Day 8 and 9. Onward to San Francisco!

After our night in Monterey we woke up to a delicious home cooked breakfast at our little boutique hotel. It started with some amazing homemade granola cereal and was followed by poached eggs with avocado, toast, bacon, and a fantastic tomato mixture. Then we headed to the aquarium where I admittedly had a breakdown before even walking through the doors. We got a primo parking spot and when we got out of the car I realized I had forgotten my new hat at the hotel! So we had to drive back, which meant we missed the 10:30 otter feeding that I was looking forward to and then when we got to the aquarium again the person at the front desk told us we needed the special books we had purchased for admission - not just the ticket that was in the book. Are you freaking kidding me?!? So back to the car we went and finally we were let into the aquarium where I had some major tude. MAJOR. Devin finally got me to calm down by bringing me upstairs to see the otters who were adorable! Here's one on his back all like heeeey guys. 

Here's another one chilling on a rock. We saw them cuddling, and wrestling, and eating, and it put me in a fantastic mood. 

The Monterey aquarium is supposed to be one of the best and it totally lived up to the hype. I touched this ray, multiple times because once wasn't enough. But he was fast and liked to swim towards the bottom of the touch pool so I had to roll up sleeves and practically dive in to molest him. Worth it. 

We also touched a sea cucumber, which felt totally bizzare. Kind of like if you combined bread with jello and then let it sit underwater for a week. 

Then we saw these fabulous jellies. 

And an octopus who didn't have a name because according to the woman working there "they aren't going to learn their names so why give them one?" My teddy bear doesn't know her name either but she has one. 

After the aquarium we stopped at a California chain whose name I can't remember but it was a lot like a Panera and pretty good. The potato salad was awful, but the pasta salad was fantastic so you win some you lose some. Then it was time for the last leg of our journey up the PCH. We stopped at a little corner market and got 5 artichokes for $1...we don't even know how to cook them it just seemed like a bargain! We also got kiwis, plums, homemade fig newtons, and avocados. We also stopped for more pictures but again most of them are on my camera. We found a light house and hung out on the beach for a bit. 

We finally arrived in San Francisco right as night fell and not long after we finished Serial. Which meant the last 45 minutes of the drive included an intense debate about what we think the truth is. 

We rented a house from Airbnb in the Noe Valley area and it is awesome! It has a hot tub in the backyard and came with a bottle of wine in the fridge to get us started. We of course needed food though, so after getting settled into the house we hit a safeway for snacks and wine and then went to a salvadorian restaurant called Balompie that was probably my favorite meal of the trip so far. We had pupusas and we even got to to see the woman making them fresh while we sat at the counter and waited. We got a few different flavors including an Italian one, a shrimp one, and a beef and jalapeño one. They were all jam packed with cheese and flavor and the dough that encased everything was soft and delightful. As soon as we finished I wanted more-I'll definitely be going there again in the future. Then we came home and enjoyed the hot tub and fell asleep before we even got a chance to watch SNL. 

The next day we woke up and headed out on the town! Some of my early thoughts of San Francisco include how does anyone own a bike here? And does anyone else feel like they are on an endless roller coaster? Let me off. This Midwest girl needs flat plains please. 

We first hit up a bakery called Tartine that Devin had see on a PBS special. This was the line so clearly we knew it was going to be good. 

We got a morning bun, a coconut macaroon (admittedly not the best one I've had but good. The best ones are the ones they sell in Vegas at the Bellagio and I totally spaced and forgot to get some while we were there! Ugh!) and a croque monsuier that you can observe Devin chowing down on here. So good. 

Then it was off to Muir Woods which started off great! It really did. We decided to go for a hike that was supposed to be 2.5 miles. So we're hiking and I'm dancing and singing and taking photos and running and jumping and then we come across a sign that I was certain must have been close to the end, because we'd been walking for an hour and 45 minutes already and the bastard of a sign said we had 2.5 more miles. IS THIS A CRUEL JOKE?! We never switched trails, we didn't miss any turns, how did our little hike become A trek through the entire forest?! I immediately hated everything about those damn woods and all I wanted was to be out of them. I am not built for nature and I am ok admitting that. I gave it a shot and now Devin and I know - no camping for Cate. So I don't know we walked for like 2 and half hours and I have no clue how many miles. 100? I felt like I was walking back to Iowa. 

Once we caught sight of the parking lot I literally ran to the car and left Devin behind, oh did I mention there was no water on this hike? Fools! We are fools! Then I had Devin take me to the Full House house where he took this photo of me. 

There were so many adults there. We are all sad individuals but hey how could I not stop? We also visited the painted ladies and then stopped for lunch/dinner at a place called Squat and Gobble that was quite yummy! I had a salmon crepe and it came was rosemary roasted potatoes that kind of stole the show. Then we retuned to our home for another night of hot tubbing, wine, and relaxing.