Friday 5/20: Day Three (Part Three)

So after Sol Food, we all made our way back to the Wharf to the hotel. Some of us took a nap and some of us continued to explore the wharf. I personally took a nap for about two hours. Then we all got back together for dinner at Boudins Bakery, a famous bakery in SF known for their bread bowls and intricate ways of baking bread. We all sat there and had a great time chatting, devouring bread bowls and recounting the days events. We then proceeded to head on over to Ghirardelli Square for a quick dessert. We walked through the door and the place was bustling with overworked servers and hungry tourists. We quickly gave our orders and looked for a place to sit.

We were wandering around for a while until we scored a massive table with just enough room for all of us. We talked for a couple of minutes and then received our desserts which looked straight out of the menu pictures. The looked and tasted delicious, especially after the day we just had. It was the perfect way to end the day. 

Thursday 5/19: Day Two (Part Two)

After strolling around Sutro Heights, we decided to scatter. Steph had to go to work, Pat and Josh were dead tired, and the rest of us wanted to continue exploring the city after we checked everyone into their hotel. We made our way over to the Wharf to check everyone into the Marriott, which is a fantastic hotel. The only problem is that on our way I didn't know there were two Marriotts, we were quickly informed they couldn't find our room because we were at the wrong hotel. Then we headed up the block and found the right one. We got everyone settled in and made a pilgrimage over to In N Out Burger. This place is amazing and is only available in California and some parts of other states on the western side of the US, it was a treat to educate everyone on what this place really is. 

We all got our food and ate it outside on their patio seating. Everyone loved their food and was learning about the "secret menu" and what animal style was and why they didn't get it on theirs. Once we finished feasting we then proceeded to fit everyone into the rental car once more to head over to Golden Gate Park (GGP) to see the Japanese Tea Gardens. We made our way weaving through San Francisco traffic and odd street signs to GGP. This place is unbelievable. First off it is bigger than Central Park in New York and was all originally sand dunes, everything there is man made. The reason the big music Festival in GGP is called Outside Lands is because that is what the sand dunes used to be called back in the day. Anyways we parked our car outside of The Conservatory of Flowers.

Once we finished looking at the Conservatory of Flowers, we slowly made our way over the the Japanese Tea Gardens. This is a garden made completely in the Japanese style fit with everything from koi ponds, a tea house, pagodas, bridges and many more. it literally feels like you stepped into Japan when you pass through the stoic gated entrance.