In fact, our visitor-packed March was probably the most exciting (read: we survived and successfully recovered) in San Fran yet! Every night at the Bakke B&B was occupied from the first week of March thru the last... truth! Although it was busy and we spent the better part of a week catching our breath at the month's end, we loved playing tour guide for our friends and fam.
To kick things off, I spent the first March weekend in Milwaukee with my college girlfriends-- we got to shower one mama-to-be (due in the next couple weeks... ahh!) and I was finally able to meet the newest girly addition to our group:
Meet Evelyn {Evie}-- have you ever seen such big blue eyes? This girl is a looker... a real life doll :) *Thanks for opening your home to all of us, Scottbergs! I got home Sunday eve, and Todd and Sheryl arrived Monday morning... we spent the beautiful day seeing the GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more :) Dan and I took our maiden voyage to Alcatraz with the 'rents... it was fantastic {a must if you're ever in the bay area!} The rest of the week flew by-- both Dan and I worked a bit, so Todd and Sheryl bravely conquered SF municipal transport like champs :) They also treated themselves to a fan-cy camera for Christmas and broke it out for the San Fran sights, so I only snapped a few pics with my peon of a camera :
Sadly, Todd had to cut his vacay a little short to attend his aunt's funeral in Texas, and they were our tour-guide guinea pigs, so we'd be happy to have Ma & Pa Bakke back again any time to see what we missed this time around :)
Next came my dear friend Jenna. She is lucky enough to have 2 sets of amigos in San Fran, so she got to split her time both ways. With good ol' Amber, she got to see the GG bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! It was a little rainy, but we managed to spend some QT snuggled up watching movies and ordering pizza. Never ones to miss a chance to wear our dancing shoes, we *had to spend an evening on the town and discovered SF is home to a hoppin' Monday night life :) Again, here are just a couple snapshots (I had more, but they were lost in cyberspace):
Jenna tagged out Wednesday afternoon and the Brunn parents tagged in that night... just enough time for a quick grocery run and a kitchen sweep, and back to the airport we went! Had a fabulous week with my peeps, and despite some rainy weather, we still managed to see GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! Enjoyed some ice cream at Haight-Ashbury, loved the cityscape views from Coit tower, spotted the parrots on Telegraph Hill, perused Chinatown, and even savored a sushi dinner (a big hit and a new tradition for us, I think!). Also made a trip to Muir Woods {to see the giant Redwood trees} and up the coast to check out the headlands and Stinson Beach... these were a first for me (and definitely NOT the last... beautiful!), so I took some pics of my own this time:
Our dear friends Kate & Chris swooped in the next week, and Hotel Bakke was double booked for a day :) We picked up the Swansons and drove right up to wine country for a day of delicious wine tasting, spectacular views and good company!
The next day my parents took off, and I took Kate & Chris for a day of sight seeing. We saw the GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! Getting old yet? Try living it. (j/k- 'twas awesome to show off the fair city... and good exercise. My legs are ripped ;) We had a rockin' time with the Swanson duo! Explored the SF Giant's stadium, gazed at the famed Painted Ladies, hit up a happenin' brewpub in Haight Ashbury, saw GGpark, hiked the Marin Headlands and enjoyed some heavenly grub... most notably a sundae at Ghiradelli Square... yum. Spent some quality couch time together on a rainy day too! Must say thanks to Chris for taking the back seat to Kate + Amber time... you're a real trooper, my friend... I know you didn't love shopping with us, but who else was gonna hold all our fitting room rejects? ;)
If you're thinking that Dan the Man seems noticeably absent from this whirlwind month, that's because he was. Unfortunately he was swamped at work AND doing double duty for school... poor manly man was only able to take 2 half days off to spend with our guests. Thankfully things have slowed down a bit in the last week or so... it was just bad timing for the cats who hoped to see more of him :( Call the whaaa-mbulance, I played hostess by myself mostly, which means that while our visitors were missing my man, I was missing him too! Don't worry- we've since reconnected:
Wouldn't be a complete update without a kissing pic, right? ;)
All in all, it was a doozie of a March... action-packed and full of fun... one we will not soon forget! We *loved having all our visitors and the bustling month flew by! Not only was it wonderful to show off the splendid city, it was nice to share a bit of our lives with people we love, you know?
Now we've caught our breath, rested our feet, finished up our laundry (well, I didn't do it... heh) and we're ready for round #2! The guest bed is made... who's next?!
