Anniversary

In August, Bryce and my 4th Anniversary was nearing (as was my mother's birthday, the same day actually). Bryce's mother had offered to watch Elias so Bryce and I could have a night away to celebrate. I told Bryce that we should just stay in town, maybe go book a night at The Pointe and just relax by the pool and have a good dinner. He agreed and the plan was set. Well, two days before our actual anniversary, Elias came out of the back room w/ a card in hand. I opened it up and to my surprise, Bryce had put together a quick San Francisco trip!!!!!! I was soooo excited b/c San Fran is one of my favorite cities!!!!! Bryce had already planned w/ his Mom to watch Elias so we could go away for two nights. Coincidentally, the weekend before, Bryce's parents had done a work trip there and I was talking to Lorraine telling her how envious I was of her that she was there and I wasn't!!! And, of course, she already knew I would be there sooner than later! :)
We arrived there at 10am and took the BART (train/subway system to get around) straight to downtown. Bryce booked our room at The Westin St Francis.....which was so antique looking. Just my style! The hotel lobby was beautiful! Even though our room was probably the size of our kitchen, it served its purpose. lol.So, a couple weeks ago, Bryce and my 4th Anniversary was nearing (as was my mother's birthday, the same day actually). Bryce's mother had offered to watch Elias so Bryce and I could have a night away to celebrate. I told Bryce that we should just stay in town, maybe go book a night at The Pointe and just relax by the pool and have a good dinner. He agreed and the plan was set. Well, two days before our actual anniversary, Elias came out of the back room w/ a card in hand. I opened it up and to my surprise, Bryce had put together a quick San Francisco trip!!!!!! I was soooo excited b/c San Fran is one of my favorite cities!!!!! Bryce had already planned w/ his Mom to watch Elias so we could go away for two nights. Coincidentally, the weekend before, Bryce's parents had done a work trip there and I was talking to Lorraine telling her how envious I was of her that she was there and I wasn't!!! And, of course, she already knew I would be there sooner than later! :)
We arrived there at 10am and took the BART (train/subway system to get around) straight to downtown. Bryce booked our room at The Westin St Francis.....which was so antique looking. Just my style! The hotel lobby was beautiful! Even though our room was probably the size of our kitchen, it served its purpose. lol. The first day we got there, we just had lunch at this really cute Italian shop and shopped and walked around. The weather was beautiful. We are such a "nap family"....I swear, if we could put two king beds together and have Elias in bed napping with us, we would be in hog heaven!!! So, we took a nap that day and went to Tadich Grill, which we were told was the oldest resturaunt in the city! To be very honest, Bryce and I were kind of disappointed w/ the food and service. It had a total men's club feeling to it which was kind of cool, but the food was mediocre. We were told the bread was to die for, but we ended up almost chipping our teeth of the piece we were given. The first day we got there, we just had lunch at this really cute Italian shop and shopped and walked around. The weather was beautiful. We are such a "nap family"....I swear, if we could put two king beds together and have Elias in bed napping with us, we would be in hog heaven!!! So, we took a nap that day and went to Tadich Grill, which we were told was the oldest resturaunt in the city! To be very honest, Bryce and I were kind of disappointed w/ the food and service. It had a total men's club feeling to it which was kind of cool, but the food was mediocre. We were told the bread was to die for, but we ended up almost chipping our teeth of the piece we were given.

The next day was really exciting. We rented bikes to ride over the Golden Gate! It was overcast that day and that was fine by us! We get enough sun here in Phoenix for an entire lifetime! Bryce and I tried a tandum bike at first but, of course, that requires a team effort, and well, Bryce and I are still working on that! lol. :) Unfortunately, we got stuck behind a big swarm of Chinese Protesters since it was the opening day of the Olympics in China. So, instead of our bike ride taking us the intended hour and half, it took us 3! That was fun. It was pretty good excercise, as we all know I need it! We rode our bikes over to Saulsilito and spent several hours there. We had lunch at this place called Poggio? I think that is how you spell it. Anyways, it was the bomb!!!! The bread was phenomonal. It was just a cute relaxed town and Bryce and I really want to go back and spend some more time there! We took the Ferry back to the city and headed to the Masseuse!!! Yep, that is right. We went to this place that Lorraine and Steve went to and got dual feet and neck massages! It was great!

We got back, Bryce wanted to relax and I of course, was being haunted by the 3 story Forever 21 store down the street so of course I had to check that out. You know its pretty good if I give up a nap for it!! I decided to wear my boots for this excursion and what a dumb move that was. I had to go into the 7 story Macy's right across the street first and by the time I was done there, my feet were killing me!! So, I wasted most of my time trying to find a cheap pair of flip flops to change into and of course, cheap doesn't exist in that city. :( So, I burned a lot of my time looking for those instead of shopping in my beloved Forever 21. It's probably a good thing now looking back.

That night, Bryce once again surprised me w/ a dinner reservation at this place called The Crustacean. It was in the "Vietnemese" part of town. That dinner was the best!!! Bryce is a huge crab eater so he ordered a whole crab and I ordered these Chicken Rolls-kind of like California Rolls only fried. (Super healthy, i know. ) I tried one bite and that was all I wanted to eat there!!! I was already feeling sick....actually the whole trip, I felt like I was going to throw up b/c of the windy roads and Mario Andretti wannabes called cab drivers. So, I was super content w/ my fried rolls and a small salad. Bryce ate every last bit of his crab. We took pics of the meal so once I can figure this blogging thing and how to upload pics and put them where I want, they will be here.

I applaud anyone who has read this whole thing! I think I fell asleep 5 mins ago. ;)

But, I just want to say how grateful I am that Bryce surprised me with that little trip. With this time also being the first birthday passed of my Mom's without her being here, I have no clue how I would have been if I wasn't preoccupied w/ a beautiful city. You are awesome Bryce!!! Thanks for the trip and for all the hard work you do in our marriage! I love you.

And, Ma, not a day goes by that I don't think about you-that memories of you don't cloud my mind and fill my heart. Happy Birthday Ma. I love you.....more than you will ever know.