San Francisco

With Dayton starting his professional MBA program this summer, we only have a few weekends where he doesn't have class. We decided to take advantage of one of those weekend and fly to San Francisco for a family vacation while Hunter could still fly for free.  Dayton and I went on a road trip to San Francisco when we first started hanging out and it wasn't long after that trip that we started dating exclusively.  San Francisco is such a fun city with great memories for us.  

This was back in 2011. . . 

Fun to think about. . . . . 

We were excited to spend time as a family and get to visit my brother and his family. We don't get to see them much and they are Hunter's only cousins, so we were excited for the trip!

We left Salt Lake bright and early Friday morning and made it to San Fran around 8:30. MaryAnne and the kiddos picked us up at the airport and our adventure began.

We made a few quick stops and then headed for the Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate park. It was such a neat place. We walked up the bird and butterfly exhibit. The butterflies would come land on your shoulder. Hunter loved it.

Then we walked through the aquarium exhibit. Hunter is REALLY into fish right now. 

He enjoyed watching the colorful fish and touching the starfish.

Not sure what this face is about. . . 

We also walked through the whale and Africa sections. The kids got to play in a whales heart! I learned that whales were once land creatures and then later evolved. Crazy.

Brad finished his first year of residency that weekend was able to get a half day off one of the days we were there! Lucky us. While the Kate and Hunter napped, we went on a small hike to view the city of San Francisco.

Later, we rented paddle boats and paddled around a pond in Golden Gate park.  We fit all five of us n the boat. We learned that the extra weight in the back can REALLY slow you down.  After we had brad sitting in the middle, Dayton and I were able to paddle a lot faster. Annie and James had fun steering us around.

We ended the night with takeout from a vegan Chinese restaurant and spicy wings (for Dayton ;). We took a hike around Lands End to see the the sunset and Golden Gate Bridge. It was so pretty. I love the ocean and can't believe Brad and MaryAnne live only blocks away!

The next day we hit the Zoo. It was Hunter's first time and he absolutely loved it. He couldn't get enough of the giraffes and zebras. He kept requesting, "more giraffes, more giraffes." Hunter kept laughing every time he saw a giraffe and completely lost it when he saw them try to run.

Hunter playing on the lion statues.

After the zoo and afternoon naps, we hit Ghirardelli Square and got some yummy chocolate. The place was packed so we bought a few chocolates and hit the beach. 

Hunter enjoyed watching the waves and playing in the sand.

Later, we walked around the Wharf and got some seafood. It was such a fun trip and great to spend time with family. Hunter did great on the flight and loved being in the airplane.