It’s so exciting to say that Dillon and I have gone coast to coast from Florida to San Francisco while on our road trip. This is my first ever cross-country road trip and I am having such a good time seeing all the different places around the country. Recently, we stayed at an Airbnb in Berkeley which is a city across San Francisco. It is located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay.
I’ve actually been to San Francisco years ago, so this was my second time. The first time, I went with some of my family and I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon in 2013 with my sister. That was my first marathon ever. I was probably 19 at the time. Fast forward years later, now I get to go again but with my husband. The first time around, I got to do more touristy stuff such as seeing the “Full House” house, driving through Golden Gate Bridge, visiting Chinatown, and checking out Lombard street. I had a great experience. This time, we got to enjoy our Airbnb stay, and explore downtown for a day.
Airbnb Stay
Dillon and I were very impressed with our Airbnb. It had these French doors leading outside to the deck where there were lawn chairs and a hot tub. Coming from Florida, I am used to having AC in every building. However, the climate in this area doesn’t get so hot where AC is necessary. We even had the heater on in the afternoon. And we are in the peak of summer! But Dillon can handle the cold much better than I can. He was loving the temperature in this area!
We eagerly hoped for a beautiful sunset the first night but it turned out to be very foggy and cloudy. You could even see the clouds rolling past us outside in the deck area. But we enjoyed the hot tub that night. The prettier sunset happened the following day (scroll down for pictures). From our Airbnb, we get a very good view of the bay and even downtown San Francisco at a distance. I learned that Golden Gate Bridge is prone to fog, especially in the summertime. In a nutshell, this is due to the warm air currents meeting the chilly waters. So that would explain the fog we constantly saw.
A Day In Downtown San Francisco
I didn’t take too many pictures in this city. I have been here before so I didn’t feel the need to constantly snap away. Also, I made the wrong choice of wearing a pleated skirt without realizing how windy it was in downtown San Fran. Lesson learned. I’m sure I’m not the only girl that made that mistake before lol. But for our day in downtown San Francisco, I told Dillon we should visit Pier 39. I went there the first time I went to San Fran and I remember having so much fun!
Pier 39
Here’s why I love Pier 39…You have a view of the Golden Gate Bridge (if it’s not hidden in the fog), and you can see the historic Alcatraz Island. They also have this yummy restaurant called Pier Market Seafood Restaurant which is where Dillon and I had lunch. Do yourself a favor and order the clam chowder in the sourdough bread. San Francisco is known for their sourdough bread. It was so yummy! Then we walked by the pier and saw 2 or 3 seals sunbathing. The first time I was there was in the Fall and I remembered seeing so many seals just lay out by Pier 39. I was curious why there were only 2-3 that we saw this time around. According to an article online, the seals migrate during the summer months to breed. So that explains why we only saw a few.
After lunch, Dillon and I headed back to our car. If you ever visit Pier 39, there is a garage right by the pier and some restaurants can validate one hour if you eat there. Normally, its $12/hour to park at the garage.
Golden Gate Bridge
Then we drove through Golden Gate Bridge to stop at the Battery Spencer Overlook. It was cool seeing how it was so foggy in half the bridge and once we got to the end of the bridge the fog lifted and it was so sunny and bright. One of our Ubers was a San Francisco local and he mentioned how that was his favorite view of the bridge. Once you park your car (it’s free), you walk a little ways to the edge of a cliff (part of it is fenced) and you get an amazing view of the bridge from a higher elevation. Heads up: it was super windy here! Like hair all over my face windy. It made it really hard to get a quality photo. If you decide to come here, maybe wear a longer dress or cute denim jeans. Skip the hat too, unless you’re ok with it potentially flying off.
The exact address to Battery Spencer is Conzelman Road, Sausalito, CA 94965. It is about 25 minutes from downtown SF. If you plan to go during sunset, which I would imagine is beautiful, get there early! I was there on a foggy day and it was still packed. This overlook is popular so expect to see a lot of cars trying to park.
After a fun day in the city, Dillon and I returned home to our Airbnb and I cooked dinner for us. We finished our night relaxing at the hot tub.
If I were to visit San Francisco again, here are some places I would want to go:
- Visit Ghirardelli Square (I love my chocolate lol)
- See the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps (mosaic tiles)
- Go for a walk in Crissy Field
- Go to a baseball game at the AT&T Stadium (apparently it’s a really nice stadium)
- Book a cruise in the San Francisco Bay
Xo, Jessica
