I was pretty excited. I am going to spend my Halloween ion San Francisco. So everyone’s talking about how great San Francisco is and the weather is perfect. I know that I have to go see. Seeing is believing. It would be my first official trip to California (although I was in Death V
alley NP last yr but I guess that didn’t count). The flight was a smooth one. No delays. When landing, I was the whole bay area was covered in fog. I will always remember that that beautiful sight. I arrive and then 1 hr later Chris arrived. He flew from NY. Then wasting any time, we drove to San Jose. It was only like 40 min drive from SF. Maybe it was just me but I thought the highway was dirty and old. It was full of trash by the rd. anyway …. We had lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant (pho). Then we went to the Sarah Winchester Mystery House. I have always wanted to go there after I have seen it o
n Travel Channel a couple of yrs back (Most Haunted). The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known California mansion that was under construction continuously for 38 years, and is reported to be haunted. It once was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, but
is now a tourist attraction. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around-the-clock, without interruption, from 1884 until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased.The cost for such constant building has been estimated at about US $5.5 million (if paid in 1922, this would be equivalent to almost $70 million in 2008 dollars).The mansion is renowned for its size and utter lack of any master building plan. According to popular belief, Winchester thought the house was haunted by the ghosts of individuals killed by Winchester rifles, and that only continuous construction would appease them. It is located at 525 South Winchester Blv
d. in San Jose, California. It’s like a mad house with crazy stairw
ay, door that leads you to nowhere, stairway that leads you to the roof, and etc. It built that way supposedly to confuse the spirits. Anyway, it was a fun experience. After that, we drove back to SF. Went to Doug’s house. His 2 cats (tanq and champagne) were adorable. Later we went out for dinner. Doug took us to this fancy seafood restaurant that was sitting right beside the Bay Bridge. The view was awesome.
alley NP last yr but I guess that didn’t count). The flight was a smooth one. No delays. When landing, I was the whole bay area was covered in fog. I will always remember that that beautiful sight. I arrive and then 1 hr later Chris arrived. He flew from NY. Then wasting any time, we drove to San Jose. It was only like 40 min drive from SF. Maybe it was just me but I thought the highway was dirty and old. It was full of trash by the rd. anyway …. We had lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant (pho). Then we went to the Sarah Winchester Mystery House. I have always wanted to go there after I have seen it o
n Travel Channel a couple of yrs back (Most Haunted). The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known California mansion that was under construction continuously for 38 years, and is reported to be haunted. It once was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, but
is now a tourist attraction. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around-the-clock, without interruption, from 1884 until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased.The cost for such constant building has been estimated at about US $5.5 million (if paid in 1922, this would be equivalent to almost $70 million in 2008 dollars).The mansion is renowned for its size and utter lack of any master building plan. According to popular belief, Winchester thought the house was haunted by the ghosts of individuals killed by Winchester rifles, and that only continuous construction would appease them. It is located at 525 South Winchester Blv
d. in San Jose, California. It’s like a mad house with crazy stairw
ay, door that leads you to nowhere, stairway that leads you to the roof, and etc. It built that way supposedly to confuse the spirits. Anyway, it was a fun experience. After that, we drove back to SF. Went to Doug’s house. His 2 cats (tanq and champagne) were adorable. Later we went out for dinner. Doug took us to this fancy seafood restaurant that was sitting right beside the Bay Bridge. The view was awesome. The next day, we went to the Golden gate. It's also Hallowean day. Finally … after all these yrs seeing it on tv. Then we drove to Muir woods national monument. The park has some of the world’s tallest trees. It was drizzling 
when we got there but that didn’t ruin my mood. After that we drove to Sonoma Valley. It was beautiful. We stopped by a couple of vineyards and wine tasting some. Then we drove back. Went out for Halloween party. There was a hugh crowd on the street. 
Everyone dressed up in costume walking around trick or treating. It was fun but tiring. We wanted to go home early so we took a cab.
when we got there but that didn’t ruin my mood. After that we drove to Sonoma Valley. It was beautiful. We stopped by a couple of vineyards and wine tasting some. Then we drove back. Went out for Halloween party. There was a hugh crowd on the street. 
Everyone dressed up in costume walking around trick or treating. It was fun but tiring. We wanted to go home early so we took a cab.The next day, we took the grayline tour to Yosemite. It was pouring. And it was real
ly early too. 7 am!! Well, the bus ride was at least pretty comfortable. When we got to the park it was raining,. I was kinda pissed. But then an hour later it stopped. And everything changed. The park looked so
surreal after the rain, it was so beautiful. We got to see the waterfall which we didn’t expect to see because the park was suffering from a drought. Beca
use of the rain, the waterfall was running on full stream. It was pretty!!!it was a long trip. 14 hrs. wasn’t cheap. 100 something dollars. But I guess it was worth it.
ly early too. 7 am!! Well, the bus ride was at least pretty comfortable. When we got to the park it was raining,. I was kinda pissed. But then an hour later it stopped. And everything changed. The park looked so
surreal after the rain, it was so beautiful. We got to see the waterfall which we didn’t expect to see because the park was suffering from a drought. Beca
use of the rain, the waterfall was running on full stream. It was pretty!!!it was a long trip. 14 hrs. wasn’t cheap. 100 something dollars. But I guess it was worth it.On the fourth, we decided to take it easy. In the morning we had dim sum, then we drove around downtow
n SF for the first time taking pic and relaxing. Late afternoon, we walked around fisherman’s wharf area to see the seals. I think SF is a very liveable city. The pace was kinda slow but I somehow liked it. There is a hugh asian community there but unlike NY, these asian ppl are the 2-3 generation. They are not only concentrated in their little own community but are everywhere as if they have been there for a whil
e. A different kinda vibe from other cities that I had been to in the US. Well, I know I will back to SF very soon in the future. 
n SF for the first time taking pic and relaxing. Late afternoon, we walked around fisherman’s wharf area to see the seals. I think SF is a very liveable city. The pace was kinda slow but I somehow liked it. There is a hugh asian community there but unlike NY, these asian ppl are the 2-3 generation. They are not only concentrated in their little own community but are everywhere as if they have been there for a whil
e. A different kinda vibe from other cities that I had been to in the US. Well, I know I will back to SF very soon in the future. 
