#100!!!

Last week, I was enjoying the sunshine on my first full day of vacation and didn't even realize that I had reached a milestone.  My post, 25, on 05/04/13 was #100 for My Mind's Lens!!  So, I guess I will just have to celebrate today - by sharing the first batch of my vacation photos!

We began planning a trip to San Francisco back in January - it was kind of a mix between a birthday celebration and post-tax-season relaxation session.  Later, a couple of our friends decided they would join us.  And this time last Friday, we were on the road, headed south on the I-5 corridor.

It was a long, 12 hour drive to get there - but the sunshine was a welcoming hello to California!

Shortly after arriving in town, we surprised our friend that we were going to be staying with at work.  Isn't this lake beautiful??

If you ever visit the Bay Area, I have a few tips for you. 

TIP #1: Bring comfortable walking shoes.  This is something I do not own.  When the weather is nice, my feet live in flip flops.  Otherwise, I am probably at work and wearing dress shoes (or home and barefoot).  So all I packed were sandals and a pear of sneakers - that did not end up being all that comfortable either.  To say the least, my feet were not happy at the end of the day.

Our first full day, we took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from Berkeley, where we were staying, into San Francisco.

TIP # 2:  For a few dollars and 15 minute ride each way, mass transit is definitely the way to go - totally worth not having to deal with traffic and parking in the city. 

Robbie, our friend who lives in Berkeley and acting tour guide, took us all the way along the waterfront from the Embarcadero on one end, to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 and Hyde St. Pier/Aquatic Park on the other.  It was ALOT of walking.

TIP #3:  Do not have Robbie as a tour guide :)  He was great and we really appreciate him showing us around the city - and for the most part he knew where we were going.  But we did go around one of the BART stations a few times looking for the right train, there were a few trips off the beaten path, and when we were all tired and starving and wanting to sit down for a nice lunch, he took us to this row of walk-up eateries instead.

I will give him this - the little detours did give us a chance to see some really beautiful gardens...

In an effort to keep my posts from getting TOO long, here's just a few more for today:

There are plenty more pictures (and tips) to come, so stay tuned!!