Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz

On Tuesday, March 23, we woke up to a beautiful day in San Francisco. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and temperatures were in the high 60s. A perfect San Francisco day.

We had breakfast at Sears Fine Foods, which is apparently a favorite of my Uncle Louie whenever he and his wife visit San Francisco. It's an old-style SF restaurant with the tall ceilings, low lighting and great food. CJ had eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast; this kid can really put away the food when he's hungry and motivated.

After breakfast, we set off for Fisherman's Wharf on the cable car. At the ticket booth on Market and Powell, we got tourist weeklong passes, which we didn't end up using fully, but it sure was convenient not to have to hunt around for change and get individual tickets for the bus or underground. CJ loved the cable car! But then again, this is a kid who loves trains!

We got off at the end of the line, walked around, checked out a few shops, and had lunch at the Crab Station, which was recommended on Yelp. I really, really wanted clam chowder in a bread bowl and got my wish. There wasn't any place to sit, so we sat outside. CJ enjoyed his fried calamari and fed the pigeons breads until we saw the gigantic "Do not feed the birds" sign close to the food stations. Oops!

I had never been to Alcatraz. Imagine that! The ferry ride was wonderful. CJ and I love boats so he and I ran around the ferry, catching the sights. He also loved the pretzel that he had on board.

Turns out you need some stamina to visit Alcatraz. You walk, walk, walk, mostly uphill. Whitel there, a couple of us watched the film (recommended, btw), and we visited the gardens, the prison, the morgue, the guard tower.

The Park rangers love to tell the stories of the hardened criminals who spent time at Alcatraz and wonder aloud if any of the few who escaped actually managed to survive.

After Alcatraz, we took the electric trolley to the Ferry Building, which is now this fancy marketplace for gourmet and organic food, coffee, sweets. This a total must-see because the shops are so incredible and the views of the Bay and the Bay Bridge are amazing!

We had dinner at Slanted Door, a fancy Vietnamese restaurant with incredible food. There were 16 of us, including family and friends! I recommend the papaya salad, the spare ribs, cellophane noodles with dungeness crab, the asparagus, the tiger prawns, and the whole fish (if they have it on the menu). Yum! What a great day for the start of our SF vacation!

CJ enjoyed the walk to Pier 39.

CJ in front the prison steps at Alcatraz. He loved all the climbing; takes after his dad!

CJ in front of the gardens at Alcatraz. Volunteers maintain the gardens, which were apparently
lovingly tended by the families of the guards when Alcatraz was used as a prison.

San Francisco, Here We Come! I love Virgin America!

Okay, I'm way behind on updating my blog. So this will be the start of a delayed narrative about our trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago for CJ's Spring Break.

We toyed with the idea of going to Mexico or Japan, but decided to stay in the country and go to San Francisco to visit family and play tourist in SF, something CJ had never done.

We got a great deal on the airfare from Virgin America. Under $1,200 for the three of us! Woo hoo!

Virgin turned out to be amazing and has made flying fun again. Check-in wasn't crowded, the staff were helpful, we got to check CJ's car seat for free, it's still $20 per bag if you're checking bags but the first bag can be up to 70 lb., and we got to board early because we had CJ. So far, so good.

The real magic on Virgin flights is the food and entertainment. Every seat has its own TV screen. You can order food and drink on the TV, even free things like water and soda. You touch water on the screen and the flight attendant comes by within a few minutes with your water. If you want something that's not free, you just swipe your credit card and your cookie, sandwich, chips or whatever arrive within a few minutes. Very nice.

We LOVED the in flight entertainment. CJ enjoyed the games and the kids' music; he was singing Schoolhouse Rock songs nearly the entire flight. I loved the free DISH network and watch an NCIS marathon on USA Network. Maki loved the music selection and the ability to create your own playlist! Talk about customized entertainment! The TV shows, movies and music made the 5+ hour flight zip by.

Our flight was uneventful, we arrived in SF on time, got picked up by my nephew Rusty, and checked in to our hotel by 8pm. My in-laws had already arrived, so we said hello, had a snack, and then crashed since it was past midnight East Coast time by the time we finally turned off the lights. So far, a great start to our vacation.