Vista Vision

We Recommend: Wild Flour Bread

If you are up near Sebastopol, we highly recommend Wild Flour Bread. They use wood fired brick ovens, so their breads have thick crusts. It's located directly off of the Bohemian Highway. Our absolute favorite is the goat cheese bread - the creamy goat cheese melts as the bread bakes, creating a soft fluffy interior. It's great on its own or as a bruschetta base.

The Night Tour at Alcatraz

We recently went on the Alcatraz at Night tour, something we've heard heaps of praise about for some time now. We've been before during the day, but the night version was a spooky start to Halloween celebrations. We would recommend the trip, and the audio tour, which really adds to the ambiance.

Leaving the city on the ferry at dusk

Sunset behind the golden gate bridge

Approaching the island

Disembarking - grafitti is still visible from the Native American occupation

The morgue

The cellblocks

A cell with standard issue items

Solitary

The library

Some of the cells as they might have been decorated 

The control room

The guard uniform

A model of the island

A spooky hand print

One of the decoy heads from the only escape that may have been successful

The operating instructions and lever for the cell doors

The dining hall and kitchen. 

Gas canisters in the ceiling ensured the inmates behaved.

The x-ray development room

The hospital wing

The operating room - definitely the creepiest spot on the tour

The lighthouse

City lights on the sail back

Full moon over the water

Favorite Beaches - Stinson Beach

Stinson Beach is the beach we visited most often as children, and it is the best all-around beach option in The Bay Area's Marin County.  It has a large public beach with a parking lot and showers, a semi-private beach that can be accessed off of public roads if you prefer to street park, and a variety of great lunch spots nearby.  Additionally, it has enough waves for surfers and boogie boarders, but doesn't have too strong of a current for casual waders and swimmers.  We also love Stinson for its tide pools, perfect walking length, adjacent lagoon, and the charming town itself - the book store and surf shop there are always worth a visit.  It's a long, windy drive to get there over Mount Tamalpais, but this beach remains a perennial favorite, especially when we catch it on a perfect, sunny day.

Foodie Favorite: Churro Cupcake from Cupkates Truck

We love Off the Grid, the food truck gatherings scattered around the Bay Area, and can never get enough of sampling all of the savory dishes there, but it's always great to end the meal at a dessert truck.  One of our favorites is Cupkates, an adorable cupcake truck with a good mix of traditional and unique flavors, especially when the special Churro Cupcakes are available.  These delicious treats are richly cinnamon-y, with a cream cheese filling, and cinnamon sugar dusted frosting.  They are a fun take on the popular Mexican-Californian fair food, worth every decadent bite.