Every December from Christmas Eve through New Years Day my company shuts down world wide save for a few key customer escalation channels. This means a little over two weeks of yearly relaxation and family time without the dread of coming back to hundreds or thousands of missed emails in your inbox from a traditional vacation.
Each year we try and at least do a small getaway during this time with past excursions including Morro Bay, Palm Springs/Joshua Tree and Los Angeles among others. This year our plan was to head up to Tahoe on the 27th of December but as many of my readers in California or even the greater United States will know the weather had other plans for us!
As we geared up to leave news was coming in that highway 80 was still closed due to record snow fall. We decided to stay at home an extra day and leave on the 28th instead. On the morning of the 28th our airbnb hosts offered us a full refund if we wanted it as they were unable to make it to their cabin to prepare it for our visit. This was finally enough writing on the walls for us to change plans and decide to spend 3 nights in San Francisco instead.
One of the great things about living in the Roseville/Rocklin area is that we are just one and a half hours drive from Tahoe and also just one and a half hours drive from San Francisco. Of course California traffic can drastically impact those durations but we always hope for the best.
As it was an impromptu trip we didn't set out with any planned agenda; instead we made it up each morning over coffee. The first full day of our trip in the city called for rain off and on all day. We planned to start with a tour of the USS Pampanito, a WWII era submarine, then drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to visit the Bay Model in Sausalito. After finding some public parking near the sub, unloading the family, walking briskly (to try and stay as dry as we could with jackets but no umbrellas) to the pier we found that the sub tour was closed (you can guess why but I refuse to speak of it anymore). So instead we took the kids into the Musee Mecanique right next store to play old arcade and pin ball machines, the baby even tried his hand at Skee-Ball!
After spending more money than we should have on Ms. Pac-Man, Skee-Ball, hoops and everything else they had to offer we headed up the street to Nick's Lighthouse for lunch, lucky for us it is crab season!
Next we headed to the Bay Model via Lombard Street and the Golden Gate. Despite growing up in the Bay Area I head never heard of or even known of the Bay Model's existence. It was something my wife had found and wanted to see. Built in 1957 the Army Corp of engineers used it until 2000 as a simulator for the bay allowing scenarios to be played out many times faster than real life to determine the impact certain events would have on the area. For anyone from the bay area I would highly recommend a trip to this display at least once; it is quite unique and impressive to stand a floor above a 3D recreation of the entire area you grew up in and then walk down and be face to face with each section. For out of state or international travelers I wouldn't put it on your list unless you come back frequently but it is free and a great excuse to make your way across the Golden Gate.
The second day we decided to do China town. The kids had a blast going into all the shops and deciding which trinkets they would buy with their own saved up money. G got a lucky cat and a polished stone egg (he's always been into bird eggs!) and big sister got a large silver coin and a panda bear stuffed animal. We then made our way to a local park before having roast duck with Bao buns - delicious!
After China town the baby was exhausted so we headed back to our home away from home and my wife put him to sleep while I took the big kids out front to ride their scooters. This entertained them for a bit but the baby's nap was long so I took them up to Alta Plaza Park which was only a block from our rental. The kids played there for over an hour and I enjoyed people watching and a beautiful sunset from the top of the hill overlooking downtown from one side and glimpses of the bay from the other!
We got home yesterday after an easy drive back. I'd highly recommend the airbnb we stayed at to anyone, 50 Perine Place is the address. Perine is a flat quiet alley located right in the middle of Pacific Heights. It was a great place to spend a few days post Christmas and pre New Years and makes me thankful for my family, the area we live in and that I get this yearly break! Hope everyone had their own nice holidays and happy New Year to all!
