Greg and I took a much need vacation to San Francisco. This was the first real vacation we've had in over a year. Our main reason for visiting was to see my bestie Diana who moved down here a couple of years ago. This is the first time I've seen her new digs in Alameda. We also got to visit with an Uncle for lunch, visit the Winchester house, and see a SR-71.
I didn't take my big camera and only used my iphone for pictures. It was nice not to be burdened lugging all that extra weight around. I also know that I'd be much more inclined to actually blog about this trip if I used my iphone.
One of the first places Diana took us too was Heinold's First and Last Chance. A bar that Jack London used to frequent. The slanted floors and packed decor was great fun. We all spent most of the time just looking around.
So much good food and drink. I loved my cocktail at Chop with a serrano pepper in it.
I had never been to Sutro Baths before. The ruins of this gigantic bathhouse were super cool to walk around.
Greg has been talking about the Camera Obscura every since he first saw it a few years ago. I'm so glad I got to see this too.
The camera spins completely around, but it's focused on Seal Rock. The operator came in to tell us how it worked. He also said that this camera method has been used in many famous paintings including the Girl with the Pearl Earring. It felt magical to watch moving images on this concave disc.
I had also never been to the top of Twin Peaks before. The view was spectacular. I also really enjoyed driving through the whole park. So many folks were in the park enjoying the beautiful weather.
One of Greg's main goals for this trip was to visit Amoeba Records. We went to the one on Haight. The rest of us wandered the street while he spent several hours at Amoeba.
This record store used to be a bowling alley. It's huge.
We explored the old batteries at Presidio.
We walked down to the bridge and even walked out to the first tower. I must admit, I was pretty freaked out. The height along with the wind was almost too much for me, but I'm so glad I walked on the bridge.
After two days in Alameda, we headed to San Jose to have lunch with Greg's Uncle and to also check out the Winchester House. This has never been high on my list, but I'm so glad we went. The tour was amazing and the house is beautiful and strange. We walked over a mile in the house and still didn't see 50 of the 160 rooms.
So many oddities. So many windows opening into nothing or doors going nowhere. Sarah Winchester didn't use an architect and used seances to determine what to build next. Such an interesting story.
We visited Castle Air Museum in Atwater to see a SR-71 Blackbird. Greg is on a quest to see all of them in existence. The museum was small and all of the planes were in a field. We were alone as we walked past lots of amazing planes.

So much great nose art. Many of paintings on the noses have been restored.
I think this is the 8th SR-71 we've seen. Such a pretty plane.
It was fun to practice taking panoramas with my phone.
Another first for me was eating at In-N-Out. Really, really good. I can't wait to go back.
We stopped in Livermore to see the longest running light bulb. You can see it in the top right of this picture. It's been running for 112 years. They even have a camera set up, so you can watch this light at home.
We headed back to San Fran and spent our last night at the Hotel Vertigo close to Union Square. This hotel all in orange and white was crazy cool. I need to re-watch Vertigo now.
Greg found another huge (5 stories!) record store. I took pictures while he looked for music.
We had one last evening to visit with Diana; we had great thai food and then found a uber cool bar for one last cocktail. Our vacation was 5 days long and we packed it plenty full. I'm so glad I got time to hang out with Diana and see so many new things. I'm already ready for my next vacation.

Greg and I at Presidio.