Day 3: Golden Gate

We are elated and exhausted from a day of walking all over San Francisco. We started early with an Uber to the western end of Golden Gate Park to see the bison paddock. Unfortunately the bison were huddled behind two fences in their stables (probably due to the cold as it was in the low 50s for most of the day) so we could barely see them. But there was a nearby dog park so the girls were able to pet a number of dogs, including a few huskies (Diane’s favorites).

Tatonka.

We spent the next couple of hours walking to the other end of the park, checking out the sites all the way. There were waterfalls, duck ponds, hidden pathways, and gardens. It couldn’t compare with the mystique of Glen Park Canyon, but what a great sprawling expanse of green to lose yourself in when you need an escape from urban life.

Aren’t we supposed to be the ones embarrassing them?

Our favorite part was the Japanese Tea Garden, which charged an entry fee (boo) but was immaculately landscaped with winding paths, streams, bridges, pagodas, and of course, giant koi (hooray!). We shared a pot of green tea and then ogled the koi until I had to drag “someone” away kicking and screaming. I mean really, how many pictures can Zach take of goldfish? Kidding aside, the girls did decide that Zach’s spirit animal is the koi.

The serenely beautiful Japanese Tea Garden

Just a block from the park is the Velo Rouge Cafe where Eleni works, so we stopped by for some lattes for us and steamed milk with vanilla for the girls. What an adorable place! The coffee was fantastic and the atmosphere just so cozy and cool. And the service was second to none!

Eleni’s shift was ending so she joined us and we headed to the Conservatory of Flowers to find out it is closed on Mondays. We were bummed to miss out on the carnivorous plants and corpse flower! So we admired the dahlias and picnicked in the outdoor gardens instead. The girls harassed and fawned over Eleni to no end, but thankfully she didn’t seem to mind their clingy hugs and girl scout camp songs.

After we parted ways with Eleni we hopped in another Uber. By the way, this is officially the trip that has made Zach an Uber convert. The high price of public transportation paired with the fact that our kids are now too old for a discount, along with the long distances and easy availability of drivers really sealed the deal. But my favorite part is that Melina has been referring to Ubers as UFOs. “Can’t we just get a UFO?” she now asks when we are deciding how to get somewhere. Anwyay, this one dropped us at the Sausalito end of the Golden Gate Bridge for our walk across to San Francisco. Blane had taught us that the infamous fog is now an internet personality named Karl, and we had hoped Karl would roll out by midday but he was still hanging around like a distant family member that can’t take a hint. Turns out that made for a pretty cool experience! It felt like we were walking towards the end of the world, but we could still see the teal-blue water clearly below us and even spotted a few seals and maybe even a dolphin! We all enjoyed the bridge, but about 2/3 of the way through the frigid wind started to get to Diane and we hurried to the shore to huddle in a coffee shop for warmth.

A plaque on the bridge

Another quick UFO ride back to Ghirardelli Square and we waited in line to check off our last touristy must-do: a cable car ride. It was fun, but as Zach told the girls, it will be their first and last cable car ride! The line took forever, it was way over priced, and the girls were so stressed out by the kids dangling off the sides of the cars into oncoming traffic that they hardly noticed the views.

We got off the car at the cable car museum and as it turns out we couldn’t have planned that better. We didn’t realize the museum is actually the command central for the cables that run under the city pulling the cars up the hilly streets! It was really cool to see how the cars and cables work, and the mid 1980’s video explaining the process was a fun flashback to our childhoods. Now every time we cross a cable car line the girls get a kick out of listening for the cables speeding by underground.

We topped off the day with dinner at The Stinking Rose, a tacky and overpriced garlic-themed restaurant that still manages to hold some novelty appeal. My cousin Evan met us there and we had a blast hearing about his life in San Francisco and trading stories. After their clinginess with Eleni we wouldn’t let the girls sit by Evan, but they did get to snuggle up to him a bit when we treated us to ice cream afterwards and they were in heaven. It was a perfect ending to our time in San Francisco!