San Fransisco!

The Golden Gate Bridge

Turner running free in the desert

     What better way to start a summer than with a vacation! After surviving finals week, my parents and I took a trip to San Fransisco. To make it even better, my cousin came along! We had a great time. San Fran is a very pretty city, the architecture is so beautiful and it's a very different culture than my quiet life in Utah. The first day was all travel, which kindof sucked because I was still recovering from being sick during finals week. We ended up in Reno and spent the next day, Sunday, in the area too. We went to this cute little mountain town called Virginia city, with cute little shops and random people dressed in old western clothes. Then we took a scenic drive back to Reno, and stopped on the way by a pile of rocks to let the dogs out. There were some really good views at the top!

The beautiful "Painted Ladies"

     The next day we traveled to Petaluma California, only a short drive from San Fran! We got there in the early afternoon, so me and my cousin sat out by the pool while my parents finished setting up. I got a really awesome sunburn from the sweetheart neckline of my sundress lol. We decided to get dinner in San Fransisco, at pier 39. It sure was beautiful! We ate dinner at Bubba Gumps and I got some shrimp and lobster bisque, sure was yummy! We spent all day in the city the next day, mostly driving around looking at cool sites. We also went to Alcatraz that day, it was really interesting. I loved learning about the penitentiary, but I also got some really beautiful shots of the nature on the island. The next day was spent in the city as well, this time riding the trolleys through the city. we also went to china town, where we stopped for lunch. Surprise! I found out I can use chopsticks pretty well! The food was delicious and I loved the novelty of using chopsticks, especially since they were plastic instead of wood (which is the only reason I tried using them at all).

Fun at the beach!

     Thursday was spent in the areas surrounding the city. We started off at the beach (not in the bay, but I can't remember where). The dogs loved it! My dalmation Kaya is usually the water dog, but this time Turner jumped right into the water! He loved exploring and chasing the seagulls. We saw a lot of starfish and we even found a sting ray washed up on shore! After the beach we went to Sausalito, a cute little community west of the city. Very charming! It was a very relaxing day to wrap up our trip. the next two days was spent traveling back home. The pictures I'm sharing with you are some of my favorite, and also some of my more artistic shots. Taking the trip to San Fransisco was a great way to relax after the stress of school and now I'm ready to jump into my summer!

     Sincerely,
               Me

Gorgeous staircase on Alcatraz

Pretty pretty starfish!