Parc 55 Trip Day 2 and 3

Feeling refreshed after a great nights sleep, we woke, had breakfast in the club lounge, and set out to see some sights. We walked from the Parc 55 to the Ferry Building Marketplace and just browsed around.

After so much walking I was extremely hungry and wanted to eat Thai. We around for recommendations and learned of a place called Osha ( 696 Geary Street). I got a pumpkin curry with pad thai, and it was out of this world! I wanted to keep eating. The place is a very modern, quick paced place, with employees that wanted you to know what you want, so we took our food to go and ate in the park. Plus we were in workout clothes from our walk and it seemed odd to be in a restaurant in them. It was beautiful weather so the park was perfect!

 When we got back to the room, this was delivered.

 The contents were even wrapped so pretty!

 It got better upon opening- snacks and a digital picture frame from Women on Their Way!!

 Then we cleaned up and went to Union Square for salsa dancing lessons in the park with live music. It was so much fun.

 We were told to go to the "Mission" for fun dancing. So when salsa in the park wrapped up , we set out on the bus to find the "Mission". Which in actuality became a real life mission due to us missing the stop and riding the bus to the end of the line, then having to get off and find another bus. 

We got off again on the wrong street and walked the remainder of the way. Not finding a dance place, but a bar called the Phoenix Irish Bar (811 Valencia Street), we went in to have a drink. Looking at the menu, I was tempted to order french fries until I saw their version of nachos. I salivated reading the description, so I gave it a go. Oh my goodness, AMAZING!!! A ginormous pile of fried wedge potatoes covered in cheese, black beans, sour cream, guacamole, and fresh salsa. Delectable!!! 

We decided to call it an early night and head back so I fresh and bright eyed for my Women On Their Way seminar. I thought this was such a fun sign, I had to share. It was on the wall of a building.

More stuff when we got back. I could get used to this !

 I'm looking forward to tomorrow....

The seminar turned out to be awesome! I met some of the other contest winners along with bloggers for Wyndham. It was a wonderful experience. After a day packed full of helpful tips and advice, it was time for the cocktail party! Here's my friend Maureen and I posing with Shutterfly's props.

 Here I am with some of other contest winners.

What a great night! After the party Maureen and I decided to venture out in the area and continue having fun. We went to a bar called Johnny Foley's (243 O'Farrel Street). It was so fun. What was even more fun was their dueling piano bar downstairs. Holy toledo- good times!

Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco

This trip happened in May and was absolutely amazing! Women On Their Way hosted an educational seminar over Mother's Day weekend at the Parc 55 in San Francisco, for the vacation blog contest winners and bloggers in the area. They did such a fantastic job, I way more than enjoyed myself!

The Parc 55 was beautiful and every staff member was friendly. The rooms were comfortable and very spacious. Upon entering the room I was greeted by the smell of a fresh rose!

 The beds were so comfortable.

 The view from my hotel room window.

 After stowing my bag, we set out to explore the Fisherman's Wharf. It was not what I expected, but it was still fun. I expected old town charm with boutique style stores and much history. Instead it has turned into a very commercialized area, with chain restaurants. It still had an inviting ambiance though, and all the restaurants had happy hour specials! So we ate 3 times!!!

First time was at Bubba Gump (Pier 39 at Beach Street). We started with a cold beer, something locally brewed, and french fries. Service was quick, the staff was friendly, and our food was delicious. The atmosphere was that of a typical chain restaurant/ bar. I'm a french fry lover, so I feel the need to eat them everywhere. Bubba Gump's fries were amazing Not too fat or too thin with just the right crisp and amount of salt- oh yum! Then we decided to walk around a bit. 

From the back of the restaurant you had a beautiful view of Alcatraz. We didn't know that there was a back bar with the view, so if you go there, ask about it. It's much nicer and you can see the waterfront perfectly.

 We saw the seals sunning themselves. 

The next stop on our happy hour food frenzy was the Sea Lion Cafe (Pier 39).

When walking into it, I felt like I was walking into a time warp, straight back into the 1980's. The decor is outdated, but the food was very tasty. My friend Maureen and I shared the blackened fish taco's. It was a huge portion, it came with 3 tacos, so I'm glad we shared. The shredded cabbage that tops the tacos, was phenomenal.  This restaurant is attached to another more upscale eatery, owned by the same people, so you can order from either menu. Now to walk around a bit....

This is the biggest claw machine I've ever seen, so I felt the need to share. It's huge!! 

Those are adults standing next to it, just to show the true enormousness of it!

 Then as walking along the pier, we saw another place with the happy hour sign, so of course we went in. It was Miyabi Sushi, and their happy hour menu had so many good things to choose from, it was hard to make a decision. We decided on chicken pot stickers and a Japanese beer. They were so good, I wanted the plate to never end. I wished I was hungrier so I could have sampled more of their fare because every plate that walked by looked just kept looking tastier! Here I am, happily full, a little tired from the days travels and ready to call it a night. 

So back to the Parc 55 we go! 

When we arrived back at the room, a scrumptious little box greeted me on my pillow. 

Gourmet chocolates- oh yum!

Until tomorrow.....

Ready For The Next Trip

Home only for a few days, and I'm ready for the next trip! Departure day for the summer is arriving quickly! Countdown is on. Checklist before leaving includes boxing up care packages for the troops and getting them shipped out, cleaning out my kitchen pantry and donating the contents to the local homeless shelter, and creating care packages for the homeless to take with me to distribute along the journey. As for family, my daughter's million recital show's, and of course packing! I'm so excited to peace out!! 

You can now follow the adventure on twitter at #allforhelping, on facebook at All For Helping, and of course here! I plan to tweet clues to our where abouts so friends can come find us, donate items for homeless bags, or maybe score a t-shirt or stickers!!

Stay Tuned....

Nashville Day 5- Last Day

After turning in pretty late last night, then waking up super early to send off Mom, Sammy, and Lisa to the airport at 6:15 a.m., we were pretty beat. Four hours of sleep feels more like a nap, not a true rest! After we cleaned out mom's unit that had all the food in it and brought it into ours, we were not only tired, but hungry too! We made breakfast for the remaining beings, and then wished a good trip to all the Aunt's and Uncle, leaving it just my Sister, Bestie, and Me.

Dilemma, go back to bed and be lazy or go downtown?

Downtown it is. Just in time to browse past JT Hedges signing autographs,

 close enough to get a good picture!

Posed for a photo at the booth where JT Hodges was signing autographs.

Then we walked over to the Ernest Tubb Record Store, where we met Darren Warren. Amazing story he has, overcoming a rare form of cancer at a young age, spending years in St. Judes. He was super friendly, so we bought his Cd, and he autographed it for us.

Check him out at http://www.darrenwarren.com/

 Upon leaving the music store, we walked by Josh Thompson.

Then we went down by the river to hear the band we thought the guy we met last night was in, but we couldn't find him in any, so we don't know who he is! Anyway, we got comfy and hung out for a while.  Darryl Worley was playing, then we were able to stand right in front of the stage to see Brett Eldredge. 

Here's a clip....

Getting ready to leave, we walked up to the Hard Rock just in time to hear the
 15 year old singer we really liked from the other night, Lauren Elise.
www.LaurenEliseMusic.com

It started to rain heavily though--boo! I did talk to her manager, hopefully we can set some kind of fundraising concert up for All For Helping. That would be phenomenal!!

I borrowed this photo from Raycon Entertainment's FB page.
It's much clearer than the one I originally posted. Hope they don't mind!
5:00 has come and all the festivities are packing up for the night, leaving us reminded that we are tired and hungry, so we opted for our room to start packing up. As well as eat the contents of the fridge so we don't have to waste food, or transport it home! Oh yum!! (really ugh! what a belly ache)

Nashville has been a spectacular time. I look forward to my next visit here!

Nashville Day & Night 4 --With Video of Casey James at Margaritaville

Morning came oh so quickly. 

Back again we went to the Roof Top Bar to get a good view of the music. 

They had tables and folding chairs to make it comfy for viewers.

Starting the lineup for our viewing pleasure was Kip Moore.

Next --Lonestar.

Upon leaving the Roof Top, we walked past Kip Moore signing autographs. 

We didn't wait in the super long line, instead we walked around a little, then collectively

 decided to go back for some to nap, and others to hit the pool. 

After refreshing and recharging we returned to partake in the nightlife.

 My Aunts, Uncle, and Mama living it up- yehaw!!

Next stop Wild Horse Saloon for some line dancing fun.

(which none of us know how to do!!)

Here we go, take it away Aunt Nan and Aunt Lori- you go girls!

Fun Coordinator is tearing it up on the dance floor.

This guy started to play, so I figured I'd give it a go at dancing. 

It's much more confusing than I thought it would be so this is how I handled it.....

 My sister in law, Lisa, in the blue- totally caught on to the line dancing, 

and boot scootin boogied it across the dance floor like a pro!!!

Mom and the Fun Coordinator turned to her for some fancy foot work tips.

Here we tamed the "Wild Horse" for a photo. 

"This Guy" has a name- Clayton Anderson. He was good, check out his website at www.claytonandersonofficial.com

Sammy wanted to take this one home with her,

 but she already has 2 that require a lot more work, and didn't want to make them jealous.

Just thought this was a funny one of my sister Donna.

Done with line dancing, back to Just Kicken to see Katlyn Lowe sing again.

We got there just in time to pass her in the doorway. We missed it, but she did take a picture with all of us. 

She's the tall blond haired one in the middle of the top row.

On to Margaritaville, to go see Casey James.

When we arrived a group was leaving and gave us their table- sweet! 

The last one to leave told us he was in a band that is going to play tomorrow by the river.

So we asked for a picture- surprise! The thing is, none of us could remember what band? So if any of you know who this is, please share your knowledge with me.

Casey James put on a rockin' show. We were so close to the stage.

Here's a clip of what we saw.

After the show, we had one last challenge to complete.....

Not sure if we can rise to it or not. On the way we saw our friends again, so we made a quick stop.

Now for the "challenge". We were dared to dance on the bar at Coyote Ugly. 

I have a hard time turning down a challenge, so I talked my Bestie into doing it too!

 We did it!!

Now it's time to leave, it smells like vomit in this place! 

Goodnight Nashville, thanks for treating us to so much fun!!

Nashville Day & Night 3 With Video of Lauren Elise

Starting the night at the Roof Top Bar that overlooks the river- lemon drop anyone?!

View from the Roof Top Bar. The staff here was so nice.

 They told us to come back tomorrow in the a.m. to watch the river front concerts. 

Upon leaving the rooftop we stumbled upon another bar in the building. 

It had the coolest bathroom in all of Nashville. 

The bar's name is:

I thought it a weird name at first, until I said it out loud, then I laughed- and thought good play on words!

Then we went down another floor to a bar we went to the night before called  Just Kickin.

 SO FUN!! We heard so many bands and singers that were amazing. 

This is Katlyn Lowe posing for a shot with me after her performance. 

You can check her out online at :

Reverbnation.com/KatlynLoweOfficial

and Youtube.com/KatlynLoweOfficial

Kimberly Wolf  played too, then also posed for picture with my sister and I. 

You can hear at www.kimberlywolf.com

Lauren Elise is only 15 and absolutely amazingly talented! 

Here's she posed with my Bestie and My niece Sammy.

You can check her out at www.LaurenEliseMusic.com

See her talent for yourself!

We had such a good time at Just Kickin. The staff here was very friendly and fun. 

Nashville is filled with nice people! 

Sure do love my Mama!!

Here's my Bestie and my niece Sammy taking a break from dancing to the bands.

Girls- say "Cheese"!!

Here's such a great shot of my Aunt Nan, My Aunt Gen- aka "the Fun Coordinator",

 and my Mama jamming out. Good Times!

Now it's time to find another place to have fun.... Onto the club next door. 

Club Liquid

The patio was inviting, as well as the free drinks we were given!

Some liked the drink, others not so much!

Clearly it was time to find a new location.....

Such as our hotel room! 

On our way to the car we saw fireworks.

Stellar way to end the night's festivities!