recap: family visits

This week was so fun! My parents and 2 youngest brothers (Michael & Daniel) came to visit and we enjoyed a family vacation from the comfort of our home. We packed a lot into just 5 days and had a blast!
Monday 8.11 :
*After an unsurprising airline delay, the fam pulled into SF around 7pm. We had the grill ready for making dinner.
*Afterward, a quick walk to China beach in hopes of seeing the GG Bridge. No such luck. In fact, poor Mikey, who hasn't been here before, went 0-5 with the fog and never saw more than just the bottom of the bridge the whole week!
*Back home for dessert, Olympics, and the air mattress inflation ceremony.Tuesday 8.12 :
*We started the day right with Jeff's infamous waffles+berries for breakfast
*Hopped in our rental mini-van by 10am and began our journey down Hwy 1
*In Monterey, we had lunch at the wharf and enjoyed the splendid jellies on parade at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Such an awesome place to visit!
*After our underwater adventure we headed to Carmel to divide & conquer: girls went shopping {found these at anthropologie in silver} and guys hit the amazing car show. They were dazzled by the endless vintage Lamborghinis & Ferraris.
*The fam helped us celebrate our anniversary (2 years, already!?) by treating at the Grill on Ocean Ave. Such a yummy meal!
*Then back to Monterey to check in at our quaint little cottage for the night.

Wednesday 8.13 :
*Up early so we could hit the tide just right: The boys went surfing! This was definitely the highlight of the trip! I completely chickened out--wet suit or not, the Pacific is waay too cold! My feet were numb enough after 2 seconds of wading while hunting for sea shells & glass on shore.
*Lunch under the sun on the patio at Chipotle
*A quick stop at See's Candies for a box of the sweetest truffles {yeah, my sweet tooth is genetic!}
*Back in the mini van to tour 17-mile drive: gorgeous coastline, ridiculous mansions, and the greens of Pebble Beach + other high end golf courses.
*A stop at Point Lobos to climb rocks and check out tide pools full of urchins, crabs, sea stars, & mussels
*Along our journey back north to the city we hit the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz to ride a coaster or two.
*Dinner at In-n-Out Burger, my brothers' new favorite food. For them, no trip to the West Coast is complete without a Double Double and a milkshake!!
*Back at our apartment in SF, we literally fell into bed. What a day!
Thursday 8.14 :
*Another early morning! We sped down to Pier 33 to catch our boat to tour Alcatraz & Angel Islands. Both are so historically rich--I highly recommend visiting both! We purchased our tickets a week in advance and literally found the last few available. Lesson learned: August is a crazy time around here, so plan ahead!
*Spent the morning on Angel Island. It's 5 miles around and nearly uninhabited. It's a gorgeous place for camping, biking, or hiking. And if you're lucky enough to find a day without fog--it has some incredible, sweeping views of the Bay area. We opted out of the Segues and took a tram tour around the island. Afterward, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grassy lawn.
*Off to Alcatraz to tour the rock & cell house in the afternoon. Visit #3 for me, soon I'll be giving the tours!
*Back to SF, where we packed in all of the standard must-see & dos: a quick walk through Fisherman's Wharf, hopped a cable car to Union Square for dinner, then back up and down the hills to Ghiradelli Square for dessert.

Friday 8.15:
*After an action-packed week, we did some major sleeping in.
*Took a driving tour across the GG bridge, to the affluent island of Belevedere (to see how the other 0.1% live), then cruised the hills of Tiburon, at which point I got car sick. :(
*Lunch on the sunny deck at Sam's Cafe in Tiburon was the perfect way to wrap up their visit! (P.S. I'm feeling better at this point.)
*Back to SF to bid farewells and to pack up the fam for their late afternoon flight. Why must all good things come to an end? Someday {soon} we need to live closer again.

And today, here I am, alone in my eerily silent apartment and am marveling at this list. We definitely maximized our time together! Wish I'd snapped a few more pictures...My mom took about 1 million, so am waiting to see how hers turn out.

Happy weekend!