April 22, 2008
Vacation Time!
Written by Shana in Jaunty Post
I love this time of year. In my part of the world, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the temperature is perfect.
And it’s time to plan for summer vacation.
This year Ultimate Sportsfan and I had planned a two-prong vacation. My grandparents and my brother live in Michigan, so we planned to fly up and see them for three or four days. This was my part of the vacation. Then we were going to fly to Las Vegas and play there for three or four days. This was USF’s part of the vacation.
Then I finaled in the Rita.
For those of you who don’t know, the Rita is like the Oscar’s of romance writing. Authors and books are nominated in various categories and the awards are given the last night of the Romance Writers of America’s annual conference. I am extremely blessed to have finaled once before in the Best First Book category (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Men I’ve Dated). Now I’ve finaled in the Regency Historical category. My competition is fierce: Julia Quinn, Anna Campbell has two nominations, and Nicola Cornick. The odds of me winning are only 1 in 5, and yet I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to be there. It’s so much fun to be a finalist, even when you don’t win.
Well, we couldn’t give up our trip to Michigan. How can you tell your grandparents you’re not coming for a visit? So Las Vegas had to go, and San Francisco took its place.
Wow. I think Vegas definitely would have been cheaper. But san Francisco, here we come!
Anyone been there? We thought we’d see Alcatraz and the Golden gate Bridge, but what else should we see?
And what vacation plans do you have? Or are you staying home this summer?
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brownone Says:
Oh you’re so lucky Shana! (Although, I’d spring for a little side trip to Vegas
)
I grew up in the valley and we went to San Fran a couple of times. Go to fisherman’s wharf to eat..the food is awesome! Then there’s that famous winding road to drive through (can’t remember the name for the life of me!). It’s so pretty and the flowers are gorgeous. My brother in law was there last month and my sister and I made him buy us boxes of See’s candies. We have not had them for years and it was just like opening up a box of your childhood. As usual, we fought over the ones with the sprinkles.
Dorothy Says:
I love San Francisco. My sister lived in the area and I’ve been a couple of times. Places to see. You have to ride the cable cars. That’s always fun. Fisherman’s Wharf. I think brownone meant you have to drive down Lombard Street. She’s right, of course. and the flowers are gorgeous! I’m sure you’ll have a good time and Good Luck at the conference!
Kathryn Says:
I was in San Francisco years ago visiting my best friend who was doing her doctorate at Stanford. We took a side trip out to Yosemite and it was stunning.
No real vacation plans for me… I have two daughters who are equestrians and summer is competition time for us… I do travel around Quebec, Ontario, New York state and Vermont, but the scenery is pretty much limited to showgrounds and I spend a lot of time eating dust and spitting flies!
RobynDeHart Says:
I’ll be in SF this summer too. I’m even dragging The Professor with me - we’re making a short vacation out of the whole ordeal. Other than that the only other vacation we might do is some camping this summer. We shall see, it will be a first for us together and we have no equipment. And then there are the bears in the Smokies…
Shirley Karr Says:
I’m still mourning the fact I can’t go to conference this year, when it’s in driving distance. :hissyfit: Yes, you must go because being a finalist is so much fun!
Have been to SF twice — once as a high school sophomore for a journalism conference at the Hilton. Our big entertainment was riding in hotel elevators since we came from a town with no buildings taller than three stories.
As an adult, I went with my dh just before we moved to Oregon from Sacramento. I agree you must eat at Fisherman’s Wharf, drive down Lombard, and ride a cable car to Ghiradelli Square. (And have money for tolls.) We also took a motorized cable car tour of downtown. Very touristy, I admit, but the driver told us fascinating stories about the history of everything we saw.
Shana Says:
Thank you for all the suggestions. I’m glad we’re going!
Virginia H. Says:
Sorry we don’t do vacations here. We don’t have the funds to do so. All of my vacations are in the books that I read, so I have been a lot of different places in books.
Amy Addison Says:
RWA National is my only “vacation” this year….as in, it’s the only time I’m traveling without children!
Fedora Says:
Congrats on finaling, Shana! Woohoo!
And I’m pretty near SF–how long will you have here, and what kinds of things do you enjoy? There are lots of in-the-city things to enjoy–the major tourists spots are fun, and if you have time/inclination, walking across the Golden Gate is neat. The museums and zoo and those are good, too.
If you prefer more outdoorsy type things, there are some beautiful spots just north of SF (Point Reyes comes to mind). Wine country is just 90 minutes or so away, too!
Let me know if I can try to offer more specific suggestions
Shana Says:
Fedora, we won’t be there long. We arrive Wednesday night, in time for the literacy signing. Then we leave Sunday morning. I’m at the conference all day Friday and part of Saturday, but we planned to explore on Thursday. We thought we’d go to Alcatraz and on a city tour. I like historical things. What are the must-see museums?
Sarah Says:
I was there a day during spring break.
Two words… CITY PASS!
http://www.citypass.com/
As for Alcatraz - be prepared to walk… up a steep hill! It is cool - they are letting nature take over the island.
*** It is like 2 1/5 hours for the Alcatraz trip - well worth it! Try to get the EARLY CRUISE @ 9am!
http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/
**** I would do this FIRST! Cause San Francisco doesn’t seem to open until 10am.
There are two vista points for the Golden Gate - one north and one south. Both are gorgeous! And you can make it to the south one via public transportation. Ask the lady at the visitor center at fisherman’s wharf for directions.
The street that is crooked… is a block on Lombard Street. Though… really… I would go down it at night - less likely to hit someone that way.
China town! We went for lunch… and ended up in a restaurant with a group of TAMU students. How weird is that!
We didn’t make it to the museums…
Maybe next time.
There is a tour that is a drop off/ hop on - where you just catch the next bus that comes along. I don’t remember the name… but I’m sure the hotel might have information.
-Sarah… who will be quiet now…