from junior to cadette, just like that

saturday morning started off bright and early as the bean's troop was meeting in the hotel lobby at 7:00.  we'd already set out her clothes the night before, so getting ready was pretty easy for her.

when we got downstairs, the girls, their leaders and the handful of parent chaperones were gathered in one corner, surrounded by lots of other troops who were also getting ready for their big day.  the bean quickly located her friends and took a seat after collecting her lanyard and breakfast from the troop leader.

and then they were off, headed outside to board the shuttle that would take them to the golden gate bridge.  the event had attracted about 5,000 girl scouts who would walk the entire length of the bridge and then gather on the field at the other end to celebrate their progression from juniors to cadettes.  there were some fun activities planned for them to do together and then they would have lunch before hopping back on the bus and coming back to the hotel.

the hub and i met up with one of the bean's friend's family to have breakfast together at a little spot we'd found via yelp called eight am.  it had great reviews and was a short walk from the hotel.

i went with the "6am" crepe - ham, egg and cheese.  while it was tasty, i was a little put off by their use of a sweet crepe with a savory filling.  but i was hungry (shocking), so i devoured the whole thing.

the hub was completely satisfied with his dungeness crab and manchego cheese frittata.

meanwhile, i was receiving updates and photos from the troop.  it looked pretty chilly out there, but the bean was still smiling.  always a good sign.

we decided to catch a cable car with our friends, which was a great idea since it was still fairly early.  there wasn't much of a line to wait in, and we were happily seated in no time.

it was fun riding up and down the hills, and catching a glimpse of twisty-turny lombard street.

we rode all the way to the end of the line, just past union square.  i got the hub to pose with me for at least one cheesy photo:

we parted ways with our friends once we reached union square.  they were headed off to their hotel to take advantage of some downtime while the hub had made us appointments for massages.  we had enough time to walk around and browse through a few stores first.

he assured me that the spa wasn't very far away, and so we decided to get our steps in instead of catching an uber/lyft ride.  what he didn't tell me was that we'd basically be retracing part of the route we'd just ridden on the cable car...which included some gnarly ass hills.  ugh.

once we got up to the top and took a right turn, i spotted these stairs across the street and jokingly suggested we climb up them.  and why i said that, i don't know because i should've known he would take me up on it.  i bitched and moaned the whole way up, but he got to the top and started oohing and ahhing over the fantastic view and so i trudged up there to see it for myself.

i also should've known he was totally punking me, because there was no fantastic view.  there was no view at all...unless you have a particular affinity for asphalt.  ugh.  i half-jokingly fumed while he burst into laughter that had him clutching his belly while i tried to catch my breath and get my heart rate back down to normal.  and then we turned around and headed back downstairs.

he promised me that the massage would be totally worth the effort, and when we turned the corner and he pointed to our destination, i found that he was absolutely right.

we were about half an hour early, so after checking in with the spa we went back up to the lobby to hang out in the bar for a bit.  that's when i got my mimosa and cheese plate.

and then it was time.

believe me when i say that it was absolute heaven.  my massage was perfect and wonderful, even though it was the fastest hour that ever was.  i was so relaxed and happy, and when i checked my phone as i waited for the hub to emerge from the men's locker room i saw a text that said the girls were already boarding the shuttle back to the hotel - two hours earlier than originally planned.

and so we hopped into an uber that dropped us off just a few minutes after the bean and her friends got to the lobby.  they were all tired and happy to have the main event over with, and while the hub decided to head off in search of a cigar lounge i took her upstairs to have a quick nap before meeting up with our friends for another walk to pier 39.

by the time we got into our room the bean claimed to have caught her second wind and wasn't really in the mood to sleep after all, so i just told her to stretch out on the bed and relax for a bit.  i knew that between the early morning, the excitement of the bridging event and the physical exertion itself she'd need a little quiet time before diving into the next activity.  and sure enough, a few minutes later i looked over and:

awwww, my baby.  she's growing up way too damn fast.

tourists doing touristy things

when we got back to the hotel after that walk through chinatown, the girls and i hung out in the lobby while a couple of the parents headed upstairs to freshen up a little.  as usual, they had a blast doing absolutely nothing but being together.

once everyone was back downstairs, we headed on out for a short walk over to pier 39 and some cheesy touristy sights.  it was fun to walk with these girls who'd been a part of my own troop for the last four years:

the bean actually had a very specific destination in mind - she'd been dying to head over to the "left-handed store" with her two BFFs forever.  strangely enough, all three of them are southpaws.

they had a ball going through the whole store, checking out all of the random things that were designed just for folks who are left-handed.  there were notebooks with the spiral on the opposite side, rulers where the numbers read from right to left, pens with special grips, scissors with the left blade on top.  they spent a good amount of time in there, emerging with a couple of things that would come in handy next school year.

we were all looking for something to snack on, and while we were all transfixed with the demonstration over at the fudge shop, we all ended up buying a treat at the funnel cake shop nearby.  it's never a bad time for some funnel cake fries.

from there we made our way back down the pier and took a quick detour to say hello to the sea lions.

it was a wee bit breezy up there.

by then, it was time to head over towards the boudin sourdough factory to meet up with our troop for the self-guided tour and some dinner.  it was a short walk, and the others walked in the door a few minutes later.

the girls were split into two groups, with half of us going upstairs for that tour and the other half staying down in the cafe to grab dinner.  the bean and i were in the tour group, and we headed upstairs to check it out.

the bean and i were pretty familiar with the breadmaking process already thanks to the boudin exhibit at california adventure.  here, though, the samples were in a basket, self-serve style.

there was a fun list of food and drink items unique to san francisco:

this was...weird.  i resisted the urge write "i like bread" and drop it in the slot, although the bean scrawled something on a slip of paper and giggled as she inserted it.  i don't even know what she wrote in there.

a little further and you could look down into the breadmaking area downstairs.  again, this was much like the display at california adventure.

back downstairs, we got in line to place our orders at the cafe.

the bean opted for a basic grilled cheese sandwich that didn't photograph very well, while i went for the crab chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl.  it was really tasty.

once everyone had had a turn to check out the tour and enjoy their meal, we gathered outside to start the short walk over to ghirardelli square for some ice cream.  the line was pretty long, but everyone got their orders in and then it was a mad dash to try and find enough tables and chairs for our large group.  with 5,000 girl scouts in town for the bridging event it was a little tricky, but we finally got it together.  funny enough, i don't have a single picture of the bean or her friends from this part of the trip.  at least i got one with my friends.

the bean had ordered a brownie sundae that she shared with her bestie, and this was my frozen hot chocolate.  it was delicious and reminded me a lot of the one at serendipity 3 in NYC (and vegas).

we all walked back to the hotel as a group, where everyone parted ways as soon as we entered the lobby.  the girls had an early start the next morning, and after all of the walking and excitement everyone was ready for bed.  i think i was asleep before 10, myself.  those 15,000 step days were kind of doing me in too.

at least i'd walked off that frozen hot cocoa!