I spent the day among the redwoods and along the coast today. After a rejuvenating ten hours of sleep, I went for a non-sugary breakfast (I know, what’s wrong with me?!) at the hotel and then set out for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville. I have been to Muir Woods before, and Armstrong Redwoods has the same beauty without the crowds. There are several trails you can take, but I settled for a loop walk on a couple of shorter trails. I am always amazed by the sheer size of the giant trees and the knowledge that those same trees have been in the same spot for centuries.

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Off to wine country! In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably start off by saying that I’m not really much of a wine drinker. It’s not that I don’t enjoy wine occasionally (remember how much I enjoyed the prosecco in Italy?), but it’s not my drink of preference. That being said, wine country for me is more about the atmosphere, vineyards dotting the hillsides, and good food. I’ve been to Napa a couple of times before, so this time I decided to head to Sonoma Valley.

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I spent most of the day today at Golden Gate Park. It is larger than Central Park in New York City, and is dotted with museums, gardens, and other attractions. Of course, that wasn’t my first stop of the day. I first feasted on deep fried French toast and “Millionaire’s Bacon” (thick-cut bacon caramelized with brown sugar and hot pepper flakes) at Sweet Maple. It felt like a must-try, but the French toast far outshined the bacon. It should probably be noted, though, that I’m not much of a bacon person in general. Then it was off to the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park, followed by Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill, the Rose Garden, and the Conservatory of Flowers. My favorite by far was the rose garden, where hundreds of varieties of roses were all in beautiful bloom.

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Despite being just a 30 minute ferry ride from San Francisco, I felt like I was transported back to Italy when I visited Sausalito today. I had been there before, but I think it was just a quick drive through that time. Today, I took the 10AM ferry after enjoying delicious lemon ricotta pancakes at Plow in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. Stepping off the ferry was like stepping into a different world. Gone were the crowds and noise, replaced with hillside homes reminiscent of the Mediterranean and quiet waterfront sidewalks.

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Chinatown. School of Rock. Cable cars. Cider bar. Those things pretty much sum up my first full day in San Francisco. I made it until 7PM last night before crashing, and slept moderately well until 3 o’clock this morning. It is probably worth noting that the last “meal” I ate (a piece of sourdough bread with havarti) was at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon. So not only was I wide awake, my stomach was in desperate need of food. Fortunately, I had saved my Biscoff cookies from the plane, so there I was at 4AM… munching on cookies in bed and watching the Bachelorette. Crazy, I know.

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The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, sourdough bread… what’s not to love about San Francisco? If you didn’t guess already, this is where I’ll be spending the next few days. I have been here twice before, but my last visit was in 2011. I was originally going to go to Iceland this week, but a combination of things kept that out of the running for this summer. Shortly after I decided to skip Iceland, I watched a movie that showed the San Francisco skyline and next thing I knew… the trip was booked!

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The city of San Diego conjures up visions of palm trees, long sand beaches, and endless sunny days.  But San Diego is more than just iconic California sunshine.  Filled with history and fortunate to have a year-round temperate climate, the city makes for a great, relaxing vacation destination in any season.  With so much to do in San Diego, one could easily spend a couple of weeks and not see everything the area has to offer.  San Diego has the unique appeal of having a little something for everyone.  From beaches to theme parks to a vibrant downtown, everyone can find something to enjoy in the far southwest corner of the United States….

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I admit it.  I’m not a big fan of zoos.  I have nothing against animals; I just don’t enjoy walking around looking at them for hours at a time.  So it came as a surprise to me that I actually enjoyed my afternoon at the Los Angeles Zoo.  Maybe it was the fact that the zoo was well spread-out, or the variety of animals from around the world.  More likely, though, it was the great photo opportunities afforded at this zoo.  I spent about three and a half hours roaming around the zoo on a Saturday afternoon, and could easily have spent a couple more.  Yes, I enjoyed it that much.

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