With fresh faces and smiles, we woke up ready to start the day, and explore the city.
In all of our planning, we missed one rather large detail- and found ourselves right in the middle of Pride weekend, including the Pride parade. Surprisingly, the street closures and mega crowds didn’t faze us, too much. We set out for breakfast, thinking we were in a great area to just wander until we found something locally delicious to try. After a few blocks, it became clear that plan wasn’t going to work. We couldn’t seem to agree on anything. Finally, I made an executive decision, and we followed google maps to Grove Yerba Buena. Bellies were grumbling as we got closer and closer to the restaurant. Much to our dismay, we turned the corner to be greeted by a very long line of people waiting to eat at the Grove.
It must have been written all over our faces, because an employee came out and told us the line would move fast. At this point, we were willing to tell ourselves he was honest, and we got in line, after asking if there would be room inside for the stroller.
Sure enough, there was a large open area that we were told was used as stroller parking. We were thrilled to find out that the employee was, in fact, being honest, and that line moved really fast. We were even more thrilled to find out that there was ample seating- even better, we found an adorable little nook that was being vacated as we were making our way upstairs.
Believe it or not, we still stick to one of our main goals when out in public- keeping them contained if at all possible. This could mean many things, but on this particular day, it meant an adorable nook. Win!
I’m glad we got to check it out!
On the way back, people were lining the streets, getting ready for the parade. Thinking this meant the parade would be starting soon, we grabbed the first little open spot we saw, and somehow made enough room for the stroller. Kids bucked in, we could relax just a bit.
That didn’t last long.
Who wants to sit in a stroller when there’s so much going on!
Our first Pride parade experience didn’t last too long, as the kids started getting more and more antsy, but we did see the very beginning, and our kids did get the chance to entertain the crowds.
Time to get in the car and try to make our way through the city to the zoo.
Thank goodness Google Maps knows which roads are closed during a parade! That was quick, easy, and painless. C’Mon, Kids, i’ts Zoo Ti… oh, wait. The kids were sleeping. I guess in Eastern time, it was nap time already.
Change of plans- TT Mom & TT Dad are headed to the nearest In ‘n’ Out Burger, which was outside the city. When in Cali… But we made it before the kids woke back up!
Zoo, attempt #2.
This one worked. There was no parking left, except valet, so we decided to give it a shot. The zoo was wonderful. We grabbed some lunch for the kids before getting out to explore, but they loved every animal, and every habitat. We grabbed a couple of photo ops, and the kids were looking all over for the train station. Somehow, they didn’t notice when we walked by it, so TT Dad and I decided to see if we could distract the kids into skipping it.
The day was getting away from us, and we still had so many touristy things to do!
We piled everyone back into the car, and we were off to Lombard St. While the road was cool to see, the traffic on the way up was not.
After missing out on the Zoo train, we had to make it right for our kiddos- A cable car (or Trolley) ride was in our future.
We got in line, and spent the entire time fascinated by the entire process. So interesting.
Finally, it was time for us to get onboard, and HOLD ON! TT Dad insisted on riding while standing/leaning off the side. The ride ended near the bay, and we found a quick wait at Cioppinos. We waited (not-so) patiently until it was our turn. In the mean time, we met another set of twins! How fun!
Dinner went surprisingly well, considering we didn’t order until after 10pm eastern time. Whoa!
Amazingly, we were able to get out of there before any real unrest started to develop. It was getting really late, and the trolley line was only getting longer. After 4 false potty alarms, we decided to hail
the next cab that drove by, and before we knew it, we were being safely deposited just outside our hotel.
Time to call it a night.
What a wonderful day!