After a quick hotel breakfast, we loaded up the van and headed west. OMG! I remembered traffic being bad on the freeways of CA but I didn't recall the "badness" starting in Sacramento before even getting to the Yolo Causeway! All kinds of traffic. Stop and go, and lots of slow. And according to the radio, it didn't sound like it would get any better as we approached the Bay Bridge (there was a Giants/Dodgers game at Candlestick).
Halfway there, we stopped at the Outlet Mall in Vacaville. Lots of great stores to visit. Too bad we don't have these near our home. We could only hit a select few so we narrowed the field down to some that Samantha and I like to shop at. First (for her), Aeropostale and Rue 21. A teen girl's heaven! And for me, the Naturalizer store (2 pair of slip-on shoes). Would have liked to have checked out some of the kitchen stores; perhaps Eddie Bauer or Levi's. But time was at a premium. A quick run thru the Jack-in-the-Box drive thru (where they messed up Mat's order...giving us someone else's cheeseburger and NOT his chicken sandwich) and we were back on the road.
Getting to the Bay Bridge took a little time. Crossing it took quite a bit more. But we made it! HELLO SAN FRANCISCO! Seeing the SF skyline with the TransAmerica Building was pretty cool. The GPS got us to our rent house where Patsy (the owner) met us. She seems to be a very sweet lady and very helpful. We quickly walked through the house. What a wonderful place! Not only is it perfectly located (just off Mission) but there's plenty of space for the 9 of us. On the upper floor is a spacious and well-equipped kitchen and dinning area. The table easily seats 10 (12 could fit with a little less elbow room). There are 3 bedrooms (all with queen beds). Two bathrooms (one off the master suite, one in the hall). And a jacuzzi in a sunroom off the master that overlooks part of the city and towards the water (you can probably see the water on a non-foggy day).
After a quick dump of luggage, we headed to SFO to pick up Mat's parents. Talk about perfect timing. They called us to say they'd just picked up their luggage and would meet us at the street pickup for arriving flights. We had already exited the freeway so were within 2 minutes of their location.
Lots of hugs later, we were en route back to the house. Unloaded (though not unpacked) and hungry, we ventured out in search of someplace to eat. Over by SFO, we found THE perfect place -- Benihana's. I say perfect because it obviously was meant for us. We drove up to the restaurant and got THE closest parking spot to the front door. We walked in on a Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. without a reservation for dinner. "How long of a wait for a group of 6 for dinner?" We can seat you now. NOW! We followed her into the dining room and were seated at a table with just enough room for the 6 of us (no sharing required). We had a window right next to us so that we could look out upon the water (not the "best" of Bay views but a bay view no less). And we had a nice relatively secluded corner of the room (we weren't sitting out in the middle of the room with people all around us).
Our chef was Hiro and he was quite the character. Very pleasant and friendly and we truly enjoyed the show that he put on for us. If you ask the kids, the highlight was the onion volcano. He placed an onion on the grill, separating the rings. He then restacked the rings (slightly askew), leaving off the center ring. Finally, he poured water in through the top opening. The heat of the grill caused the water to evaporate, sending steam up-and-out the top of the volcano! Totally cool! There ARE times that playing with your food is okay.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Mat and I shared "chicken and shrimp for two" (as did Bob and Kathy). Nicholas had chicken while Samantha had beef. Everything was well prepared and nothing was left on our plates. Finally, we had a bowl of ice cream for dessert. While everyone else went with the typical faire (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, sherbet), Samantha and I opted for green tea ice cream....YUMMMMY! And since we told them the reason for our trip was to celebrate Bob and Kathy's 50th anniversary, they took a photo of us at the table and presented them with a copy of the photo (which turned out rather nicely).
It was a great way to spend our first night with Bob and Kathy in the City by the Bay.
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