A couple months ago, we escaped the intense heatwave hitting Sacramento and headed to San Francisco for a touristy day at Pier 39.

Brandon and I celebrated our 4 & 11 – that's 4 years of marriage and 11 of togetherness – by escaping the heat of Sacramento and heading to San Francisco.

At least, we thought we were escaping the heat.

Usually, I try to pack as many things to do or see as possible. This time was a little different. I've been super tired lately and decided to make this day trip as low key as possible. I wanted to get coffee, see the Degas exhibit at the Legion of Honor, and hang out at the beach. As long as we did those things, I'd be happy. And that's exactly what we did.

I’ve been to Haight-Ashbury once before. In my experience, it’s a cool place to visit to do some thrift shopping since that’s like 80% of what lines the streets. I’ve stuck to the side closest to Golden Gate Park each time I’ve visited. My sis and I took public transit to get there so we wouldn’t have to worry about parking and it went smoothly, despite us getting off at the wrong MUNI stop.

I've always had a thing for San Francisco. It was my all time favorite city as a kid and teenager. Brandon and I used to drive out to Ocean Beach for our dating anniversary every year before we started our newest Redwoods tradition. I ditched school with a friend my senior year of high school to go prom dress shopping with my mom in the city. I have so many really great memories of playing tourist in San Francisco but recently all of my trips into the city had lasted for only a few hours. I guess it's no surprise that I was excited get to explore the city for a little while longer this time!