San Francisco!

Buster's first haircut! He looks so cute with those big dark eyes showing.

Kyle and I finally took a honeymoon after 14 years of being married. I told him we needed to go watch the San Francisco Giants before all the players we like so much are gone. So we planned it! We got in pretty late at night and managed to find a nice restaurant close to our hotel. Kyle even got to sit beneath their autographed Willie Mays picture.

Apparently it's one of the oldest steakhouses in the city. We read about it in a pamphlet the next day. It was delicious. I had some really good red snapper there, and Kyle had seafood crepes.

We only had three things planned while we were there: a trip to Alcatraz and two baseball games. It was really nice to wander Union Square (that's where this picture was taken), Chinatown, and see all the cool architecture.

I took this picture for Avery. The lions at the entrance to Chinatown looked like the great Guardian dragon from Mulan. I knew she'd like it.

I would never want to live in a big city, but it was amazing to see so much diversity and culture there.

There were too many good places to eat. It was hard to choose! We didn't get a chance to eat in Chinatown. Next time maybe.

Time for Alcatraz! Kyle and I both find Alcatraz so interesting. We were excited to visit...The Rock (Please read in a Sean Connery voice.)

While we were waiting for our departure time, there was a bunch of neat models and informational signs to look at.

We love Rosie the Riveter! I took this picture for my strong, feminist sisters.

I loved all the quotes from some very famous criminals that stayed there.

We got there pretty early and were able to grab some delicious cajun crab chowder before our trip. I could have eaten this every day we were there.

It was cold out on that water! I was really glad to have worn a sweatshirt. It was absolutely gorgeous though. I loved seeing all the sail boats and the giant Navy ships.

I spy the Bay Bridge.

And the Golden Gate!

As you can see, the wind was at our back! I've got some crazy hair, and Kyle can't smile on command, so this is what we get.

Alcatraz is huge! It's not the most structurally safe place anymore, but it's so impressive.

If you were able to make it up the twelve flights of stairs, there was a really neat audio tour. It had commentary from former guards and inmates. We loved it! This was the first place we saw - the intake. It had laundry rooms and showers.

Kyle posing next to one of the cells.

Those were our narrators, not that you can read their names all that well. One of the guards used to play chess with the Birdman of Alcatraz.

And our inmate narrators. It was neat to hear perspectives from both sides.

This is where the Birdman lived - Isolation for years and years.

There I am in an isolation cell, looking pretty happy about it.

The Warden's residence has really deteriorated the most.

This was the site of one of the most famous escapes. 3 inmates escaped by leaving paper mache heads with real hair on them in their beds and tunneling out with spoons. To this day they don't know if they lived or died. It's one of Ave's favorite stories on Mysteries and the Museum.

They always tried to keep track of every knife that was supposed to be in the kitchen.

It's actually quite beautiful on the island. There are gardens everywhere and lots of different nesting birds.

More gardens. Anyway, we really enjoyed it. I would totally do it again.

We walked down to the pier to sight-see. We ate crepes and Kyle spent lots of money on fudge at a candy store.

I loved watching the big fat sea lions bask in the sun.

The giant males kept jumping down and scaring all the females. They were very agile!

Kyle in his happy place - fudge and pretzels.

We went to our fancy rooftop bar for a small snack. We had to sample the local beer. It was tasty!

My happy place - meat and cheese!

We went to the San Francisco MoMA - they had an exhibit of Magritte that I wanted to see. I really enjoy art, although a lot of it is beyond me.

Magritte just did some weird, abstract, slightly unsettling stuff that I've always liked. Kyle enjoyed it too. Some of the other stuff we saw was just plain weird.

I had no idea Jack London was from San Francisco. We figured my Dad would find this interesting.

We did a Giants Clubhouse tour before the first game. They had so much cool memorabilia. It would have taken days to look at it all.

I love all the pictures!

Oh, the Freak. I miss Tim Lincecum.

A Buster hug is the ultimate reward.

Everything at AT&T Park is in honor of Willie Mays. They had to petition to have the address 24 Willie Mays Plaza (they were on the "odd number" side of the street.) There are 24 bathrooms, food courts, palm trees, etc... It's really neat.

From my viewing experience, I wish they didn't call the bullpen as often!

Brandon Crawford is my favorite defensive player to watch! He is ridiculously good.

Our tour guide was nice enough to snap a picture for us. He was great!

We got to see some future legends sitting a couple rows in front of us. Joey Bart was the Giants first round draft pick. Someday he'll be the next catcher. Mike McGlinchy (who went to Notre Dame) was the 49ers first draft pick. We watched him on TV. He's definitely a bright spot for the sad Niners.

We were two rows above the Giants dugout. It was fantastic. We figured even if they had a rough game, they would be right in front of us.

Kyle in the dugout. Out of order, but that's okay. They talked about how everything in there has to withstand helmet and bat throwing.

The giant Coke bottle slide was neat. Our kids would have loved it. Sorry kids!

I don't think there is a bad view in the whole stadium.

The six retired numbers of some Giants legends. We got to see one of them - Barry Bonds!

There is a ton of souvenirs from Candlestick Park also - including stuff from The Beatle's last live concert!

I knew my Dad would like this statue outside. Look at that form!

On the field. Kyle was amazed by how uniform the grass is. There were a ton of people working on it. Kels asked why I was in a sweatshirt. The sun was out, but the breeze off the bay was chilly! Kyle doesn't ever feel cold.

We stopped at a little bar before the game. Kyle really liked the cans that this beer came in. He almost bought a T-shirt with this design on there. The beer was good too! Reminded me of Corona.

I spy Madison Bumgartner! The players all seem like they get along so well.

Some action photos. Buster throwing it back.

Panda playing third base. We bought Teague a pretty cool Panda hat.

We heard the garlic fries were the thing to try at Giants games. Kyle loved them. They were potent!

Hunter! I adore Hunter Pence. He sounds like he is the best teammate ever. I'm so glad we got to see him!

Belt hitting. I liked that his walk-up music was Weezer. Very old school.

Buster right in front of us.

He hit a home run!

Panda also did!

We got to see the manager come out a couple times. That's him with the grayer hair, and Barry Bonds right behind him. Bruce Bochy is tall!

More Hunter with his crazy hair.

Hunter Strickland had a rough ninth inning. He blew the save, punched a wall, and broke his hand. Guess we didn't bring him good luck.

I loved watching Andrew McCutcheon play. He was always one of Dad's favorite players when he was a Pirate. Now he is a Yankee. Gross.

They were pretty happy after the win. I liked that they played "California Love" afterwards.

What a neat sight! It was a wonderful trip. I would love to go with the whole family someday!