34hour Getaway! Turning 35 in style!!

We're busy people... Like stupid busy.  We're also limited on our babysitting options.  Our 4 kids have only ever spent the night with my mother and the two oldest girls have spent the night at a family friends house once.  I have trust issues.  Anyway, we try not to take advantage of poor Grammie too often.  This on the other hand was not one of those times.  We dumped our 4 kiddos off at Grammies house at 10am on Saturday morning and picked them up at 8pm on Sunday evening... Here's all the things we managed to squeeze into just 30 straight hours:

First Stop: CASA DE FRUTA

I regret not taking photos of this stop.  If you've ever been you may love or hate this out stop... We happen to LOVE it.  We stretch our legs, purchase snacks like fresh and dried fruits, chocolates, blended coffees, delicious deli items and so much more.  Todays goodies included dried apricots for Grandma Betty, a Belgian waffle mix and pecan syrup for Grammie, a TON of chocolate treats for me (chocolate covered peanuts, a giant peanut butter cut & assorted chocolates), Sonoma garlic Jack Cheese with beagle style crackers, and a blended white mocha with a pump of hazelnut.  Josh also ordered a delicious sandwich from the deli.  We stretched, ate, visited the facilities and got back on the road to....


Second stop: WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE
I grew up in the San Francisco South Bay Area; however, my moms side of the family was living in the Central San Joaquin Valley - this meant countless trips through Pacheco Pass.  Somewhere between the Garlic smelling Gilroy & Casa de Fruta you'd find a gorgeously detailed sign marketing Winchester Mystery House.  As a child I waited anxiously to reach this sign - trying to stay awake usuall, but never had my family been.  Josh too had remembered this monument and was excited to check it out.  What a treat - nothing like either of us expected...  I don't want to give away too much, but it really was fascinating.  We took the 65min. mansion tour.  We actually wanted the 2+ hours Explore More Tour, but the time slots were going to cut into the rest of our evening plans so we settled for the regular Mansion Tour and I was content with that as was Josh.   Here are a few photos (photos inside are not permitted). 

Selfie!

Cool little Evolution of the Winchester Gun museum

Despite the crowds we did not have luck asking someone to take our photo.

Something about holding a firearm makes me feel like a bad ass

We arrived a little less than an hour before our scheduled tour, but we were able to walk the grounds, view the gardens, visit the gift shop, the gun museum, and the café before sitting under a beautiful Japanese Maple tree - all prior to our tour! The tour, guided by an adorable Midwest college student, was filled with fun facts of the mysterious rooms & hallways.  I get the feeling we really only saw a tiny portion of the house.  At the end we watched the trailer for the upcoming movie based on the house and its mysterious owner Sarah Winchester.  We're looking forward to seeing The House That Ghosts Built in February. NOTE:  I purchased our tour tickets at the discounted rate via Groupon.  It was super simple - did it while in line! Another note - if you're super claustrophobic this might not be for you.  They do a great job moving quickly through the tight spots, but there were a few areas Josh had a hard time moving through.  He's a big guy!  Anyway - it was lots of fun.  Afterwards we were ready for....

Third Stop: Checking into our Hotel Room at the Marriott in Santa Clara

Nothing special about this basic hotel.  We simply picked it to be close to Levi Stadium for Sundays 49ers Game against the Seahawks!  Bad thing was it wasn't as close as we thought.  The Hilton we stayed at last year for the game was MUCH closer!

Here's the view from our balcony... Way farther than we thought! Website was misleading.  Took us 30min to walk to the stadium! and 30min to get back after the game!

Fourth Stop: Dinner with a view of the bay at Kincaid's in Burlingame, CA

So our original plan was to have dinner in Half Moon Bay on the water at Sunset, but we got a little behind and didn't want to rush so we tried Kincaid's - a beautiful little restaurant on the bay in Burlingame.  I'm so glad  we did.  The service was on point, the cocktails hit the spot and the food was awesome.  Josh had a long Island and medium rare steak while I ordered a 3 Berry Cosmo, a cup of clam chowder and the salmon. DELISH!!! 

We laso had a celebrity sighting!  A table full of Denver Broncos were sat just behind us.  I didn't want to bother them during their dinner so I secretly snapped these terrible shots.  We didn't know who they were so we sent the pics to my brother-in-law, Kyle, who immediately recognized them! So exciting seeing them!

Aqib Talib in the white

Von Miller in the Black

Look at this (blurry) stud!  I thought that was Ellen behind Josh!! Celebrities all over!! lol



I can't remember what this Salmon was called but it was SO GOOD! Pomegranates, yummy rice, perfectly cooked!

Another selfie with the bay behind us!

Fifth stop:  Couples Massages at Massage Envy

So this is what I was really looking forward to!  We haven't had a couples massage since before kids.  We went to the Madonna Inn in San Luis in like 2007!  10 years was too long to wait! 

Josh was nervous!

He was NOT as excited about this as I was!

No turning back now!!!

Josh didn't enjoy his massage as much as I did (that's an entire different post)! But afterwards we headed back to our room where Josh surprised me with a bottle of Champaign he secretly picked up in Case de Fruta!  We had a wonderful evening...


The next morning - Last stop: San Francisco 49er Game!!!

Here's a few pics to explain themselves.  We had a blast.

Great seats!!!

$10 each!! Ouch

Wind in hair don't care!

A much needed getaway with my best friend in the world!!

After the game we rocked out to 90's music all the way home.  Walking through Grammies door to 4 screaming little ones was a great feeling.  I'm truly looking forward to my 35th year of life.  It really was a fantastic (early) birthday weekend!!!