In our search for a decent firework display, one that rivals
one of the many San Diego has to offer, we decided to give Sausalito a try this
year for the Fourth of July. We’re
looking for that ultimate experience, perhaps an annual gig for the entire
family, a day of fun (and frenzy) and a decent display of fire in the sky in
the evening to help celebrate our country and our Lindsay!
Sausalito is a small town on the bay just outside of San
Francisco on the other side of the Golden Gate.
The weather. was. perfect!
We found some outdoor seating at a café where we had breakfast
and great views of the parade and bay.
Kinley
thoroughly enjoyed the parade, waving to one and all!
Once the parade was done, we had planned on boppin’ over to
San Francisco for a little bit. Being
that we were not going to drive into San Francisco on the Fourth of July (way
too many cars and peeps) to pay outrageously inflated parking fees over and
above what are already outrageous parking fees, we thought we’d try the “#2
best ferry ride in the world”. BTW –
still not sure what’s so special about this particular ferry ride but it beat
having to drive into the city.
The Golden Gate ferry took us from Sausalito to the San Francisco Ferry Building. This building contained some very interesting
and exciting places to eat. We chose
Gott’s Roadside for their burgers. FYI - I would recommend trying one of the
more exciting eateries the marketplace has to offer…
Pier 39 is only a 25 minute walk from the San Francisco
Ferry Building. Down we strolled,
experiencing the variety of people on the streets that day. The weather was fabulous which made it all
the better. The streets of San Francisco
(between Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square) were closed off due to the mob of
peeps visiting that day. It looked like
something from Main Street, Disneyland…except NOT.
We stopped in at the
Rainforest Café so Kinley could say hi to the animals.
Some, she was fascinated by…
Others, not so much…
Off we strolled...
At this point it was time for a refreshing beverage and some
tasty little treats from Ghirardelli.
Kinley was very curious, checking on the staff making sure our orders
were accurate.
After Kinley tried to clean the floor with Mommy’s shake, we
thought we’d move on. Hyde St. Pier was open and looked interesting and less crowded. In case you didn’t know, Hyde St. Pier is
part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. Who knew?! While you have the option of
touring some historic maritime vessels, we chose to rest for a few minutes and
hold a mini photo shoot. Why? Ummm, see for yourself!
Are you dying?!?!?!?
Is that not one of the cutest things ya ever did see?
After spending a sufficient amount of time in San Francisco we
headed back down to Pier 39. We caught
one of the last ferries of the Blue and Gold fleet to Sausalito. We found a piece of grass near the water and
set up camp in wait for the firework extravaganza. It was
there Kinley found some little pals to play with and traded shiny colored
beads. She gathered her new friends up for
some pockets full of posies.
PINECONE INSPECTION!
Here we are, the Turner family, after a long day in the big
city and catching perhaps a few too many rays.
Finally, what we’d been waiting for. Could this be the event worthy of an annual
repeat? Would it rival those of San
Diego? Well, the firework display put on
by Sausalito was nothing to write home about.
It was okay. Nowhere near the
show at Disneyland or the display I’ve seen in Ramona. What you DO get to see is what appeared to be
an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G show across the bay in San Francisco!! Unfortunately, there were some incredibly
RUDE people who felt entitled somehow to stand in front of us and hundreds of others
who had been sitting on their grassy knoll for hours and hours in preparation for
the show.
Would we give it another try? Absolutely, in hopes that the skies are again
as clear as they were this particular evening.
Would we come armed with extra chairs for Casper to ensure our views
would be free and clear from prickish people?
You better believe it. Overall,
it was a fun day. We tried new things
and enjoyed our little day rollin’ to da bay!
Happy Fourth of July and Happy Birthday to our Lindsay!
