San Francisco: ChinaTown, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, Swan Oyster Depot and the Palace of Fine Arts

 Tuesday we hit up all the "local" flavor in San Francisco! (aka- the tourist sights) 

Chinatown was fun and very colorful! 

 We ate some fried seafood on Fisherman's Wharf while gazing out at Alcatraz in the distance. 

 We saw at the ships along Pier 39 and stopped to buy some sourdough bread at Boudin's Bakery. 

 Then we headed over to Lombard street and drove down it. It was scary and of course Mark had to screech the tires a few times (like the college boys who went before us) 

We didn't do the trolley ride since we were running out of time. Next time:) 

But we did have time to grab some fresh raw seafood right before we headed back to the airport at Swan Oyster Depot. I will most definitely be going back.

Right before we left, we were able to see some of that famous San Fran fog!

(the Gold Gate Bridge should be right behind that fog!) 

And if you remember the movie The Rock (about the breakout from Alcatraz with Sean Connery) there was a scene from the movie when he meets his daughter at this next set of pictures. 

I guess they actually made this structure for an art gala and then everyone loved it so much that they fortified it and made it able to stand the test of time, even after the art gala was done. 

It was beautiful! 

It was truly a WONDERFUL trip- one of the best vacations we've ever taken together! 

We most definitely couldn't have taken this trip without our awesome family and friends who watched the kiddos for us while we were away. Grandma and Grandpa. Chad and Melody. Matt and Janelle. Britta. We are so very grateful for the love you showed our kiddos while we were away. 

Thank you for giving of your time to our family! 

We appreciate you! 

San Francisco: Exploring the Ocean

San Francisco: Napa Valley- Castello Di Amorosa

We have always heard of the beauty of Napa Valley, so we thought since we were close by, we would take a little trip up there to visit. We found an amazing winery to visit complete with a HUGE castle boasting 107 rooms and signed up quickly for a tour. It was unbelievable! You can read the history of it here- http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/History- Its worth the read- fascinating stuff.

The details and history placed in this castle are amazing! 

Dario Sattui started building this castle in 1995 and finished in 2007- there are 4 levels below ground and 4 levels above ground.  The castle is booked 300 days out of the year for special events/weddings/etc. The tour guide also said the whole castle is now paid off- the guy estimated it was in the hundreds of millions to build. 

"Castello di Amorosa appears to be an authentic castle for one reason only.  It is an authentic castle, though fancified.  We either used construction methods and materials that would have been used 1,000 years ago, or we used very old hand-made materials that had survived up to modern times.  A fireplace predating Christopher Columbus adorns the Great Hall, and Iron Maiden from the late Renaissance dominates the torture chamber.  A wrought iron dragon from the times of Napoleon hovers over the massive main door. More than 8,000 tons of stone were chiseled, not sawed, by hand to be absolutely authentic.  Nearly 200 containers of old, hand made materials were shipped from Europe to lend authenticity."

the Great Hall- paintings were done by Italian artists and that mantle dates back before Christopher Columbus! 

 The caverns below the castle were so spooky and cold and damp. 

All the red wine is stored there in large barrels. 

That large bottle of wine to the left costs $5000 a bottle! 

The tour guide said they are currently sold out of that size bottle! 

(the glass for the bottle costs $300 alone) CRAZY! 

 So many of the relics are originals 

We thoroughly enjoyed this day! We would go back and stay in this area in a heartbeat! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my Beautiful Mother! 

She has been a mom for 34 years and she has been a faithful example (all those years) of a woman who loves Christ and her family. I am honored to be her daughter and cherish her friendship! 

I love you and miss you, mom! 

Happy Mother's Day to my Wonderful Mother-in-Law! 

She truly has welcomed me into her family and is one of the most giving and loving people I have ever met. She is always sweet and kind and I am blessed to be her daughter-in-law. I love you, Lina!
Thank you for raising such an amazing son.

Here are my little chickadees who have made me a mother for the past 8 years. 

I love them dearly and am blessed to be their mom.

And I couldn't ask for better gifts:) 

Elijah did make me a scarf at preschool (not pictured) which I proudly wore today. 

After I opened everything he whispered in my ear, "mom which one is really, really your favorite?" 

I know he wanted me to pick his:) 

San Francisco: Seal Cove Inn, Pasta Moon, and Cypress Grove

On the recommendation of a friend, we found Seal Cove Inn, which was a charming Bed and Breakfast just outside the city (30 minutes from downtown) on the ocean. The B&B had a yummy appetizer hour before dinner, and a delicious, homemade breakfast every morning. We were able to use their bikes to ride around during the day and they had fresh logs every night in our fire place. Coffee was delivered every morning to our room and there were often batches of fresh baked cookies down in the lobby. The Inn is right near a reserve, so there was a lot of wildlife sounds every morning and evening. Other then that, it was very quiet and peaceful. 

Seal Cove Inn was named for the small cove right by the inn that is home to large groups of seals. They come ashore to nurse their young and I'm sure to bask in the sun. It was really fun to watch them. 

Sunday night, we ate dinner at Pasta Moon. Homemade pasta is their specialty. Mark had the Eggplant Parm and I had butternut squash and Mascarpone ravioli. So delicious.

After dinner, we went back to our hotel and walked to see the ocean. 

Cypress Grove was located right near the inn. We walked along the trail that led to the bluffs that overlook the ocean. It was amazingly, breathtakingly gorgeous! 

I felt like we were in Ireland or somewhere European. 

Each night, we went out to watch the sunset. 

Sunday Night: 

Monday Night: 

 The beauty was breathtaking!