San Francisco Day 1: Pier 39, The Bay Aquarium, Boudin Bakery

We took a family vacation to San Francisco!  We were there a total of three days, stayed at an Air BnB location and took Uber cabs everywhere we went.  Since we were there in May, the weather was still a bit on the chilly side.  However, every day the sun was out and the weather was perfect for walking.  

Our first day there was spend at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ghirardelli Square.  We started at Pier 39 and walked up and down the main drag taking in the sights and sounds.  

Winston woke up at normal home time which translated to 5:30 San Francisco time.  As soon as we hit the Boardwalk we tracked down Trish's Mini Donuts.  They were a delight to the tastebuds and should be a stop sometime during your trip!  They were the perfect marriage of a funnel cake and a donut.  Just heaven!

We had told Winston that we were going to an aquarium as we headed into town and he was super pumped!  We made our way to the Aquarium of the Bay and stayed 1.5 hours.   The tanks were very well kept with a variety of fish, sharks, eels, and starfish.  {Can we also stop here for a minute as I revel in how old my little one is looking?!  He is growing like a weed and while I miss being able to hold all a tiny one close to me, there is something so special when he curls up into a little ball in my arms.  le sigh.}

The aquarium has a great hands on area where sting rays, starfish, and sea cucumbers are available to touch.  This was Winston's favorite part by far.  And still to this day there are times when he'll pretend to be petting the sea cucumber!  

After leaving the Aquarium we headed down the Boardwalk, stopping to take a few family photos courtesy of our selfie stick!  That's Alcatraz in the back left corner of the picture.  :)  

We met up with our dear friends who were also in town for lunch.  We walked with them to Ghirardelli Square and all shared a massive ice cream sundae!  I am probably going to be in the minority when I say this but, I was really underwhelmed by Ghirardelli Square.  While I enjoyed shopping at Lola of North Beach, I was expecting there to be a little more to the whole thing.

Our last stop for the day before heading back to our rental, we stopped at the Boudin Bakery.  They have an amazing glass window that faces that street allowing passer-bys to watch the artists create cool creatures out of sourdough bread!  For $3 a person, they have an upstairs area with the history of the family, the bakery, and the bread.  They have their creatures laid out and a viewing area where you can see their bread making process.  Winston loved the samples and just like his Daddy, enjoyed watching the dance between the people and machines making beautiful bread!  

We purchased a bread turtle to eat with our dinner that night, hailed ourselves an Uber cab and made it back to the house in time for Winston to take a nap.  Our first day out on in San Francisco was full of everything we enjoy: sightseeing, great food, time with friends and ice cream!