The Golden Gate City

A wonderful opportunity to visit

San Francisco came to us

via - the farmer's work conference.

What an interesting and beautiful city!

The first day there, after checking in to the incredible Fairmont Hotel,

and a quick trolly car ride

Yes this is a fake picture but we really "did" ride the trolley - smile!

We were privileged to have a group wine tour to the Nappa Valley!

The wine was delicious, the scenery was beautiful, in spite of the devastating and long drought they are experiencing there.

New friends were made ...

First time on a "party bus"!!!!

Our beautiful fearless leader!

While our spouses went to "work"shops, we went on several

city tours - what fun!

The first one was an architectural tour of the city - amazing...
the tour guide was so interesting as he pointed out many, many famous buildings and sites.

Can you spot the famous Painted Ladies?

The next day we ventured over the bridge and spent a few hours in Sausalito.
Sooo pretty!

And then on to hike the Marin Headlands ...

The evenings were spent with incredible conference sponsored dinners with our 

spouses and representatives ....... not the least of these, a dinner cruise to

Alcatraz!!!!

This included a tour of the prison followed by a delicious dinner while cruising back

to Fisherman's Wharf.

The last "bonus" day in San Fran was spent at Fisherman's Wharf where we tasted the famous Ghirardelli chocolate and ice-cream, and browsed through the Boudin bakery where they serve up their famous sourdough bread bowls filled with delicious chowder!!!

And last, but certainly not least, the farmer convinced me that we MUST take 

a Segway tour. After a quick lesson, off we went with a guide zipping through traffic on the 

Streets of San Francisco!!!  I still can't believe we did this.

It was wonderful to be home again ....
the front porch mums were blooming at their peek

And it was time to get back to sensible eating!!!!

Thus, the overnight steel-cut oats for waking us up in the morning ....

This easy recipe is so rewarding to wake up to ...
2 apples diced
1 1/2 Cups Almond Milk (or Cow's milk)
1 1/2 Cups water
1 Cup Steel-Cut Oats
2 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter cut into 5-6 pieces
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
handful of dried cranberries

Grease the inside of your crockpot (I used coconut oil)
Place all the ingredients into pot and stir.
Set your timer for 7 hours and cook on low.
Go to bed and wake up to the aroma of delicious oatmeal for breakfast!











Garnish with nuts, maple syrup, and more almond milk.
Definitely worth the bit of effort the night before.

Till next time .......... getting back on track, resting our weary legs from climbing the hills of San Francisco, and enjoying the memories of a fantastic and privileged week.

P.S. If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair lots of layers (it get's unexpectedly cold there sometimes)!