It’s been a while since I recapped the things we saw and the places we visited while on a trip but, we had a great time visiting San Francisco that I wanted to share a bit of our experience. This post will likely be more text heavy as I was too busy spending time with family to take many pictures.
Day 1: Sunnyvale and Palo Alto
After ATX Jr. and I arrived on our United Flight from Austin, we headed over to the rental car center to pick up our wheels for the weekend. Avis upgraded us to a Mustang Mach-E, my first time renting an electric car, and after being told we only needed to return it with a 50% charge, we headed down the 101 towards Sunnyvale.
We picked up Mrs. ATX from her office along the way before arriving at our home for the night, the Aloft Sunnyvale. After unpacking our bags we headed out to nearby Murphy Avenue, a pedestrian only street lined with shops and restaurants.
After stopping at Off the Rails Brewing Company for a quick drink, we decided to take the CalTrain up to Palo Alto to grab some dinner.
Once we arrived in Palo Alto, we wandered around aimlessly before stumbling across Dumpling Hours, which is located along Bryant Avenue in Palo Alto.
As I usually do at restaurants like this, I deferred the order to Mrs. ATX. She always manages to hit the nail on the head at these types of restaurants and I’m pretty sure she ordered the whole menu. Food kept coming and coming which meant that they damn near had to roll me out of the place when it was all said and done.
With dinner over, we hopped back on the CalTrain and headed back to Sunnyvale to get some sleep.
Day 2: Golden Gate Bridge and Salesforce Park
After spending the night at the Aloft Sunnyvale, we woke the next morning, packed up all of our gear, and hopped in the MachE to make the drive over to Mrs. ATX’s office for breakfast. They always have an amazing breakfast spread and we left stuffed once again.
After breakfast, we explored campus a bit, grabbed some coffee, and even found some secret rooms on property (if you recognize it then kudos to you).
Our office visit complete, we headed up the 101 in the direction of San Francisco on our way to the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove across the bridge to the Marin Headlands National Park and after winding our way to the top, we got a great view of the bridge with San Francisco in the distance.
While the view from the parking lot was great, we decided to get out and kike the short distance to the overlook point, situated next to an old fort, where we hand panoramic views of the bridge and surrounding area.
Though they didn’t photograph well, a group of fighter jets were performing a training exercise overhead. Not a bad day at the office for them!
After taking some photos by the bridge we drove down into nearby Sausalito for a late lunch. We left the car charging in a nearby parking lot and walked along the main street until we came to Barrel House. We were seated immediately and had a mediocre, overpriced lunch though it came with a great view of the water.
Afterwards, we walked around a bit and grabbed some ice cream before heading back across the bridge to our hotel for the weekend, the W San Francisco. I dropped Mrs. ATX and ATX Jr. off at the hotel before returning our Mustang Mach-E to the nearby Avis location. It was a short, 5 minute walk back to the hotel where Mrs. ATX was finalizing our check-in.
Once we settled into the room, we headed out in the late afternoon sun, which was casting long shadows over the neighborhood. We didn’t really have an idea of where we were headed but, after taking a look at the map, we noticed that Salesforce Park was nearby.
It was a quick but brisk walk over to the rooftop park as the sun ducked behind the surrounding buildings. However, once we made it to the top, we found a very nice walking trail as well as a couple of food trucks and vendors selling drinks.
After an hour of walking around Salesforce Perk we were starving. Fortunately, Mrs. ATX found an Italian place near our hotel that made some great food. DeLaRossa whipped us up a fantastic meal and, with happy hour still going on, we managed to get a great deal, from the place. Stuffed full of food, we headed back to the hotel and retired for the evening.
Day 3: Embarcadero and the Ferry Building
On our last full day in town we managed to sleep in a bit before heading over to The Grove for a late breakfast. The restaurant is set up to resemble an old mountain ski lodge and we were quickly welcomed in. Orders are placed via the counter and , though menu here was fantastic, drinks were on the pricey side.
After brunch at The Grove, we headed to the hotel for a quick cat nap before making the 20 minute walk down to Embarcadero and the Ferry Building. I’ve had close family living in the Bay Area since before I was born and it is always great getting the chance to catch up with them.
On the advice of my cousin, we met at Senior Sisig, which is located right along the pier and even has French fries in their burritos. While the food was fantastic, the company was even better and we got to swap gifts between ATX Jr. and his 2nd cousins. While the gifts were for the kids, I think the adults enjoyed it more.
Stuffed from lunch, we sauntered down to the Exploratorium where the kids had an amazing time and the adults left with a slight migraine.
With the Exploratorium behind us it was time for the adults to have some fun in the form of espresso martinis at The Waterfront Restaurant. The food and drinks weren’t memorable but the company certainly was.
Finally, with the sun low on the horizon, we said farewell to our Bay Area crew and, on the recommendation of my cousin, wrapped up the evening with a burger and fries from Gott’s Roadside.
Fully stuffed from our Gott’s meal, we made our way back to the W San Francisco to pack and prepare for our United flight back home the next morning.
Summary
While I have been fortunate enough to visit San Francisco many times over the years, I always look forward to going back. The family I have in town aside, the landscape is gorgeous and even though our hotel was empty, the city always has something to explore. We will, without a doubt, be back soon!
