San Francisco Labor Day trip!

Over the long holiday weekend I took a trip to San Francisco to visit my daughter and her husband. Just a quick trip for a few days to hang out and spend some time (and money) with the kids! This will be a short blog post as it is not nearly as exciting a trip as some of my international trips. Much of the time was spent hanging out, eating, playing dominos, chatting and well…eating!

Friday, August 29 was a day that I had off from work but the kids had to go to work. So I decided that instead of my normal “shopping” day that I do when in the city I would go to a day spa and have the “pamper me” treatment! It was glorious!!! I went to the Burke Williams spa in San Francisco (located in the main mall near the Powell BART stop). Purchased an “all day” inclusive package that included a sugar scrub, a 50-minute deep massage, a spa facial and a pedicure. It was lovely and I felt like Jell-O when it was over!

After my spa day and a quick lunch in the mall I headed back to the kids apartment in San Mateo and rested for a while until they came home from work. We then went out to dinner at a local San Mateo restaurant and caught up from the day. All in all a lovely day!

Saturday, August 30: I have done all the major “tourist” stuff many times before. Meghan has lived in the Bay Area since she went to school out here in 2007. So I have managed to hit all the high spots before. I wanted to do something different. I had heard about a Rosie the Riveter museum located in Richmond, CA. I was really excited to go see the museum and check out the stuff they had there that commemorates the women who worked in the factories and shipyards for the war effort in WWII. Meghan and Don were not thrilled to go there but I convinced them that it was something that they would enjoy and that it wasn’t something that would take more than a couple hours.

I really enjoyed the museum. It is part of the U.S. National parks so there are no entrance fees (free!!). Located right on the water in Richmond, there is also a ship that you can tour through as well as a restaurant (which was closed for a private party when we were there). We toured the little museum and also were able to view a quilt exhibit that was being held there (we had no knowledge of this before hand just stumbled upon it). It was great to listen to a short Q&A with the ladies who made the quilts and one of them was an actual “Rosie” who cracked us all up when she said she had to lie about her age to get a job in the shipyard!! 

Rosie statue

Entrance to the museum

After our “Rosie” tour we decided to grab some lunch and take the longer way home (a more scenic drive). We headed to an In N Out burger (Yum!) and drove down the coast to get back to San Mateo. Great day and perfect weather!

Sunday, August 31: Today’s festivities included a trip to Monterey, CA. Meghan was very excited to visit the Monterey Aquarium (she has a membership pass) and see the fish, seals, penguins and all the rest. Having the membership pass you are able to enter at 9 am instead of the normal 10 am open time. It was nice to get a head start on the crowds (children everywhere!!). The jellyfish and the penguins were my favorites, although the tentacle exhibit was cool too!!

Overlooking the bay at the aquarium 

Jellies!

More jellies!

Penguins at play!

We decided after the aquarium to take the scenic 17-mile drive, which hugs the coast and it was worth it! I don’t think that I had every been on this road before and I enjoyed it. We got out of the car a few times to walk on the beach and take pictures. Note that there was spots that it was very busy, it was Labor Day weekend and everyone seemed to have the same idea. No worries, because the traffic (for the most part) moved along well.

From the 17 mile drive!

Mommy and daughter!

We then headed back to the pier in Monterey to have a late lunch at a restaurant that Meghan had made reservations for. Old Fisherman’s Grotto was really nice! The food was excellent and we had a table overlooking the water. The portions were so huge that it felt like we couldn’t even walk back to the parking garage to get the car! But we made it and I can admit to taking a lovely nap in the backseat of the Volvo all the way back to San Mateo!!

All in all a lovely, relaxing weekend that was spent with the kids. We spent quite a bit of “down time” playing dominos and chatting amongst ourselves and just hanging out. It was nice to travel back to San Francisco and really not do the traditional “tourist” stuff. As much as I love SF and what it has to offer, sometimes getting out provides a nice break. And many thanks to Southwest Airlines for having both my connecting flights in Midway on time and leave on time. Appreciate that!

Till next time…Travel on…