Lieva Whitbeck -- A San Francisco Treat

This post is brought to you by the household of Lieva Whitbeck, and of course more specifically by that lovely hostess herself, without whom no trip to San Francisco would have been possible, or at least not as fun... and certainly not without giant pancake breakfasts or late-night cookie bakes... but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

The day before our last post, we woke up at sunrise (about 6), broke down our camp, and drove until about sunset (15 long hours later.) Finally we had made it to the West Coast!!
And of course, I insisted that the first thing we do upon arrival be stopping for dinner at the famous In & Out Burger for some exotic California patty. Afterwards we arrived at Lieva's to a cordial welcome and conversation late into the night, and finally we made our bed on a couple of massage tables and fell fast asleep.

Next day involved a few errands (like our first chance to do laundry since leaving home) and a little recovery (a slow morning spent in a coffee shop across from the laundromat checking email and updating this site). But we couldn't be slowed down for long: by that afternoon we were back in action, renting a couple of bikes and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
Michelle was wearing a pretty cute dress--but not exactly windy city bike attire. So we stopped in a Fisherman's Wharf souvenir shop to pick up these Alcatraz escapee pants...

(...the shirt belongs to me.)

The view from the return ferry.

Later that night we headed to a birthday party in town, for a friend of Lieva's that Michelle had met last time she was in town. (I didn't know anybody, but everyone was friendly anyway!) Next day involved a long walk from Union Square through Chinatown and then over to the Exploratorium (a kickin' science museum... look it up.)

Michelle loves palm trees!

...the cosmopolitan.
Chinatown!
...huh.
A tourist trap-- I mean, tea tasting! (No, really, it was fun.)

Later we headed over to Dolores Park to meet up with Lieva and watch The Breakfast Club on this screen. ("Can you hear this? ...well would you like me to...turn it up?")

This morning, we bid goodbye to Lieva and met Andy and Katie Dow for a lovely breakfast at a local chain, "Squat and Gobble," more delicious than it sounds. We had one last attraction before we left San Francisco:
...called by John Muir "the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world."

The monument.
Contemplating the grandeur.

Presently we left the woods and headed down CA-1, towards Monterey. Michelle loved the views...

...and I loved the olallieberry pies.
Then a few hours ago we landed in Monterey, and took in the aquarium and a dinner on Cannery Row...
...after which we checked into our hotel, bringing me to this very moment. :)

That's all for now, friends. If you've made it this far, that means you are only two days away from the halfway point of this magnificent journey! Tomorrow we'll make our way to LA... so get ready to entertain us, Greg!!

Tune in next time, adventure fans!