From URL to IRL

On the tails of Kyria's visit, I thought I'd talk about how so many of my blogging friendships have progressed from URL to IRL. I've been blogging since the summer of 2008 so am definitely one of the "old school" bloggers. I started blogging at a time when most of my peers were getting married and starting families. Meanwhile, at age 27, I was nearly perpetually single. I was happy to be the 5th wheel but my social options started to diminish since having kids makes it much harder to do things like girls weekends, dinners out, etc. But luckily, blogging allowed me to connect with all sorts of (mostly) women across the continent who had similar interests; namely, running and/or reading. 

My first blogger meet-up was in the fall of 2010. I'd been friends with a woman, Amber, who is no longer blogging (womp womp!), for several years. We decided to virtually train together for the 2010 Portland marathon. At the time, she lived in Kamloops, BC so it was a destination race for both of us. She picked me up at the Vancouver airport and then we did a 5-day road trip down to Portland. It may sound odd/crazy to go on a road trip with someone you've never met in person but our friendship was at the point where we were exchanging Blackberry messages (remember when everyone had Blackberries?) on a daily basis and had done many google hang-outs/video chats. We had the time of our lives on that trip and an innocent bystander would never have guessed it was our first time meeting in person. We also met up with another woman who is no longer blogging at the marathon. To this day, Amber is one of my closest friends. 

That was just the start, though. I've done countless meet-ups and hosted friends from all over the place over the last 13 years. These relationship were and are incredibly significant. It's notable that I have been in the weddings of 2 bloggers, gave a blessing at another blogger's wedding, and had 2 tables of blogger friends at my wedding - including Kyria, of course! 

I'm glad that I'm feeling ready to dip my toe back into travel again now that the boys are a little bit older so I can start to reconnect in a more meaningful way with these women. There is no replacement for spending time in person with a good friend, in my opinion! I'll be meeting up with Amber in the Banff region of Canada this summer. It will be our first time seeing each other in over 6 years as I last saw her at my wedding when she was pregnant with her first child! We now are moms to 2 kids each so a lot has changed over the last 6 years!

I'll be forever grateful for the friendships I developed through blogging. These ladies (and one guy - hi John!) came into my life at a time when I was feeling a little out of place with the friends I'd made in college and at work. Of course I was very happy that my friends were getting married and starting families, but I had an out-of-place sort of feeling. Meeting similar-minded people was so good for me. If you are reading this blog, you know how well you can feel you know a person - especially once you start to comment back and forth on each others' blogs and especially when you take those friendships to email/text. 

I'm a little sad that most of my original blogging friend gang are no longer blogging, although I recognize how hard it is to fit everything in when you are juggling career, family, friends, etc. But I'm glad that I've met a whole new batch of people through blogging in the last couple of years! With my return to work travel, maybe I'll cross paths with some of you in the future!!

Have you ever turned a relationship from URL to IRL? 

Kyria's Visit

We had a great time with Kyria last weekend! We hadn't seen each other in over 3 years but we have the kind of friendship where you pick up where you left off! She landed on Friday night and Paul came with me to pick her up from the airport since he was so excited about our visitor! We had take-and-bake pizza when we got home from the airport. I stayed up a little bit past my bedtime since we were having so much fun catching up after the boys were in bed. 

On Saturday morning, we headed to the zoo. We had tickets to the dolphin show at 10:30. Paul has been talking about it for weeks so he was especially excited. He had fun showing Kyria around the zoo. Will was even interested in holding Kyria's hand at one point. 

Waiting for the dolphin show to start.

The dolphin show completely exceeded my expectations. The dolphins were so very adorable and they did lots of different tricks for us. I would like to go again and get better seats. We couldn't get there too early as I knew Will would be very squirmy so next time I'd like to go on my own with Paul. 

Phil made a Spanish tortilla for lunch. Once we'd digested our lunch, we headed out for a 4 mile run and then hung out at home for the rest of the day. I made chicken tikka masala with cauliflower and peas for dinner that night. 

Reading books with Kyria

We had a slow morning on Sunday since we didn't need to leave until around 9am for our snowshoe race. Kyria ended up doing a 4 mile run before the race (she has a marathon next month so needed some extra miles). The snowshoe race was really well organized and the weather was very nice for Minnesota! Our snowshoes were not designed to be run in so we mostly walked. The course was really pretty - we crossed a lake and walked through a big nature preserve area. We talked the whole time, especially about careers/work topics! We work in similar industries so really understand what each other does. 

Walking across a lake at the start of the race

On the way home from the race we stopped at a new-to-me GF bakery for some lattes and treats and then had a quiet afternoon/evening at home. I made seared ahi tuna, asparagus, and Asian rice for dinner. 

Monday was my birthday! After sending the kids off to school with Phil, Kyria worked for a bit while I read in front of the fire in my bedroom. It was so cozy and delightful! 

My shins/calves were very sore from snowshoeing - it definitely used different muscles! So we did a shorter run that morning that ended at Starbucks so I could get my birthday latte which I enjoyed on the walk back to the house. For lunch, Kyria treated me to a meal from this cool food hall that has lots of different places to order from. We shared a grain bowl, a dosa from an Indian place, and kimchi coleslaw from an Asian place. Then I dropped her off at the airport and got a massage at a lovely spa by my house. 

The boys got home around 5. I had thought about getting Indian take out but decided to have it belatedly next weekend since I had lunch out earlier in the day (eating out twice in the same day is a bit much for me). We had leftovers for dinner and I enjoyed a bowl of ice cream for my birthday treat. 

Now we need to visit Kyria - maybe next spring or summer! The last time we visited her was 2016 so we are overdue for a trip out west to visit her! But I'm grateful that she was willing to come to us, especially during our cold winter season! Having her around made my birthday weekend extra fun and festive! 

Girls Gone Mild in St. Louis

Girls gone mild seems like the appropriate way to describe my weekend visit to see my friend Nora in St. Louis! Or really, that phrase has been fitting for me for a long time, even before pregnancy, as I'm all about low key celebrations. As I have mentioned before, I went to visit Nora to celebrate her being in remission and having her last chemo treatment behind her! Nora and her husband were excellent hosts. I had the best time and came back really refreshed. Here's how we filled the weekend.

I flew out on Friday afternoon and treated myself to a decaf latte at the airport.

When I got on/off the flight, I had to ask someone to get my bag in and out of the overhead bin as I had a flare in my shoulder so couldn't raise my right arm above my head. Pregnancy + RA is teaching me how to ask for help, which is not easy for an independent person like me.

Nora and her husband picked me up at the airport and took me back to their house so I could get settled into the guest room. After chatting for awhile, we headed out to dinner at a restaurant in their neighborhood which had a great gluten free menu! After dinner, we chatted for awhile and then I headed to bed early as I was pretty tired!

On Saturday morning, I slept in and then we lazed around the house that morning before heading to our first stop of the day:  The Novel Neighbor. This is a book store that has been mentioned several times on my favorite bookish podcast, What Should I Read Next hosted by Anne Bogel. In fact, earlier that week, Holland, the owner of The Novel Neighbor, was a guest on the podcast (episode 107). She talked about bookish gifts for the holidays which made me especially excited to see her store in person!

Nora and I in front of the store

The book store was even more adorable that I had imagined and I was able to meet the owner. They have a special "Modern Mrs. Darcy/What Should I Read Next" area with books/items that Anne Bogel recommends.

I also could not resist buying this onesie for Baby S. This is the first outfit I've bought for the baby and it seems fitting that it's book-related.

I also picked up some book darts, a book for the baby (I'm trying to build of a collection of "Good night" books), a book for myself (I couldn't resist a Christmas book set in Paris!) and a St. Louis tree ornament (not pictured).

After that, we headed back to Nora's. She warmed up some white chicken chili for lunch and I ate about a half a bag of tortilla chips. Whoops. Then she turned on the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. It was really good but between pregnancy exhaustion and a full belly, I fell asleep during it.  Whoops. While I was watching the movie napping, Nora whipped up some gooey butter cookies, which is a treat that St. Louis is known for. I enjoyed a couple of cookies, which were delicious!

That evening, Nora's dad picked us up and we headed out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant which was so good! After dinner, we stopped at Ted Drewes for some custard. Ted Drewes is a famous custard place in St. Louis. I've been wanting to go for so long but on my other trips we either didn't have time or it was closed! I'm glad that I finally got to try it. I was also surprised how cheap it was! We got 3 sundaes and the total bill was around $10!

After that, we checked out some Christmas lights. This area of St. Louis is known for their Christmas lights. I've never seen anything like it! We looked at lights along 3 different streets and I was blown away.

Things kind of took a turn for the worse on our way home, though. I started to feel nauseated but *thought* I could make it home before getting sick. I was wrong. :( Nora and her dad were incredibly sweet but I was absolutely mortified - and disgusted with myself. I'm not sure what caused me to get sick - maybe too much food? Since then sweets have not appealed to me so maybe that is a new aversion that I'm developing. I'm just glad it wasn't the stomach flu as Nora's immune system was so compromised since she had chemo the week of my visit. I would have felt extra horrible if I had gotten her sick!

Luckily I was feeling better on Sunday morning so we caught a 10:30 showing of Wonder before heading to the airport. I read Wonder last year and it was one of my favorite books. The movie adaptation was excellent. As far as I can remember, it stayed very true to the book and the acting was wonderful. Even though this is a middle-grade novel, I think it's something everyone should read!

After that we headed to the airport. It was a wonderful trip and I am glad I got a chance to have lots of girl time with Nora before Baby S. arrives.

Phil picked me up at the airport and I was back home by 5:30. Oscar seemed happy to have me home - probably because that means the heating blanket was back out in use!

NYC Trip Recap

Happy Thursday! This week has been a bit of a blur! I got back from my NYC trip on Monday evening and the rest of the week has flown by as we had to prepare for listing photos which were taken on Wednesday. To be clear - we are not listing our house now. We decided to get the listing photos out of the way before we start to accumulate lots of baby stuff. Now we'll be able to list the house as soon as we find a house to buy. Add in a painful RA flare that required a steroid injection (my 8th of this pregnancy!!) and it has been a hectic week...

But let's talk about something more fun - my trip to NYC! I planned this trip back in April as I had some American Airline miles that were expiring. I had enough miles to pay for the flights so it made this trip inexpensive.

The reason for the trip was to visit my friend Alli and meet their new baby! Alli and her husband moved to an adorable neighborhood in Queens called "Sunnyside Gardens." I had never been to Queens before but was completely charmed by their neighborhood. It's full of brick row houses and mature trees. It has a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline and you are just a quick subway ride away from midtown.

I arrived on Thursday evening and checked into my airbnb. I opted to stay in an airbnb instead of with Alli and her husband as I knew they'd be adjusting to life with a newborn. Plus it's kind of nice to have your own space to return to at the end of each day! I highly recommend the place I stayed in. It was only $110/night so it's very economical. The unit is a small studio but had plenty of room for 2 people. Sunnyside is an easy 20 minute subway ride into Manhattan so it's a very economical way to visit NYC!

I went over to Alli's on Friday morning and soaked up time with Alli and her adorable son Aaron! I got lots of opportunities to cuddle their sweet baby! Holding him made me even more excited for the arrival of our little one!

Is there anything better than holding a sleeping baby?

Aaron and his momma, Alli. Aaron loves to give side eye!  ;)

On Friday we went out for a yummy lunch and then spent the rest of the day at their house. It was very cold outside for NYC - in the 30s! I was more than happy to chill with Alli and the baby. Alli made dinner + homemade GF chocolate chip cookies! Can you say supermom??

On Saturday I went into Manhattan for the day. I started off by meeting up with a friend that I met when I worked in Colorado the summer after my sophomore year of college. I hadn't seen her since 2009 so we had a lot of catch up on! I enjoyed a decaf latte.

After gabbing for 2 hours, I took a subway down to the Soho area and had lunch at Senza Gluten which is a 100% gluten free Italian restaurant. It was amazing to be able to order anything off the menu! My pasta was delicious!

After lunch I stopped by Laduree to pick up some macarons to share with Alli's husband, Chris, who is also a Celiac. (Alli is allergic to tree nuts so can't have macarons.)

Then I meandered down to the 9/11 Memorial. I was hoping to go to the museum but the line was obnoxiously long. The memorial was beautifully done. They have 2 different pools that are surrounded by the names of the victims of 9/11. The memorial indicates where the victim was or what fire department or police department they were a member of.

There is also a "survivor tree." Here is an explanation of the tree:

"In October 2001, the tree was discovered at Ground Zero severely damaged, with snapped roots and burned and broken branches. The tree was removed from the rubble and placed in the care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. After its recovery and rehabilitation, the tree was returned to the Memorial in 2010. New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present. Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth."

After that I headed back to Sunnyside. We went out to dinner that night at a restaurant in their neighborhood. I had a delicious burger on a GF bun! GF buns usually suck but this one was so good!

Sunday was another low key day. We got brunch in the morning, checked out an art fair, and then headed back to Alli's to soak up more time with baby Aaron.

It's exhausting being this cute!

 I got him to smile and managed to capture the moment on my phone!

Aaron is just the sweetest baby. He only cries when he's hungry or needs his diaper changed. I hope our baby is as good-natured as baby Aaron! But fussy or easy going, we'll love him or her no matter what!

Alli made one last meal - a delicious pasta dish with sausage, peppers and onions.  It was so good!

On Monday morning, I took my time getting ready. I was feeling especially exhausted that morning - I should have known it was a sign that a flare was coming as I tend to get extra tired before having a flare.  And sure enough - I came down with a flare during the night on Monday. Womp womp!

My trip to NYC was the perfect getaway for me. It was great to spend so much time with Alli and her husband and to get so many baby snuggles from sweet Aaron!

Bend Trip Part 2

I'm back with part 2 of our trip to Bend. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday were awesome days but I have to say that Friday probably goes down as our worst vacation day together in the history of all trips.  I mean, spending a day together is always wonderful, but things just did not go as planned. Here's how things played out.

On Friday morning, we checked the website for Crater Lake National Park. The website said the roads to the park were open, so after making breakfast, we drove down to the park, which is about 1.5-2 hours away. As we approached the park, we started to notice snow on the ground. The road to the park can be closed when there is snow but we thought it wasn't enough snow to close the park.  Wrongo, batman.  We got to the north entrance of the park and found out it was closed due to snow on the road.  We were both really disappointed as this was the attraction we were most looking forward to seeing.

We turned around and decided to drive the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. It seems like most people drive it from north to south, but we drove from south to north since we were on the south end of the byway. There are lots of beautiful hikes off the byway so we were planning to stop for a hike. Except when we got up to the area where most of the hikes were, it had started to snow again.  We thought we might be able to make it work because after all, we are tough Minnesotans! But after about 1/2 of a mile on a trail, we turned back.  The combination of snow on the side of the trail with the huge puddles on the trail from all the rain from the past couple of days made for conditions that weren't hikeable - at least not in the trail shoes/tennis shoes we were wearing.  Womp, womp.

Snow and soggy trails (not pictures are the huge puddles we kept encountering)

So we kept driving north towards Bend.  The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. We got out at one point to snap a quick photo.

I was so cold when we took this picture!

As we progressed north and entered the higher elevation area, the snow got heavier and heavier. At one point there was 6" of snow on the unplowed road. We had a dodge dart so were not in the right kind of car for these conditions.

I took this picture when the conditions had 'lightened up'.  It was still snowing very heavily, though!

The real low point of the day, though, was when we hit a lava rock on the road. We didn't see the rock since it was hidden by the 6" of snow on the road.  It made a God-awful sound when we ran over it but we were hoping it didn't do any damage.  As we slowed down when approaching Bend, the car was making an awful noise. When we got to Bend, we stopped to see what was going on. Turns out we stripped off the protective layer of aluminum that lines the undercarriage of the car and we were dragging that piece of aluminum along the road. Good times.

Luckily we were able to swap out our car at an Enterprise in Bend. We are still waiting to hear if we did any real damage to the car. The Enterprise guy said that if we just stripped off the aluminum, we wouldn't be charged anything. Fingers crossed we didn't do any further damage! Phil's insurance policy will cover the damages but we'd like to avoid having to file a claim!

After that, the only thing that was going to make the day better was beer. After leaving Enterprise, we went directly to a local brewery called Crux Fermentation. Luckily they had some Oregon wines available so I was able to have a beverage as well.

Calming himself down with a hoppy beer sampler.

That night we treated ourselves to dinner at Zydeco. They had an amazing GF menu!

On Saturday, we drove back to Portland and met Lauren, her mom and little boy Henry for lunch at a cute restaurant in Salem. I hadn't seen Lauren since our San Francisco running trip in 2014 so it was great to catch up with her, meet her little guy and mom (both of whom I've heard so much about!) and introduce her to Phil! Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture!  Gah! Seeing Lauren makes me wish that we lived closer as we have so much in common and always have a great time together.  I loved seeing her little guy, Henry, too.  He's growing so fast and is such an energetic little guy!

After lunch we headed up to Portland. It was rainy and windy, but we battled the weather and walked around the downtown area. Of course we had to stop at Powell's! It's the largest bookstore in the world - it takes up an entire city block and houses over 1 million books!!!  It's a must-see destination for any book lover.  We had fun walking around the store.  It's incredibly well-curated with lots of shelves and end caps with recommendations. I could have spent hours there. I resisted the temptation to buy any books, but I did buy this t-shirt. It was rolled up in a paper sleeve so I did not look at it before buying it, which I sort of regret as it turns out the shirts fit SUPER SMALL.  I might look into exchanging it but that might be more hassle than it's worth.

After we left Powells, we kept wandering around the city.  There are definitely some more areas that I didn't feel super comfortable walking through. That's not to say that we don't have areas in Minneapolis where I don't feel comfortable walking around. There are certainly areas I try to avoid, but they are more off the beaten path and not in our downtown area, luckily. We were very sad to see the large population of homeless people. I guess that is something we are just not used to dealing with in our super cold northern climate.

We had limited time in Portland so were only able to see the downtown area where we were staying, but we both left with a pretty good impression of the city. I'd like to come back some day and explore more areas, like Washington Park. It was just too wet, windy, and rainy that day to do that.

We enjoyed an awesome Thai meal for dinner and did some more walking around next. Toward the end of our walk, I saw this sign, which for me prompts the question - where are we going to go next?

...  but I already know the answer to that!  I'll be heading to Spain in late November/early December. I'm happiest when I'm planning a trip so I can't wait to do some research on the Andalucia region! I definitely have a stronger desire and interest in travel than Phil does, so while he wishes he could come to southern Spain since it's his old stomping ground, he's ok with hunkering down at home with Oscar while I do some exploring with a great friend. In his defense, we have done quite a bit of traveling this year between our trips to Mexico, San Francisco, and Bend as well as local getaways for 2 weddings in Wisconsin and northern Minnesota!  So we have certainly done quite a bit of traveling together. I just want more more more!  But relationships are all about finding balance, so I'm glad that we've had so many adventures together and am thankful that I have a great friend to travel to Spain with.

Do you  have any trips planned? If so, when and where are you going?  If you are in a relationship, does you and your significant other have a similar interest in traveling?

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

Charles Dickens' epic first line from the book, A Tale of Two Cities, sums up how August has gone for me so far. I feel like I've packed about a month's worth of activities into the first two weeks of the month and am definitely ready for life to slow down a bit. Here's what falls under the best/worst category for the month!

The Best of Times...
- My month started out great with a girls weekend getaway to a cabin up north with 5 of my college friends. We did some shopping, ate great food, put together a 1,000 piece puzzle, caught up on each others lives, soaked up the sun, and laughed a lot. We had so much fun and are committed to getting together on an annual basis going forward!

Posing by Babe the Blue Ox, who is the side kick of the American Fok Hero, Paul Bunyan.

- We spent the second weekend hosting Alli and Chris and showing them the sights of Minneapolis. Neither one of them had been to Minneapolis so we did our best to show them the best that our city has to offer. We were gifted with absolutely beautiful weather! I did a terrible job of taking photos of all the things we saw and did, but some of the highlights were walking through the Rose Gardens by Lake Harriet, checking out Minnehaha Falls, walking through my old neighborhood, and eating dinner at one of the best restaurants in Minneapolis.

Alli & Chris by Minnehaha Falls

 - My garden has been producing a ton of fresh produce! I came home from a business trip and picked everything in the picture below, plus a bag of green beans. I already had quite a few tomatoes that I had picked the week before, so I need to figure out how to can stat! My goal is to try to make salsa and spaghetti sauce next weekend.

The Worst of Times...
- I have been so sick. Like the sickest I have been in a very, very long time. After hacking away all weekend during my girls weekend getaway, I ended up going to urgent care last Monday as I'd been sick for a week and hadn't made any improvement. It turns out I had a nasty case of bronchitis. I went to urgent care the morning before leaving for a 3-day business trip to northern California, so the timing was terrible.
 

Starting off my Monday with an urgent care patient bracelet.

- Being sick while traveling for work is HORRID. I coughed through presentations. I was constantly hot/clammy as my body couldn't regulate its temperature and it was so hot in the Central Valley of California where I spent most of my time. The low point of the trip was when I made the mistake of taking my antibiotics on an empty stomach and ended up throwing up one morning. I had to quickly rally as I had 4 different client meetings that day. I was on my own for the first two days and on the final day, the sales rep I was traveling with said I sounded so awful and said he would have understood if I wanted to stay in the car while he went in and did the client meetings. I opted to go into the client meetings with him as I figured I might as well contribute to the conversation since I was already there.

- To top things off, earlier in the month I found out that there was a water issue in the building where the condo I own is and because the connection between the dishwasher and kitchen sink in my unit wasn't properly installed, water backed up in to the kitchen. The laminate tile got wet and warped, so the flooring has to be replaced and I had to get that connection between the sink and the dishwasher fixed. And the oven element stopped working, too, so that is getting replaced.  When it rains, it pours I guess. Anytime I have to shell out money for that condo, it annoys me because I would LOVE to sell it, but it's STILL worth less than the balance of my mortgage. Le sigh. Luckily I have a property manager that deals with stuff like this because clearly I would not have had time to deal with it this month.

So there you have it. It's been a month of insanity. There have been good times, but there have been some tough times. I'm hoping that calmer waters are ahead because I feel like life is totally and completely kicking my *ss right now. Luckily, I have a mostly plan-free week. Thank God. I feel like I've barely seen Phil for the last 2 weeks so we really need some quiet time to just be together. And, his birthday falls this week so I'm glad I'll be around this week so I can help him celebrate it!

What's going on in your world these days?

San Francisco Recap

Hey there!  I know I said I was going to take a break from blogging until after my surgery, but I thought I'd pop in today with a fun post about our trip to San Francisco!  We spent 3 full days in San Francisco towards the end of April and had an amazing time. It was Phil's first trip to SF and my 3rd. We were on our own for the first day and then Kyria was our tour guide for the other days. It was an action-packed trip as we knew it'd be our "last hurrah" before my surgery. The doctor had told me I couldn't do any further damage, so I just sort of pushed through any pain I felt and tried to make the most of the trip. Here's how we filled our time!

Thursday night:

We flew into the city on Thursday and took BART into downtown San Francisco. After dropping our things at the hotel, we headed out to explore. Kyria recommended an awesome Indian place close to our hotel which also happened to be really inexpensive. After dinner we watched through China town, and grabbed a drink at the Starlight Lounge which is located in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. It has beautiful views of San Francisco area. I'm sure it's a touristy thing to do, but we were tourists!

After enjoying a cocktail there, we did a bit more walking around and stopped at the Tonga Room, which is a tiki bar, for a fruity cocktail. We had seen this place featured on several TV shows so had to check it out. It was pretty cheesy and not a place we'd go back to but it was fun to check it out and the tropical drinks we had were delicious.

Friday:

On Friday we did soooo much walking. By the time we sat down to have lunch around noon, we had walked about 14,000 steps. Phil and I actually made a bet on how many steps we walked and the loser bought lunch. I lost.  Womp, womp. One of my favorite parts of our walk that morning was walking all the way to the top of Lombard street. This is a crazy steep, never ending hill but it was worth the climb as the view at the top is great and it was cool to walk up the crookedest street in the U.S.

Standing in front of the crooked portion of Lombard Street

This picture doesn't really do this hill justice, but it gives you an idea how steep Lombard Street is - we walked from the bottom to the top!

Later that day, we met up with Kyria after she was done with work. That night, we ate our weight in Korean food for dinner and retired to bed early as we were all worn out from walking 20,000+ steps!

Saturday:

Saturday was another full day with 20,000+ steps! We started off in the Golden Gate Bridge area and did lots of walking around and hiked down to a beach so we could see the GGB from another vantage point.

I've seen this view multiple times but it was extra special to share to view with my favorite guy!

Kyria and I

Other highlights from the day include enjoying some tacos in the Mission district...

1 carne asada and 2 carnitas tacos. Sooo delicious!

 ...meeting up with a high school friend of Phil's for a walk through the Castro district, and ending the day with a Giants game. Phil works with a sales guy in the Bay Area that has season tickets so we scored a deal on our seats. As you can see, our seats were very good!

Sunday:

One thing Phil and I really wanted to do on this trip was go for a hike. It's something we both love doing and since Kyria is such an outdoor/trail running enthusiast, I knew she'd come up with a great place for us to hike. We headed over to the Marin Headlands and did a ~4 mile hike down to Stinson Beach. The views along the trail were gorgeous and we were rewarded at the bottom with lunch at this little taco place on the beach.

It's tough to be tacos and nachos with a view of the ocean!

 
On Sunday night we had one last dinner together at an Afghan restaurant in Oakland and went to bed early as we were pooped after all that activity and fresh air! On Monday, Phil flew back to Minneapolis and I flew to New Jersey for work. We were sad to see our time in San Francisco come to an end, but I know we'll come back again as this is a city that I can come back to over and over again and never run out of things to do and see! We owe Kyria a HUGE thank you as she was the perfect host. Hopefully we can return the favor and host her in Minneapolis sometime!

Have you been to San Francisco? Is there a city you can visit over and over again? Paris, New York, and San Francisco are cities I could visit again and again and again!

Today is moving day for me and my surgery is on Monday, so I'll check back next week and let you all know how things are going!