Our San Francisco Mini-Tour

Cable cars! Definitely worth the 45-minute wait in line.

Lombard Street, the "crookedest street in the world," is just as wonderful on foot as by car

The beautiful moody fog and the Golden Gate Bridge

Erik inspects the cables

This sight gave me a bit of a scare: Grace Cathedral was undergoing construction for floor repairs! I had so been looking forward to walking its labyrinth, so we tried the door anyway... and it was open! And the labyrinth was still in place!

Not only was it open and the labyrinth was still there, but there was a gorgeous installation of ribbons hanging from the ceilings. It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

The ribbons make an already-striking space seem even more otherworldly

Chinatown and its lanterns!

Pier 39 and its musical staircase and its crowds. :) We ended up here about 3 times in 4 days.

Alcatraz is the ever-present background of the area of SF we frequented

"Postcard Row," indeed

This past weekend we took a road trip to San Francisco for Renegade Craft Fair. We tacked a couple of extra days on, and made it into a sort of "working vacation." We made a mini-tour of San Francisco, which is one of my favorite cities in the United States.

With the exception of the Golden Gate Bridge and Postcard Row (and Alcatraz, of course), we explored all of this on foot and by cable car. Thanks to a well-located hotel, we could even walk to and from the show! Not only did this save money on parking, but walking is my favorite way of getting to know an area.

The weather was cloudy and a bit chilly, but it was a welcome break from the hot weather here in the Portland area and especially from the über-hot winds of the drive down through northern California!

It was wonderful to get away. Both Erik and I have spent most of the summer very busy with work, so the change of scenery and pace was much-needed. It's amazing how much living you can pack into one day when you try. I'm going to try to remember that, to get the most out of this summer, before the insanity of fall and the holiday season begins.