh sourdough to bring home.
I meet Heather and Aaron at Cafe Mason for a quick breakfast before catching Uber to the airport with them.
I randomly run into my bro-in-law, Ryan, at Detroit on my connection home.

Shew.  What a trip!!