The first leg of our trip was a 3 hour drive from Raleigh to Charlotte, NC on Friday after work.
We managed to get 2 weeks worth of stuff into 3 "carry-on" bags.
Eleven hours later, we were on the first leg of our trip, a 2.5 hour flight from Charlotte to Dallas/Ft. Worth. I would have preferred to not sit in the last row of the plane. It wasn't even the bathrooms that were the problem, it was the loud engine that blocked the view out the window. Thank God for earplugs!
We were welcomed in San Jose with beautiful skies and mountains!
Leaving the airport, we saw an In-N-Out Burger that just happened to be on our way. Our meager breakfast and lunch left us salivating at the sight of the fast food joint. We had to google the secret menu, and managed to successfully order an "animal style" burger and a 2x2 "protein style" burger. Don't know what that is, check it here.
Colin is a huge fan of In-N-Out Burger
Since the weather was so nice, we decided to make our way through San Francisco to John Muir Woods north of the city.
Heading into San Francisco
Crossing the city on one of the awfully hilly streets.
I was quickly reminded of how scary these are!
The view back to San Francisco Bay from north of the city was beautiful
We saw a lot of San Francisco when we visited back in 2010 and took lots of pictures in and around the city at that time. During that trip, we also drove to Muir Woods, but it was getting too late to hike. We later learned that we had missed a great deal in the park, so we knew we had to get back there. Once we got out of the car and walked into the park, we were in awe. Neither of us could believe that we had missed out on seeing the massive Redwoods when we were so close.
This time, we enjoyed a leisure stroll through the woods, taking in all the protected natural beauty the park could offer. I think experiences like this cannot be justified by pictures, but I will share a few anyway.
Experiencing the massive Redwood trees in John Muir Woods
So glad we decided to visit this park on our arrival
Our trip did not end with our nature exploration. Colin wanted to get something to eat in San Francisco, so we made our way back into the city to the Mission District, where we found ourselves in a small restaurant reminiscent of the many in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. At Weird Fish, Colin enjoyed the fish and chips and I opted for the smaller famous clam chowder. We also indulged in the vegan cheesecake. All of the food was delicious, especially after working up our appetite on the hike.
Chowder and fish and chips at Weird Fish in San Francisco
Just after 9pm (midnight east coast time), we finally left San Francisco for our accommodations in Napa Valley. The hour and a half drive was brutal after all of the adventures of the day. It did not help that the last 15 minutes had us twisting and turning up a mountain. But, this is how we Millers usually travel - there is no rest for those who want to see everything!
Check back in soon for all the things we got to see on our latest adventure!
Have you ever been so close to something really awesome and you didn't get to see it?!
Did you end up going back?
