| San Francisco in June  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Welcome to another weekend! I really had no clue as to what day it was all week long. Could it be because of being out of town and on vacation until Tuesday? I really don't know. But I can tell you that I had such a great time. Of course the fact that the Yankees swept the SF series might've helped just a bit. While, I've been to San Francisco in the month of June countless times; although I have no idea how many times I've actually been to the foggy city. So ho hum right?! It's the type of thing where you would think that I have been there and done that. At least that what I would be thinking. There is just something about this city that calls to me, ya know to get out there and go explore. I guess it's not just this city. Maybe it's me. I am an explorer! But, I also have a really bad case of FIMO (fear I'm missing out). So while you can see (from the pics below) that I was having a true blast up in San Francisco; I was also wishing that I was there having a great time with the girls in Lancaster, PA! I just wanna be everywhere. From Oracle Park:  Ready for a baseball game! (c)travelincousins.com  Watching some batting practice (c)travelincousins.com  Trolley at the ball park (c)travelincousins.com  Trolley photo op (c)travelincousins.com Oracle Park is not only super picturesque but they also have a ton of vegan/plant based offerings!!  Impossible Cheesesteak - request no cheese and Garlic Fries (c)travelincousins.com San Francisco is a very walkable city - if you don't mind hills! Sights GALORE - Check out walking the Barbary Coast Trail. On this gorgeous day, we were originally planning to take a trolley around town, but then at the very last minute I opted for us to stay on foot whilst heading to the park for the Sunday afternoon game.  Decked out Trolley (c)travelincousins.com  To Trolley or not to Trolley (c)travelincousins.com  Saints Peter and Paul Church (c)travelincousins.com  Walking through North Beach (c)travelincousins.com  Barbary Coast plaque (c)travelincousins.com  Lumpia at the park (c)travelincousins.com After a great game we strolled on over to Salesforce Park - a 5.4-acre rooftop park which covers nearly 4 blocks, featuring a beautiful landscape of 600 trees, 16,000 plants, and even a linear bus fountain.  Waiting to watch the Bus Fountain (c)travelincousins.com Going from there over to Yerba Buena Gardens for a blast from the past... Many years ago I use to take a wee little Dominic and mini Cosette there during our annual trips to San Francisco, so it has definitely been some time since I strolled the memory filled grounds.  Yerba Buena Gardens (c)travelincousins.com Time had been tick tocking along and before I realized it was already early evening and we had to make out way over to the Ferry Plaza for our planned dinner of Senor Sisig. However, by the time we had arrived, it was just after 6pm and the kitchen was cleaning up and closed for the night. Time to put plan B into action (although I didn't quite have a plan B yet). So why not have dessert first?! What we did find open was a soft serve ice cream window that offered Oatly!  Yummy Oatly soft serve (c)travelincousins.com I was still very much in walk mode, so we continued our journey and took the Embarcadero over to Pier 39..  Outside of the Aquarium (c)travelincousins.com  California sign photo op (c)travelincousins.com  Quite a view (c)travelincousins.com And we all know who Pier 39's most famous residents are..  So many Sea Lions!!! (c)travelincousins.com  It was fascinating to just stop for a while and watch these animals (c)travelincousins.com  Sea Lions on top of Sea Lions (c)travelincousins.com As the sun went down, it was time to start back to our hotel but I still needed to figure out dinner. I finally decided to swap the dinner plans for Sunday/Monday, and just have our meal from Wildseed - which we know and expect to be absolutely DELICIOUS <3<3<3 (sorry no pics of the take out order). Monday morning came and while I did have some busyness to tend to before we started our wandering, we began in Pacifica with a quick breakfast of smoothies/acai bowls and then took a couple of hours to take care of necessary computer and phone work. Once we were finished with our "work" it was finally time to head on out and time to climb! We marched up Telegraph Hill at a speedy pace and up the 385 Filbert Steps to Coit Tower - where we would find an additional 234 steps or 13 flights of more stairs to climb up to the top! Whew. Winded as we were, the 360 degree views were well worth it!  Viewing deck at Coit Tower (c)travelincousins.com  Bay Bridge in the background (c)travelincousins.com  The SF Bay from Coit Tower (c)travelincousins.com  The Ferry Plaza from Coit Tower (c)travelincousins.com  At the base of Coit Tower (c)travelincousins.com Once we finished touring the interior and exterior grounds of Coit Tower, we continued our stroll heading back to Ferry Plaza by way of Greenwich Stairs - another 392 steps - but this time we were going down the stairs and to our delight we came upon the local flock of adorable parrots! They were so cute, but I only took pictures with my camera and haven't uploaded any to the computer quite yet.  Found these super pretty hanging flower baskets near the ferry docks (c)travelincousins.com All in all the trip was awesome! I made it back home on Tuesday night and the rest of the week has been somewhat uneventful. But meanwhile Cosette and Javier made their way up to Oakland for the Seattle Mariners vs the Oakland Athletics baseball game. I wanted to go along, but I stayed behind and doggy-sat my grandpup Boba instead. Closing out now, I'm wishing you all a wonderful weekend and we'll see you back here on Monday. -Travelin' Tanya | Kitchen Kettle Village | Lititz, PA  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK Howdy!! Well, this was the first vacation I've had with the girls in a few years - and it was really good to get away!! Sorry for the delay - this was supposed to be posted on Thursday, but I was off with all the traveling and didn't get my blog done (oops!). Just a little recap of my Lancaster, PA trip this week:
More details below:  The Hollinger House - Our delightful and charming home while in Lancaster this past week! (c)travelincousins.com  One of our final Scrabble board games (Kelsey won!) (c) travelincousins.com  Wednesday, along the way to Intercourse, PA (c)travelincousins.com  Farms along the way (c)travelincousins.com  (travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We arrived at Kitchen Kettle Village mid afternoon and just strolled about, meandered into the cute shops.  (c) Kitchen Kettle Village Alittle history about this cute little Lancaster destination which is rooted in the true spirit of American entrepreneurship. Pat and Bob Burnley started canning in their new 2-car garage back in 1954. together, with their three children. What is now Kitchen Kettle Village was once their backyard, where they raised chickens, geese, pheasants, rabbits and even sheep. It was Bob who came home with the idea to start their own jelly business in the garage. This venture started with a range, 30 kettles, and a half-dozen good recipes, With the help from Ben Stoltzfus and Katie Kling they launched a jelly business. But that was only the beginning as Bob conceived another far-fetched idea which was to invite people to come to their kitchen to chat over coffee and see how their jelly business works.  The original homestead is now the Kling House Restaurant (c)kitchenkettle.com It wasn't long before they had to expand and after building a store, it eventually let to another and another - and before long, a small village was born. People would come as far away as Philadelphia to stock their pantries. Kitchen Kettle Village has now grown to 40+ shops, eateries & lodging rooms, and like most homes in Lancaster County, the hub of activity around here is our family-run kitchen.  Pat Burnley and her family (c)kitchenkettle.com Sadly, Pat Burnley passed away in 2021 at the age of 92. According to the official Kitchen Kettle website, "She touched the lives of many people with her generosity, hospitality and entrepreneurial spirit. Her legacy lives on with the creation of MOMS Pretzels, the mission based pretzel shop in the Village named after her four great grandchildren, that donates all profits to Lancaster County charitable organizations. Since it's inception in 2021 MOMS Pretzel has donated over $210,000 to local non-profit organizations."  (c) travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com No matter where we go, Kelsey and I could spend hours in specialty food stores. This day was no different as we enjoyed tasting the various flavor infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars in The Olive Basin. Of course, we left with a few tasty items as well!  The Olive Basin, Kitchen Kettle Village (c)travlincousins.com  We loved this balsamic vinegar and left with a bottle of our own (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Each of us made a few purchases along the way. In fact, Kelsey found a cute quilt throw - a gift from Grandma.   Kelsey's new quilt throw with lovely shades of deep red, blue, yellow, white and shades of tan & brown (c)travelincousins.com While Mom, me and Gianna had visited Shady Maple in the past, my youngest, Kelsey has not - so we were all excited for her to experience this delish smorgasbord! We loved it so much, we decided to go back for our last evening of dinner on Thursday night!!  We spent our last day in Lancaster in Lititz. Gianna and I enjoyed a weekend trip to Lancaster in 2015, at which time we stayed at the Swiss Woods Bed & Breakfast (which has since closed after 35 years) right in the town of Lititz. So, I wanted to go back and spend some time meandering aroung the town and visiting sites like Sturgis Pretzel Factory & Store.  Sitting in the parlor of The Hollinger House before heading off to Lititz on Thursday (c)travelincousins.com  First stop was lunch at Rooster Street Butcher - sorry folks - we were starved and forgot to take pictures!! (c) travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Because we were remiss in taking food pictures - here is a link to their menu. The food was soo good and the staff was beyond friendly!  Click the Menu  (c) travelincousins.com  Patiently waiting for lunch (c) travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Following lunch, we just walked all around the town, going in and out of stores. We made a few purchases including candy, some vintage cd's, and of course, pretzels from Sturgis Pretzel Factory!!  (c)travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  Inside Sturgis Pretzel Factory (c) travelincousins.com  Town of Lititz (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  It was a hot day with lots of sunshine and once again, we were ready to eat!! Our last Lancaster meal was spent at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. The next morning, Friday, we said farewell to The Hollinger House and to Kenneth, and hit the road. I will be doing a full story about the Hollinger House B&B so stay tuned!!  Me with Kenneth, proprietor of The Hollinger House (c) travelincousins.com  Packed up and ready to go!! (c) travelincousins.com Here's to a great weekend!! -Travelin' Elisa |
