We are Planning a Trip

Not having a proper wedding led to zero honeymoon. It happens that way, sometimes.

The husband and I were 18 when we got married and I believe only once in the almost 18 years we've been married did we go on a mini-vacay alone. And that was to Mexico. And we were alone because my mom didn't want anyone stealing her grand-babies. And that was back in 2000, I think.

We are due for a honeymoon. We are due some time off. And we are gonna take it.

We were originally going to wait until our anniversary in December, but all of the places we were throwing around would be quite cold come winter. I don't generally like the cold. Can you blame me? I live in Arizona.

Because I like to get a good deal (and I feel a tiny bit guilty that we aren't taking the kids), I didn't want to spend a ton of cash. Marcos and I decided to DRIVE to our honeymoon (lol, feels weird saying that) destination.

 
Each way is about 12 hours. And I am FINE with that. We will be spending FIVE days in San Fran and the surrounding areas. That means the husband has been doing all of the leg work from booking the hotel to finding things for us to do.

Based on our preliminary planning, here are a few ideas we have:

A trip to San Fran wouldn't be complete without visiting the famous Rock (one of my favorite movies, btw). I was bummed to find out that the night tours (hello, Ghost Hunters) sell out WAY in advance. Thankfully, the morning, day and afternoon tours were wide open, when we purchased our tickets. We ended up doing the City Pass and replacing the Bay cruise with the Alcatraz tour. Here is some information I found online at AlcatrazCruises.com.

Most people know that Alcatraz was once a world-famous federal penitentiary, but the island’s history before and after the penitentiary era is less well known. For example, few realize that it was also the site of the first American lighthouse on the West Coast and that the island served as a huge harbor defense fort during the Civil War. After the fort became obsolete, the U.S. Army turned the island into a grim military prison. Following the closing of the penitentiary, Alcatraz became the site of a American Indian protest movement that would change modern American history.

This is going to be a huge highlight of the trip... I cannot wait.

How can you venture out to the Bay area without stopping to see the orange wonder that is? I am very excited to check out the bridge and to learn more about it. I do know that the company I work for (BofA) actually help fund the bridge back in the day. I am also looking forward to the views; I've heard they are breathtaking.

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Jelly Belly's... Do I need to offer up more reasons? =) I will say that this one is on the husband's list. He's mentioned it every time we've thought about heading out west. (er. more west than we already are)

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This is probably the MAIN reason why I want to go to San Francisco. I am a HUGE fan of Ghost Hunters and all things "haunted." When I heard about the Winchester House in San Jose, I flipped out. I couldn't wait to add it to an itinerary. And now we have! This place is supposed to be haunted and kooky. The Winchester house was originally owned by the peeps that invented the gun with the same name. There are staircases that go nowhere and other curiosities. Super excited!!

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There are two reasons why I am looking forward to this pit stop. One, as a kid, my mom lived on Lombard Street. Albeit, in Illinois. But still, I like the linkage. Two, when I lived in Germany, I remember reading about Lombard Street in one of my history books... it was so American to me. It's been on my list of places to visit for as long as I can remember.

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There you have it. A few of the places we will be visiting during our upcoming trip! I can't wait to get my camera out and document, document, document.

Have you ever been to San Fran? Are there any other places you recommend we stop at?