Whirlwind Weekend in California

I'm such a lucky mama!! Brittany and Courtnie invited me along on their three-day fast and furious trip to California! Thank you, ladies!

Day 1 - We flew out of Portland early Thursday morning and hit the ground running in San Francisco two hours later. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco! The weather was perfect... the golden sun of San Francisco was definitely shining for us!

We first headed over to Alcatraz Island - 1.25 miles off shore. Our tour of the federal prison was very interesting but also a bit unnerving. I could almost feel the violence and desperation that occurred within those cement walls. I can't imagine living there (or in any other jail or prison for that matter) or how terrible life must have been for all involved. Eek.

Alcatraz Island is a U.S. National Park - I didn't know that!

After our Alcatraz tour we went to Pier 39, ate fresh seafood, and saw the many sea lions sleeping, sunning and barking at each other on the platforms floating there for their use. They were fun to watch as they would jump out of the water and land on top of an unsuspecting soul in the process which caused all sorts of grumbling and growling. They were pretty noisy but cute too.

We then went to Ghirardelli Square and of course sampled and bought chocolate! Hey... we were on vacation!! I admit, we also had ICE CREAM! I took the "on vacation" a little too far because then I was SICK ON VACATION! Blah!  

Thursday night we headed over to Oakland for Kelly Clarkson’s first night of her Meaning of Life Tour. Brittany and Courtnie surprised me with awesome seats in the first row! Kelly always puts on a great show and this one was no different! Brynn Cartelli, Kelly’s first Team Kelly winner from the Voice, opened for her as well as Kelsie Ballerini. She also had D.R. King, another Voice contestant, along on the tour too. Obviously Kelly wants to help them with their careers and what could be better than touring with a superstar like her?! It was a great concert! 

Brynn, 15 years old with an amazing voice!

After walking nearly 8 miles through San Francisco (I always have my Garmin on!) we collapsed into bed around midnight, completely exhausted, only to get up 5 hours later for another day packed full of adventure!

Day 2 - Road trip to Yosemite National Park! Woohoo! Yosemite was a destination on all three of our bucket lists. Very exciting! 

I had no idea what to expect in Yosemite but once in the park I was constantly yelling from the backseat to “Stop!” so I could take another picture! Brittany was a great sport and allowed me to hop in and out whenever she could pull over. Thanks Missy!

El Capitan is the largest granite monolith in the world
3000 feet from base to summit
Elevation: 7,573 feet

We stayed at the Yosemite Valley Lodge so our time spent there was all in the Valley. It was amazing!! This is the tourist trap of Yosemite but luckily we were there during the off season. It was actually very quiet and peaceful. I'm sure the crowds become overwhelming in the spring and summer but seeing the waterfalls and rivers at that time would be worth the visit. They were beautiful at this time but I bet they are magnificent when the snow melts!

The only wildlife we saw in Yosemite :)

Half Dome - Elevation: 8,839 feet

Yosemite Falls - 2,425 vertical feet

Lower Falls of Yosemite Falls

This was my first visit to Yosemite and it was a wonderful one. I absolutely loved it there and can't wait to return with my boots and backpack! Those trails were loudly calling my name. ;)

Day 3 - Up far too early again to head back to San Francisco for our afternoon flight home. Did I mention we didn't get much sleep on this trip?! 

♭♮ On the road again...݉݉♮♭ 

Not one to waste a minute of our weekend, Brittany asked if I was up for another adventure once we arrived back in the city because we were too early to go to the airport. Yes, of course I am! Just let me wipe the sand out of my eyes! We went to The Presidio in San Francisco (our third U.S. National Park on this trip), which previously served as an army post for 218 years. It was beautiful... and green! Within the park we found the Palace of Fine Arts... another beautiful place to see. I'm sure there were many more great things we missed but we saw what we could in the little time we had.

It was a crazy, fast, exciting three-day trip that we definitely made the most of! We saw everything we set out to see and then some. I'm so happy and grateful that I was invited to tag along! xoxo

By the way... I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco (at least not this time)... in case you are wondering. ;)