2nd Annual Siblings Weekend Getaway

Two weekends ago, Jason and I went with his sister and bro-in-law, Jennifer and Dan, for a getaway trip to San Francisco. We had been hoping to catch a Giants game, but with the playoffs right around the corner and the fact that they were playing against the Dodgers, tickets ended up costing way too much. We had already arranged for Jason's mom to watch our kids for the weekend (we're so blessed that she's always so willing to take our kids), so we decided to go away for the weekend anyway. We each had one item on our "wish list of things to do" so that's what we ended up doing. Here's a quick overview:
*For previous visits, we've stayed right in the heart of San Francisco, but this time, our timeshare wasn't available, so we ended up staying in Pleasanton and took the BART in to town
*On Jason's wish list was seeing a show of some type. He had looked into some groups playing at different venues, but it didn't end up working out. We did get to see a comedy show with Anthony Boden (from Last Comic Standing) on Friday night though. It was a ton of fun!

*On Jennifer's wish list was a visit to the Ferry Building. On Saturday mornings, there's a wonderful Farmer's Market. I absolutely love this place!!!

 

*We headed to Chinatown but instead of finding a Chinese restaurant, we had lunch at a Vietnamese place. It was Dan's first time!   Here's Jason enjoying his Cafe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee)

*The number one thing I wanted to do this weekend was ride a "Go Car." I know- it's so touristy, but still, I have always wanted to do that and now I can cross it off my San Fran list. It was so fun, definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I laughed almost the entire time- it was just so funny to be zooming around the wharf area and to the Golden Gate Bridge in the Go Car. We stopped along Crissy Field and turned around at Fort Point at the base of the bridge.  Along the way, there were moments we wondered if we'd make it up the hills in that dinky little car!

*On Dan's wish list was seeing some art.  We had planned to visit a museum, but some unexpected things happened back home that needed for us to return to Fresno earlier on Sunday than originally planned.  Lucikly, after strolling through the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival, we got a chance to wander through some art galleries near Ghiradelli Square. 
*We love eating in North Beach!  Instead of heading to our usual seafood place, we ventured out and tried a pizza place named Cafe Baonecci.  It was great- they serve authentic Italian pizza!  I have to admit though that when we walked by Sotto Mare, I kind of wished that we had gone there instead...

*We weren't ready to head back to Pleasanton just yet, so we decided to go hang out at O'Reilly's Pub for a few hours.  As we walked back to the BART station, we stopped off at CityLights Bookstore and perused the book aisles.  By the time we were on BART, we were super tired and glad to be able to sit!

Not everyone gets along with their family... It's fun to hang out with Jen and Dan, and I'm glad that the four of us are not only family but friends, as well.  Next year, we'll do a better job planning so that we can make sure that Jason and Dan get to see their Giants!