The Hiltbrands Invade NorCal

My parents escaped the Texas heat for cooler days in NorCal. We had the best time together and spent four full days exploring various parts of the Bay. The only person missing was my sister, Lauren, but she'll be visiting for a few days in September.

Day 1


We explored the shops in China Town and enjoyed a delicious, authentic Chinese lunch at a lil' dive called the Hong Kong Clay Pot.

These painted hearts can be found all over the city. This one if my favorite because it portrays SF so well...it's located in Union Square which has tons of shopping and dining.

We made a pit stop to Ghirardelli Square...my dad's favorite food to consume is chocolate.

Day 2

Our first stop of the day was to Muir Woods National Park to admire the enormous redwood trees.

My dad spotted this pretty owl.

I purchase a magazine called "Sunset" that features outdoor activities to do on the West Coast. A recent article featured creamery tours around the Bay Area and this particular tour interested me because it was a sheep farm. So, we paid a visit to the sheep...they are so cute!

This lil' gal actually had the pendant from my necklace in her mouth. I had to pry it out of her mouth. I also had sheep nibbling on my jacket and one even untied the laces on my mom's tennis shoes.

After the creamery tour, we went to an adorable Sonoma County town called Healdsburg for lunch, and then onto the Mediteranean-like seaside town called Sausailto. Check out the fog rolling in!

Sausalito is an adorable town situated right on the Bay across from San Francisco. It has cute shops and restaurants...all with pretty views of the water.

Day 3

Day 3 was our Napa day and the first tasting of the day was at Pride Mountain Vineyards. I don't drink wine so our tour guide handed me the gigantic bottle of wine to hold...haha. Oh, and one thing to note, we saw a mountain lion in the middle of the road on our way to this winery...the guy was huge! It's unusual to see a mountain lion at all, but especially during the day because they're nocturnal hunters.

Barrel tasting in the caves.

Father-son photo.

Pride Mountain Vineyards has spectacular views for folks to enjoy while picnic-ing (spelling?) on their property.

Beringer Brothers Estate and Winery

Castello di Amerosa Vineyards and Winery....one of our favorite places to visit in Napa.

The castle!

Castello di Amerosa does a wonderul tour of their castle, including a visit to their caves and "torture" chamber.

Day 4

Lombard Street....known for its brick-paved, SUPER winding road.

We took the ferry across the bay to Sausalito. Along the way we passed Alcatrez.

We visited Saualito again to enjoy a seafood lunch overlooking the Bay. I love how the homes in this photo are built up the mountain to maximize the view of the Bay.

]