Last 2 Days in San Francisco

In the last week, I've realized San Francisco is way more fun when you are not a broke grad student. After the race on Sunday I took it pretty easy by ordering delivery and watching cheesy movies all night. Best way to relax ever.

Monday I said goodbye to the city, and moved south to my favorite parts of the Bay Area: San Carlos, Redwood City, and Palo Alto. I spent the entire day with my all time favorite family, The Griffins. They were the amazing family that housed me during PA school and put up with my moments of frustration, exhaustion, and stress. In other words, they're saints. We talked all day and made dinner together- just like old times. It was so hard to say goodbye but I know I'll be back to visit soon- and with baby next time! 

Yesterday was a day of shopping. There is a new outlet mall in Livermore, CA which was about an hour drive from my hotel.  Well, if you follow the map app on your phone... it's more like an hour and 15.  This is where my phone took me when I typed in the address:

And no, I didn't make a typo (apparently the mall and address are so new it wasn't listed on the app yet).  It made me realize I rely WAY too much on my silly iPhone!  After a moment of frustration, I was redirected to the real outlet mall, not the farmlands in the middle of California.

That's more like it.

I have a confession: I am officially obsessed with baby shopping.  I've restrained myself until now, but when you see an adorable pair of oshkosh overalls for $5.99... it's pretty hard to turn that down (among other things...!). Between that and Carters... I was in baby heaven. Unfortunately we don't really have any good baby stores in Alaska besides Gymboree which is absurdly expensive, so it was fun to get some adorable baby clothes.  Speaking of expensive, they had a Jack and Janie store which is a store made for the most fashionable babies in the world.  I really really had a tough time turning down this $200 outfit for baby.

I mean suspenders and a bow tie? And that hat? If anyone wants to buy that for me, I will love you forever. ;)

My favorite purchase of the day however, was not for baby.  It was for Diego.  He's going to be the scariest Shark-Dog ever. Duh-nah... dun-nah... dun-nah, dun-nah, dun-nah (insert Jaws theme here).

After walking around the outlet mall and getting my shopping fix, I met up with one of my classmates for coffee.  It's been so fun hearing how everyone is adjusting to being a real live, PA-C!  They are working in all sorts of specialties: cardiothoracic surgery, ER, inpatient medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and family practice.  I got momentarily jealous when I heard how much fun it is to be in the OR every day... but then they told me their schedule and I realized why I love my job!  And I love the longevity of family practice... you really get to know your patients!

Dinner followed coffee with three of my favorite girls.  I was so involved in talking I forgot to take a picture of my delicious tacos.  Sorry, I know you're bummed to miss out on my high quality Iphone pictures of my meals. :)

Next stop, Alaska to be with my boys.  I sure do miss these two.

Travel much?

San Francisco.

My home away from home.

I missed you.

I arrived this afternoon to the place I left my heart (okay that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I can't help hearing Tony Bennett's voice singing, "I left my heart in San Francisco..." every time I say San Francisco!). It was a long night of traveling that started with a flight to Seattle at 1:40am, then to Salt Lake City, then finally to San Fran. Mrs. Smarty-pants over here booked the flights long before I was pregnant and had any idea just how valuable sleep is. Never again. Never. 

The flights may not have been so bad except I sat next to a snorer, a talker, and an "I like to listen to music so loud everyone and their cousin in Antarctica can hear it." Oh well, I got to my beloved city without a delay and it made for a good story!

After claiming my luggage, I took the BART to the city and stepped into the familiar hustle and bustle of city life. Ahhh the sounds of cars honking, people yelling, heels tapping the pavement, and the distinct smells of exhaust, every food imaginable and urine (maybe that was because I seem to have the nose of a foxhound these days!). Mmm... :) On a map, my hotel looked to be extremely close to the BART station... but that was with me forgetting San Francisco is made up of ridiculous hills. Ha... It must have been quite a sight to see me lugging my suitcase and carry-on up the streets.  I made it to my hotel after a mile and a half detour around the city (apparently there was some sort of a suspicious device found in the city so they blocked off tons of streets... Scary!) and immediately fell onto my comfy bed. 

I'll give you one guess where I went to get food after my power siesta. 

And yes, that bag is full. 

Yep, Trader Joe's. Three times in one month? I'm a lucky girl!  

After enjoying my treats, I got ready to meet some of my classmates for an amazing dinner in Los Gatos. 

Three courses of deliciousness.

Pumpkin cheesecake that tasted like heaven. 

I missed this ladies way too much.

I officially got my fill of traveling today. Three plane rides, one ride on BART, two rides on Caltrain, and finally a cab to the hotel from the station at 12:00am. That's enough for me. 

I now plan to sleep for as many hours as I possibly can.  

Adventures in the city!

It was time for a break from the books. My brain was officially fried and overflowing with medical knowledge, so I did what any smart person would do. I went on an overnight getaway to the city. Okay, let's be serious though; the main reason for this adventure was really because I was craving delicious sourdough bread from Boudin Bakery.

Mission Accomplished.

San Francisco is really awesome because they have Bart and Caltrain which take you right into the city. Maybe it's just me, but it's a lot harder than it sounds to ride on public transportation. Take these machines for example.

It turns out when all you do is look at textbooks all day, you have trouble with normal activities, like paying for a train ticket. It took me approximately 10 minutes to figure out how to get a ticket and then because I'm super smart, I paid twice. No refunds either... awesome! The best part is that this was not my first time on the BART. You'd think I'd know by now :) Haha oh well! Totally worth every penny.

What a nice change!

After checking in to my hotel, I wandered the streets of San Fran. My hotel was situated right near Union Square, and directly next to the most beautiful store ever.  Coincidence?  I think not.

And no, I'm not talking about the Liquor store. 

Today I walked around the city to around to explore the SEVEN stories of Nordstrom's,

Went in one of my favorite stores ever...

H & M

And went to Ghirardelli (twice) and See's Candy (once) for free samples of delicious chocolate.

Forget the chocolate, give me 192 of these lollipops any day! Amazing.

It was be a dream come true.  (And I'm proud to say I didn't buy a thing. Except for chocolate and lollipops, of course.)

There are many reasons why I love the city, but the diversity of food options is probably number one.  Take this restaurant, Bread and Cocoa.  I could not think of a better combination of my loves in this world.

And then there's the cupcakes.  

Love this city.

I left my heart in San Francisco...

I reluctantly said goodbye to the hustle and bustle and went back to reality... but the good news is that in just THREE days I'm on a plane to Boston!  Let the countdown begin!

Care Package, TJ's, and BEST news ever.

I have the best big sister in the world.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  Yesterday when I got home from studying, I walked in my room to see a package sitting on my bed.  Inside were all of my favorite things: chocolate, Starbucks gift card, snacks, crystal light, and running socks.  She wanted to give me something to help get me through board exam studying, and I can't imagine a better surprise!

Those Mini Eggs aren't going to last long...

It's been almost 6 months since I've seen my sis, so I am looking forward to seeing her in one month at my Graduation!  She is a rockstar Physical Therapist in Utah and probably one of the smartest most selfless people I know.  Love her!

Since I only have one more month left in California, I decided it was necessary to do my favorite Californian things as much as possible.  It is a toss-up between numbers 1 and 2.  Maybe you can help me decide:

1.) Run every day in the beautiful weather
2.) Go to Trader Joe's every single day

I'm thinking #2 is probably going to take the lead.  I have literally gone to to TJ's almost every day in the last two weeks.

I like this aisle the best.  A whole section devoted to ice cream, desserts, and chocolate. 

Between their sweets, amazing salads and the yummy free samples, it's impossible to resist.

Salad Heaven. 

I don't know what I'm going to do without TJ's in my life when I go back to Alaska.  One of my suitcases will be just have to be devoted to Trader Joe's snacks.  Hopefully Alaska gets the memo soon and we'll have one there too.

Today is the SF Giants season opener home game.  Being from Alaska, I didn't grow up being a big sports fan (we don't have pro sports teams), so it was a big adjustment when I moved here!  I had no idea of just how vital sports were until I witnessed the fans of Stanford and SF 49'ers football, and Giants Baseball.  It is not a part of life for San Franciscans, it is a way of life.  The family I stay with have had Giant's season tickets for years, so they are off enjoying a day of celebration and fun!  Orange and Black are everywhere today...  GO GIANTS!

Lastly, in case this post wasn't random enough...

Need I say more?

You have no idea how excited I am.  Counting down the days until Thanksgiving 2014.