Our First Independence Day with my Mum!

Happy Independence Day! It's our first July 4th here, and we've been able to celebrate with my Mum as she came over to hang out with us for just over a week on Saturday! :-) She's only been here a few days, and it feels like we've already done quite a bit (I'm really tired!). That being said, though, it's fantastic to have a family member here to hang out with the toddler! Robert and I went out to do a bit of shopping this morning and it felt amazing to go out without him! LOL!!! But we had a picnic today (as many people apparently do) at a big playground. There was a chilli festival happening in the same grounds, which we didn't realise was happening, so there were a few more people there than we expected! Still, we managed to have a good day just outside of SF. It felt like Australia Day often does: people just hanging out, eating and having BBQs and food in general. 

Yesterday, however, we took Mum to Fisherman's Wharf, which was where we stayed when we visited in December. That said, it is one of the most tourist-y places in the city (I guess it's a bit like The Rocks in Sydney), and we happened to go there on one of the biggest weekends of the country. Which was stupid because you can just imagine the crazy crowds. I got overwhelmed at one point and just sat down while Mum, Robert and the toddler continued on for a bit. Obviously, it wasn't like that in December; in the middle of Winter, nonetheless. We had lunch at a little diner in the grounds of the big Ghirardelli chocolate factory before getting a sundae (OMG, they're so good!!!). But the views are nice and it would have been a nice walk had there been less people. Fisherman's Wharf is home to lots of seafood restaurants where the signature dish is crab chowder in a bread bowl. Which is awesome! And if you walk along the Embarcadero along the Bay, you have views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge at one end and the Bay Bridge right up the other end, with a lot in between! 

I'm looking forward to the next week and showing Mum more of our new home city! :-) As usual, here are some pictures:

Live music happening at the chilli festival today.

Low, thick fog over SF yesterday. Which isn't really unusual.

Alcatraz.

Of course, we had to take Mum to Ghirardelli and get one of their awesome sundaes. So yummy!!!