From Airports to Alcatraz....

So here's part 1 of my San Francisco recap!  We really know how to pack in our days when there's so much to explore, and DAY 1 is never the exception;) 

So I know this isn't very excited, but I just had to share how TERRIBLY (pathetically) excited I was to have found steel cut oats with brown sugar & bananas on the menu at the Jamba Juice kiosk at Newark airport;)  Plus they had the BEST orange juice!  See, you CAN eat healthy in an airport.... ;)

Buttttttt right about there was were the 'healthy' sorta ceased for the week;) hahahhahahahhaha.....

6 hours later and we were in sunny San Francisco!  We got there and checked into our ADORABLE little hotel, The Marina Inn....

OK!  Major tip #1....this hotel was about 7 blocks from Fisherman's Wharf, where the cheapest hotel ran about $150 a night.  Marina Inn = $46 a night!  Do the math:)  Was it "The Ritz"?  No...but who cares???  We were never out of the hotel later than 9am and hardly ever back before 10pm;)  Plus, it was clean, quaint, close to 2 major bus lines and in a great, safe neighborhood....what more do you need when you have a whole city to explore?? ;)

After we dropped our bags we couldn't get out of the door fast enough;)  15 minutes later and we were here:

Actually, make that HERE:

We were STARRRRRRRRVING after our plane ride (and we were NOT paying for a 'snack box,' Continental!), so the pure joy of those blessed first bites of "In & Out" burgers can't even be described;)  

I was so terribly excited for Scott to try them!  For years, I felt like I had been part of a secret 'burger' society that Scott hadn't been initiated into yet;)  But thankfully, his membership card has been punched and he now knows about the SICK GLORY of "In & Out"....particularly the "Double, Double Animal Style."  I can't even talk about it;) hahahahahhhahahahaha

Andddddddddd....ya know, when in Rome:

Do as the Romans: 

And make sure to do it up with Milk AND Dark Chocolate hot fudge sauce in a chocolate dipped waffle bowl;) hahaahahhahahaha.....we were quite smitten by San Francisco already;)

After our good eats, we wandered around Fisherman's Wharf a little longer  (sorta the Times Square of SF.  I get why the locals would think it's cheesy, but for me-I couldn't get enough!  It was a fun little part of town:)  and then it was time to head forrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Catching our first glimpse of Alcatraz island was breath taking...we couldn't believe it was just hanging out there in the middle of the bay;)

And despite, ya know...the whole prison thing, it actually had some nice views;)  No wonder all the guards AND THEIR FAMILIES lived out there....

And the current residents seemed quite content.  Just sayin...

We took the night tour, which THANKFULLY only allowed about 400 people on the island....as opposed to the normal 1,200 during the day!  And even with less people, it was still pretty frantic moving around on the audio tour:)  Even though the tours scattered everyone around the building pretty well...

And once everyone dispersed, you got some pretty quiet and eerie moments alone down a few corridors...

Strangely enough, I didn't find Alcatraz NEARLY as "morbid" as Eastern State in Philly.  The prison at night was equally spooky, as it was serene...I KNOW!  Weird, right???

And walkin through a prison works up an appetite, no???  So after we caught the last ferry back to town, we wandered into this restaurant right next to Pier 39 (more about that tomorrow!) in Fisherman's Wharf....

We started by sharing some blue cheese topped sourdough garlic bread....causeeeeeeee ya know, that HAD to happen....

My land lover got the pan seared chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and bok choy...

...while I FULLY embraced my sea surroundings and indulged in the GARLIC ROASTED Dungeness Crab:

...complete with a hot little bib ;)

That thing tasted like heaven!  The crab was SUPERRRRRRRRRR sweet and it was DRENCHED in garlic and a gallon of butter.  Oh my, oh my!  We knew we were in for some good eats in town after this delicious meal! 

We were *so full* after this meal and thought we had no room to spare, until our waitress pulled the ultimate trick:  She brought over the dessert TRAY.  You just can't say no when chocolate bread pudding is just STARING at you shouting "You're on vacation!  Pick me!"... so we did... 

Warm, chocolaty and decadent...especially with the vanilla sauce that tasted JUST like a melted creme brulee!  This just put us straight into vacation mode;) hahahahhahahaha......andddddd after a 21 hour day (on 4 hours sleep) we called it a night! :)  Hope you enjoyed Day 1!  I'll be back tomorrow with Day 2...that I started at *ahem* 4 am;) 

Have a good Monday, everyone!