Spring Break Road Trip 2016 - Day 4 Highlights

Taskmaster that I am, we were out of the hotel by 7am...

So we could snag a prime parking spot...

And apparently, enter Muir Woods National Monument for FREE.  This was a nice surprise because we were expecting to fork over $10. But hey, if the sign said"free", then we weren't going to argue.

So big tip, go early as in BEFORE they open at 8 am, get a parking spot in the parking lot  instead of parking miles away and walking it, and get in for zero  bucks. And most importantly of all, enjoy the peaceful silence and avoid  the crowds!!! When we left, I noticed they were charging for admission.

We encountered many early morning hikers and enjoyed the beauty of Muir Woods. That is until we left a few hours later, then tour buses with everyone and their mother (literally) were there.  So long screaming hordes of children...

Our next  stop was a mere ten minutes away...


Totally worth checking out.

Before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge,we thought we'd take a look from the Marin side.  Hard to see but the tiny specks are hawks, flying near the Hawk Hill viewpoint

Down the hill,we found a coveted spot near the Battery Spencer viewpoint. The parking gods seemed to be on our side today.

Geeks that we are, we HAD to go to a particular place at the Presidio...


"Take me to him you will!"

And in the lobby of Lucasfilm Headquarters,  we geeked out at seeing Star Wars memorabilia from the entire saga as well as life-size figures of not just a Stormtrooper, but also the Dark Lord and a certain bounty hunter.

Lunch was at a popular Thai eatery in the Outer Sunset (TC's choice):

While snacks  were at newish but popular bakery in the Inner Sunset (this was actually a revisit; my summer post from here is still in the works).

The return of the Snowy Plover at one of my favorite coffee shops in this neighborhood.

OMG, I want this again.

We checked into our motel that afternoon and promptly crashed.  I think we were running on fumes by that point.  Dinner later ended up being the Thai leftovers plus the pastries from the bakery. Plus I had come down with a cold from the day so I wasn't feeling 100 %...

Despite that, we were still here to enjoy ourselves. There were more fun things on the agenda for tomorrow...