Heading to the Beautiful Coastal Town of Monterey

Today’s story is about San Francisco. From July 28 to August 3, my family and I are traveling around San Francisco and Los Angeles. On the day after we arrived in San Francisco, the 29th, we drove to Monterey, a town known for its beautiful sea. Because the highway was a bit congested, it took about two and a half hours from San Francisco. The kids were sound asleep the whole time. San Francisco is known for its frequent fog in summer, and apparently the air is clearer and the views are better in winter, but Monterey was also a bit overcast and gloomy. (Maybe it’s because I’m a rain and fog magnet, haha)

In Monterey, we planned to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which I was really looking forward to, but the ticket line was incredibly long. At that moment, my eldest daughter said “I want to play in the sand,” so instead of the aquarium, we ended up playing on the beach… When you have kids, plans change all the time. So, we spent the first day driving five hours round trip just to play in the sand (laughs).

Exploring San Francisco

The next day was for sightseeing in San Francisco. Our guide was my husband’s colleague N, who knows San Francisco so well it’s like he’s a professional tour guide. He knows everything from the history of buildings, the very first places people settled in San Francisco, famous tourist spots, to the deep local secrets only residents know. No matter what you ask, he has an answer. Truly impressive.

First up, of course, was the Golden Gate Bridge. We headed to a spot where you can see it. But before we left for the US, my husband and I joked, “Almost everywhere we go together, it’s always thick fog, so maybe we won’t see the Golden Gate Bridge at all this time either.” And sure enough…

You can clearly see my fog magnet powers in this reference article (laughs)
→[Reference] Second trip to Hakone Turnpike after Panamera delivery.

When we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge, it was almost completely hidden in thick fog…

N kindly suggested trying again in the afternoon, saying, “Maybe we’ll see it then!” But the fog only got thicker, and everything was pure white with nothing visible. Trying to cheer up, we drove to a viewpoint overlooking downtown San Francisco. There were quite a few cars parked and many people outside enjoying the view, so we had high hopes… but this was the actual view.

Honestly, I wonder what everyone was looking at… Some people were taking selfies with the scenery behind them, but with that whiteout, nothing would show up in the photos, haha. My husband asked, “What’s going on? Fog everywhere, in Japan and San Francisco… Have we angered the mountain gods somehow?” I thought about it, but I don’t think we’ve made any serious mistakes yet, so I guess I just have to accept my fate (lol). Next, we headed to downtown San Francisco.

The buildings were so huge I couldn’t capture them all in one shot (though I realized later I could have just stepped back). This is the Palace of Fine Arts, built in 1915 to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal. Over 100 years old! It has a vibe unlike anything you’d expect in America, with a large pond and lawns inside the grounds. It’s magical and very beautiful. By the way, it’s free to enter and serves as a relaxing spot for locals.