THE CANADA/USA TRIP - Chapter Four: San Francisco - 2

Day 19 (April 16) - SHOPPING DAY

We finally got around to putting aside a whole day to shop.
Poor Rosabel. This was probably the first day we dedicated to full-fledged shopping during the whole trip.
There was only one problem...
I was the one who ended up buying the most stuff.
I ended up buying like 4 pairs of shoes over at Nordstrom Rack!
Hahahahahaha.

Thanks to Jim and Aurie Piguing for their hospitality. They generously sheltered the entire Castillo brood during our SFO stay. :)
Good thing we were able to fit!
We must have had over 20 pieces of luggage!

The Psychedelic Pouring Drinks.

Somewhere in the middle of the day, Zachy and I managed to go to Chuck E. Cheese.

We also hit the nearby main store/factory of See's Candies to get our Wonka fix.
I wonder if they have any Oompa Loompas at See's. Hmmmmm.

Look for that Golden Ticket Zo!

We capped off our day by having a nice salu-salo with Mom and Dad over at Tito Willie and Tita Gloria's house at Daly City.

The food was super yummy!

Day 20 (April 17) - THE HOMESTRETCH

Our final day for our glorious Canada/USA Trip started off on a low note.

Cara was already starting to feel bad around 2 days ago.

And on our last day - the cold and windy San Fran weather finally got to her. :(
She had a really bad cold, had a hard time breathing and her temperature was climbing when she woke up.

We were really concerned about poor Cara.
Especially since we were going to take a 15 hour plane ride back home to Manila that evening.
We had to make sure that she could take it and make any needed adjustments if ever she couldn't. So we took a trip to the emergency room at the San Mateo Medical Center.


Thanks Tito Jim for taking care of us

Cara got some medication, nebulization and some much needed rest.
The doctor advised us that she was ok to travel back as long as we gave her medicine and that she got a lot of rest.


Kawawa Cara. :(

We were supposed to spend the day touring San Francisco with our cousin Raymond Noel.
Rosabel was sooo looking forward to going around and seeing the SFO sights and sounds.
But unfortunately due to the situation, she had to stay in the house to take care of Cara.

We wanted to stay home with her and Cara too but Rosabel wanted to make sure that Zachy got to see San Francisco. Especially Fisherman's Wharf , Golden Gate, The Cable Cars etc...

So with the SUPER help of Ray, we went out on a 4 hour mission to see as many SFO landmarks that we could.

My mission on the other hand was to photo/video - document as much as possible so Rose could see it in pictures at least.



We zoomed down the 280 down to The Embarcadero where you land right at the place where Barry Bonds used to hit his "Cream and Clear"home runs.
AT&T Park.

As you drive up further north, The Bay Bridge starts to appear.

And then you come across, Cupid's Span -- the place where Tony Bennett "left his heart".
Cute!

A few minutes later and after getting a good parking space, we finally land the customary "I've Been To San Francisco" photo pic.
I think I have like 6 of these from when I was small and traveling with the fam.
It's Zachy's turn now.


As we walked towards Pier 39, we passed the famous Boudin Bakery where they were making Crocodile Bread? :)

Yeyeye!
ALCATRAZ!

I really dig the Seal Area in Pier 39.
There were no seals here when we first used to visit as kids.
But slowly and surely, they took over the place after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.
Now there are no more boats... just seals.

It's really nice to see them up close and personal.
There weren't so many seals this time around. That place can really get packed in winter.
Up to 900 seals!

Strollin' down the Pier 39 Boardwalk.

That's one huge Cruise Ship!

Click!
Got it!
CABLE CAR Photo!
Done!

Get out of the way Zachy! :)

OOOOHHH.

What I would have done to get some Ghirardelli with Rosabel.
:(
Sniff Sniff


Here's Ray posing with the Zachster.

The next stop on our "Tornado Tour" was one of Rosabel's faves.
Lombard St.
Just getting there is the fun part.

Look how steep it gets going up!
Drive Ray! Drive that mutha!




Yes!
We made it!
It really is a beautiful street.

And of course, our tour would not be complete without the Super SFO Grandaddy attraction - The Golden Gate Bridge.

Man that thing is so huge.
I-Spectacular!

Check out the cross-section of one of the main cables.
It's made up of thousands of smaller cables inside.

Thanks Ray for driving us around San Francisco!
It was real nice to see ya bro!!
Yeah yeah... The Lakers are champs.
But Boston's gonna get them this year!

I think that ranks as as your Fastest SFO tour huh?
Heheheheheheehe!

We headed back to San Bruno to check on the girls.

Look who just flew in from NYC!
Bernie!

Rosabel managed to do some more last-minute shopping with the Bernster while I packed what was left to be packed.

Afterwards, we headed over to the airport where the Castillos gave us a nice send-off and farewell.

The rest of the family went home a few days later.


(Complete San Francisco Photo Album - Part 2 here.)

BYE BYE VANCOUVER!!
BYE BYE LAS VEGAS!!
BYE BYE L.A.!!
BYE BYE SAN FRANCISCO!!
BYE BYE CANADA!!
BYE BYE U.S.A!!

WE HAD THE BESTEST, MOST AWESOME, SPECTACULAR, STUPENDOUS, DELIGHTFUL, MAGNIFICENT, MARVELOUS, FANTASTIC, FABULOUS TIME OF OUR LIVES!!!
Love,
Gab, Rose, Zachy and Cara.

HELLO PHILIPPINES!!!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZ.....................