A year after my Dad's passing, Anna and I were off to San Francisco and Yosemite for what we coined "The sisterly adventure" to honor our Dad and his wishes. We were so excited to see one of the favorite places that he once called home.
We arrived in SF, got into our rental car and headed to our B&B on Lombard St.
It was wonderfully central to everything we wanted to see and very quaint.
When we arrived there was a note that read "Back in ten minutes", so we waited about half an hour, took our first picture to document out time in SF and then decided not to waste time. We jumped back in the car and headed out on our first leg of the adventure, The Presidio, and figured we'd check in a little later.
We grabbed lunch at this great place, Pluto's, down the street.
San Fran had tons of little spots like this that were all about fresh ingredients, so we had HUGE (half) salads and split a sandwich.
We also picked up some delicious peaches at a nearby market for the car ride to Yosemite the next day.
Then after following signs to the Golden Gate Bridge, we arrived at the first place we'd be honoring our Dad.
We drove all around the Presidio to find the perfect spot...
and passed some of Dad's favorite sites along the way...
Then we found the perfect spot with awesome views of the Bridge just below it.
I brought my Pound Puppy along because Dad gave him to me when I was very little. He has been all over the world with me when I traveled as a kid and is one of my most cherished gifts from my Dad.
I wanted to do something special to honor Dad at the two spots he asked his ashes be spread, so at this special place I said a prayer, then Anna and I read Green Eggs and Ham together (one of Dad's all time favorite books to read to us as kids), and then Anna recited the Mourner's Prayer in Hebrew and then we poured the ashes into the bay finally laying him to rest.
The neat thing is right that afterwards this sea lion popped up out of the water, so we watched him for a while and named him Sheldon.
The rest of the day we spent driving around San Fran following the "scenic route", which drove us by many of SF's famous spots including the world's windiest road.
We actually drove down this road laughing the whole time.
That night we had a delicious dinner in China Town after some souvenir shopping. We got the cutest scarfs, which really came in handy because San Francisco is pretty chilly even in August.
The next morning we got up early, had breakfast and headed out for Yosemite.
Beautiful sites along the way to Yosemite...
and five hours later, we arrived!
The views were breathtaking.
Stopping to take it in.
We turned a bend and this is what I saw. It literally took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes I was so taken aback by the beauty of this place.
Sites from Yosemite Valley
El Capitano
The Sequoias
Half Dome
Mirror Lake
(One of the places we hiked to.)
The Lower Falls
(The other spot we hiked to.)
We decided a spot right near the falls would be perfect for Dad's wishes, so we found a secluded spot away from the crowds where we could still hear the water flowing and there we each shared a few favorite memories of Dad and sang a couple "car songs" as he used to call them. Then we spread the rest of the ashes. I think Dad would have been really happy.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Valley Floor and laughing at signs like these...
"Speeding Kills Bears", now that's not a sign you see everyday on the highway.
Along the drive to the Yosemite B&B in Mariposa.
After an amazing breakfast at our B&B, we drove back to the park.
This time we entered the park through the south entrance and drove through Mariposa Grove. Then we headed to Glacier Point for some of the most spectacular views yet.
That area down below the cliffs in the photo are of the valley where we were the day before.
It's no wonder Dad loved it here.
That night we headed back to San Francisco for a couple more days of site seeing.
The next day we walked all over town...
Ghirardelli Square
Met up for lunch with my sorority sister, Bre, who lives in SF now.
Took a trolley ride...
a tourist must do in San Fran and the San Francisco treat.
Later that night we had dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf.
The next day had a relaxing morning followed by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Then we headed back into the central area of SF and warmed up at tea at Crown and Crumpets before heading to the airport.
It was the perfect way to wrap up our sisterly adventure.
We love and miss you Dad!
Thank you for making us go and see such beautiful sites.
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