Enjoying the 4th of July

Sunday shaped up to be a beautiful day here in San Francisco. Lucky for us, all the action was at our door step so we packed up the camera and headed out the door. The first stop was a quick walk to Anna's new school. It's right on Telegraph hill and it resides on a ridiculously steep incline. With views of Coit Tower right above, and North Beach and downtown below - it's quite the place to go to elementary school : )

We then headed up to Coit Tower and then enjoyed a beautiful walk down the steps towards the Embarcadero. There are various 'street steps' here in SF and it was a great walk. Flowers are blooming everywhere and we loved seeing all the hidden homes and garden oasis in the city.

While we meant to meander the city, we were generally headed towards Pier 39.

Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration

Sunday, July 4, 2010

3:00 PM to 9:30 PM

PIER 39 celebrates Independence Day with a star-spangled day line-up of entertainment for the whole family. Beginning at 3 pm, enjoy free live band performances in the PIER 39 Entrance Plaza. From 3 – 5 pm, listen to the soft rock explosion of Mustache Harbor. Then get ready to rock out to your favorite 80's hits with Tainted Love from 6 – 9:30 pm. Be sure to check out our street performers on the Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER Stage throughout the day. After the concert at approximately 9:30 pm, look up to the sky over the Bay for The City of San Francisco's annual fireworks display. PIER 39's Fourth of July activities are proudly sponsored by Coca-Cola, Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, the San Francisco Examiner, Taiwan Tourism, Telemundo 48 and Verizon.

After saying hello to the sea lions, we headed back towards North Beach. Z & I enjoyed a few gin and tonics before dinner and eventually, we watched the fireworks -- with the best views -- on the roof of our apartment building. We could see 2 fireworks shows : )

See below for the picture highlights:

The steep hill up to Anna's school...

We made it! What beautiful flowers : )

View looking down on North Beach and Russian & Nob Hill.

Up a few more steps to Coit Tower.

Looking out onto the North Bay from Coit Tower. Anna points at the flag - it is after all, the 4th of the July : )

More flowers along our hike.

Our stairway path from Coit down towards the Embarcadero.

Near the bottom of the steps. The east bay sits in the background.

With the masses down near Pier 39. We were one with the tourists...lol