Our trip to California started off with another early flight – this time
leaving Toronto at 6:40am. As they did for my Mexico trip, my parents were
awesome and drove us to the airport. While I may not like super-early mornings,
I do prefer them when travelling because it gives you an earlier start to your
vacation. The airport was busy, especially the American Airlines counter. They
have multiple hubs throughout the US and had a number of planes departing that
morning. The longest wait was the check-in counter, after that security and
customs moved quickly. We stopped for something quick to eat at the terminal
and were on the plane by 6:00am.
Our flight was booked using miles, and AA doesn’t fly directly to San
Francisco, so we had an hour stop in Dallas. Fortunately, we had flown in to
Dallas back in November when we went to Brian’s grandmother’s funeral so we had
an idea of the terminal layout. This knowledge allowed us to make the
connection with time to spare – that airport is huge! We also had a chance to
grab sandwiches and coffees for the plane, which we were happy about as the
flight was 5 hours. We were on a pretty cool plane – one that had in-seat
entertainment and wifi which is always a plus. I find that being able to watch
movies, or surf the internet helps the flight time pass quicker. I did have the
middle seat for this flight, which is never fun but it was only fair. We had
planned for me to have the middle seats on the flights to San Francisco (and
Brian the window) and then have Brian take the middle seats on the way home
with me on the aisle. It was our way of compromising and ensuring each of us
got the type of seating we preferred. But the woman beside me was nice, and
spent the entire flight on her laptop working, so I didn’t have to worry about
waking someone up to get out of the seat or while reaching over to take
something from the flight attendant.
It was only 1:00pm when we arrived in San Francisco – time change that
works in your favor is always awesome when traveling. Getting our luggage and
rental car was an easy process, though we did need to upgrade the car that had
been rented for us. Again it was on points, and was booked as a compact. The
woman took one look at our 4 pieces of luggage and told us it wouldn’t work. I
really need to work on my packing skills! But it wasn’t a big deal, as the
upgrade charge was reasonable. They ended up being out of mid-size vehicles
anyway, so we got an additional (this time free) upgrade to a full size. It was
a Chevy Impala and a nice car. It wasn’t Elmo (my beloved red Mazda 3) but it
worked great for our travel needs.
Navigating out of the airport and into the city center was a bit of a
challenge, but Google Maps didn’t let me down. I seriously have no use for my
Tom Tom GPS these days, as Google Maps and Waze are amazing navigation tools –
especially when you want to be aware of any problems ahead or alternative
routes. I don’t think I have forgiven my Tom Tom for the time it directed us to
a fuel plant when we were in dire need of gas. Not only did the plant not have
a gas station near, it was a super sketchy area in Virginia and late at night.
With the street view feature on Google Maps, that type of mistake will never be
repeated.
Our hotel for the first night was the Holiday Inn on Fisherman’s Warf
and it was great. A bit out of the way from the main sights, but close to a
cable car stop and BART (San Francisco’s transportation system). It was also
only a few blocks from Ghirardelli
Square which was a fantastic feature. The rooms were clean, the people nice,
and the parking reasonable – definitely a hotel I would return to.
Once we arrived we took a two
hour nap, needing it after very little sleep and a busy day. I made sure were
awake and ready by 5:00 so we would have some time to sightsee. After talking
to the concierge (Yup, a Holiday Inn with a concierge!) we got directions to a
recommended restaurant in Ghirardelli Square. This worked out well as it was an
area we wanted to see.
Ghirardelli Square is such a
cool area. The Ghirardelli chocolate shop is the main attraction, but inside
the square there is a bunch of cute shops with things like – wine, cupcakes,
oils, paper products, pet products, and gifts. There is also a Fairmont hotel
that looks gorgeous. We spent a bit walking around the square, and then down to
the water near it. The sun was setting, so it was a great time to take some
photos.
The restaurant we had been
referred to was “McCormick and Kuleto’s” which specialized in
seafood. When we heard the name we had asked if they were associated with the
McCormick and Schmick chain and were told no – both by the restaurant and the
concierge. It wasn’t that we cared – both of us like McCormick and Schmick, but
they tend to be pricier then what we wanted to spend. The menu looked great
with reasonable prices, and the hotel had given us a coupon so we went with it.
The food was incredible! Awesome clam chowder, delicious Mahi Mahi and the best
crab/avocado appetizer I have ever tried. I would fully recommend that
restaurant to anyone in the area. On the way out I noticed the computer screens
all had McCormick and Schmick on them – so obviously they are aligned with them
in some way. Not quite sure why they felt the need to hide that fact.
After dinner we went to Ghirardelli
for desert. We were both to full to eat anything, so we bought some chocolate
to-go (yummy Peppermint Bark) and got a hot drink. Brian of course got a Mocha,
whereas I went with hot chocolate and wow! The best hot chocolate I have ever
tasted… their chocolate product makes a huge difference.
We walked around a bit more, but
soon went back to the hotel. It had been a long day, and by this point it was
11pm Toronto time. While it was only 9:00 in San Francisco, we were ready for
bed.
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