April 2011 San Francisco vacation - Part 3 (Cable Cars and Union Square)

Previous San Francisco vacation posts

Part 1

Part 2

Day 1: Sunday, April 10, 2011 (continued)

So after we walked around the Westfield shopping center for awhile and rode the escalators all the way to the top and then back down just for kicks, Caydan and I made our way back out to Market Street to figure out our next destination....one of the first things we saw was this guy (who I also saw again another day of our trip)

Nice message...I like :)

Next we waited in line for the historic Powell and Market cable car...there seems to always be a line to get on this cable car, but worth the wait to get to take a ride in it.  We watched it come down the hill, and then when it gets to the bottom, the workers have to actually physically turn it around on this track that rotates in a circle.  I guess the cable cars can't go up the hills backwards.

We didn't ride the cable car that far...I didn't even know where it went to be honest, I just figured we'd get on it to get back up the hill as we headed towards our hotel again.  I just wanted to get some pictures of the cable car...and of Caydan taking pictures of me taking pictures of the cable car. :)

We ended up getting off the trolley about 3 blocks up the hill at Union Square...a spot I had read about online so I figured we'd check it out.  They had some sort of art show going on this day so we walked around looking at the booths.  We saw a couple of really good photography booths with pictures of San Francisco and other things.  I showed Caydan and asked him if he wanted to take really good pictures like those someday...he said he did :)

And this heart and a couple others are part of Union Square as well. :)

 And I didn't realize it until I was just now editing these pictures, but you can see the moon to the left of the statue in this picture below....neat-o :)

 

More to come....I'm still on Day 1 and we were there for almost 3 full days! :)

The "S" Family

Love love loving my shoot from this past Saturday afternoon at the beach in Palos Verdes, CA.  This awesome family drove all the way down from the Studio City, CA area to come and meet with me on a gorgeous and sunny afternoon.  We trekked down the hillside to get to the beach and they were all just such great sports about getting in the water and having a good time.  I just adore the candid shots that we got. :) :) 

By the end of the shoot we were ALL soaking wet, but it was so worth it...especially when I look at the picture directly below here of the parents swinging their daughter high up in the air with the water flying around them and a giant smile on her face....this shot is going into my all-time favorite list. :)

I had lots of favorites from this shoot....so I just had to post them all. :) :)  Enjoy!

April 2011 San Francisco vacation - Part 2

Previous San Francisco vacation posts

Part 1

Day 1: Sunday, April 10, 2011 (Part 2)

After McD's we just started walking with no real destination...it seems like you could walk blindly anywhere in downtown SF and get somewhere interesting...sure enough, we did. :)

We ended up at the Yerba Buena Gardens area.  There was a big grassy area with people just laying out, relaxing, and enjoying the sun.  The grassy area was surrounded by this backdrop of the gorgeous city, a church, buildings, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Here's Caydan (with a really cheesy smile) in front of the MLK Jr. waterfall area

And more of the MLK Jr Memorial

And this is the MLK Jr Memorial from the top of the waterfall with the city in the background....beautiful :) :)

Apparently I should have gone to the waterfall at nighttime with a tripod to take pictures of it, because the pics I saw online are all in the evening with the lighting behind and under the water - GORGEOUS pictures (here and here).

After the Yerba Buena Gardens, we ended up back on Market Street.  I have a thing for shopping malls, so when I saw the Westfield sign I made a beeline for it.  I'm a HUGE window shopper...I could walk around stores forever just looking around and in the windows...I never buy anything, I just like to see everything.  :)

This mall was beautiful!  It reminded me of one I've seen before, but I can't remember where it was....I'm thinking it was probably in NYC though....the mall is...I think 10 stories counting the underground level??  With the top 4 stories all being a Nordstrom's.  You just take the escalator up and all of a sudden you're inside Nordie's...complete with a cafe with a great view, personal stylist area, and all the other regular amenities that I know nothing about because I never shop there, lol.

I couldn't quite get the full height effect with the lens I had with me...I traveled light to SF with just my 50mm prime lens...not great for landscapes and stuff like this, but it weighs about half the weight of my larger lens!

And since many may know that I'm a HUGE Disney fan, I had to take a picture of this awesome It's A Small World display that was in the elevator bay going up to Nordstrom's

And a shot of the ceiliing in the Westfield center...absolutely beautiful mall!

More on my adventures tomorrow... :)

April 2011 San Francisco vacation - Part 1

For those who weren't already aware, my son and I went up to Sacramento, CA last Friday (4.8.11) with my grandfather and sister for a family reunion.  From there, just my son and I headed to San Francisco on Sunday (4.10.11) for a 3 day exploration and sight-seeing trip.  What an adventure it was!

I absolutely fell in love with this city.  It was a never ending plethora of sights and sounds, beauty and history.  We stayed right in the hub of the city near Market Street, a block from the Powell Street trolley and next door to the Chinatown entrance.  Prime location, it really couldn't get much better.

I want to do a full debrief on my trip here on my blog...there is just so much info and pictures that I want to spew out for my own memories, as well as to share with my friends, family, and blog readers.  This is Part 1 - but there's oh so much more...

Day 1: Sunday, April 10, 2011

Caydan and I had been staying with my Great Uncle Dick and Great Aunt Ruby (my grandfather's brother and wife) in Sacramento.  Uncle Dick then drove Caydan and I to the downtown Sacramento Amtrak station around 9am-ish.  Caydan and I killed some time getting some Starbucks coffee and hot cocoa next door for our train ride.

Once on the train we settled in for the hour or so ride to Emeryville, CA.  From there we had to take an Amtrak bus to the San Francisco Shopping Center stop.

Breakfast of champs, lol! :)

Once we got to San Francisco, the bus dropped us off on Market Street next to the Westfield shopping mall.  We headed over to Walgreen's (there seems to be a Walgreens on every block in the tourist areas!) to get our 3-day Muni Passport.  $20 gets you unlimited rides for 3 full days on all Muni buses, trolleys, and street cars (not BART though).  Amazing deal considering the trolleys are $5 one way and the buses are $2.00 a ride (you can get a 1-day pass and maybe a 7-day too?).  We definitely made good use of our pass, you can easily get ANYWHERE in San Fran with the public transportation system....that was one of my Top 5 favorite things about this city!

We then headed to our hotel...we were staying at our timeshare, Worldmark, on Bush Street and Stockton (fyi - if anyone is interested in a Worldmark timeshare purchase, let me know so I can get a referral credit!).  What an amazing location....walking distance (about 4 blocks downhill) to the hubbub of Market Street, a block from Chinatown and all it's amazingness sightseeing, a block from Union Square, and a block from Powell Street where the trolley will take you all the way to Lombard Street and Fisherman's Wharf.

We couldn't check in yet, but was able to leave our bags there so we could travel lightly around the city.  We were then on a mission to find lunch....and I had a craving for some sweet tea. :)

Along the way to find a McDonald's, we passed so much great art and murals everywhere (another Top 5 thing I loved about the city - all the art everywhere!).  Random stuff like this on buildings:

After walking for awhile and ending up back on Market Street, we found what we were looking for...McD's and my sweet tea. :)

And lastly, Caydan being silly at McD's:

More to come on our adventure in tomorrow's post. :)

...

More maternity photos of Tiffany!

I think this may be the fastest I've gotten pictures up in a long time!  I was just so excited and happy with the maternity session I did yesterday with Tiffany that I couldn't wait to start editing them!  I posted a sneak peek of one of the shots yesterday here.  Here are more from this beautiful Mama's photo shoot. :) :)

And one of Tiffany with her own beautiful mother. :)  

Tiffany - Maternity Session

I had such a great time doing this session this afternoon...I've never done a maternity session before and have been really wanting to test my skills with one.  I finally got the opportunity today and am so excited about sharing the photos!  Tiffany is a gorgeous girl and made my job so much easier.  Here's just a quick sneak peek.  Gotta get dinner started, I'll try and post more tomorrow! :)

Alessandra

I'm so happy to say that I'll have the opportunity to watch this beautiful little girl below grow throughout at least her first year since her parents decided to go with my Baby's First Year Package!  Introducing Baby Alessandra. :) :)

Typically with infant sessions we try to have the baby sleeping...just generally makes for better pictures....but this little girl was not tired in the least bit.  :) :)

I absolutely love this shot though - I think it's going to be my favorite from the whole session. :) :)