We needed to check out of our AirBnb north of San Francisco in the morning but could not check into our San Francisco hotel until 4pm so wanted a few stops on route so we did not waste the day. A few years ago we had visited Muir Woods and as it was only half an hour away thought it would be a great place for a morning walk. Muir Woods National Monument is a forest of coastal redwood trees – some of which grow over 250 feet and are 600-800 years old.

We had to book tickets and as we weren’t organised the only ones available were for 9am so we arrived nice and early!

We chose one of the trails to walk and Stu & I spent ages trying to out-do each other on our photography!

^{Tree photos}

We finished our walk and headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch – although we arrived at 11.30am! As normal Tom & Izzy both had sliders, I opted for my standard Cajun chicken with mashed potatoes and Stu ordered tacos.

^{Our favourite food from the Cheesecake Factory}

We didn’t have a plan for after lunch so I googled lighthouses and found that Point Bonita Lighthouse was under 30 minutes away so we decided to head over and have a look. Point Bonita Lighthouse dates back to 1855 and helps guide ships into the San Francisco Bay. To access the lighthouse you need to walk across a suspension bridge and it is the only lighthouse in America with a suspension bridge.

We parked up in the parking area, walked down quite a long trail towards the lighthouse where we then needed to walk through cliff tunnel and cross the bridge to reach it.

^{Making our way to the lighthouse}

The views of the coastline were absolutely beautiful and we could go inside the lighthouse where there were exhibits about the history of it. We really enjoyed our time here.

^{Heading back to the car from the lighthouse}

We then drove to the Golden Gate View Point for views across the bay to San Francisco. When we arrived there were lots of signs about car break-ins and we were a little worried as all our luggage was in the car. However – the area was really busy and we only needed to walk for a few minutes to the view point so we risked it, although Stu did take our passports with him!

^{Golden Gate View Point}

By this stage it was almost time to head to our hotel but on route Tom wanted to stop at the Lucas Film offices as he had read that there was a Yoda Fountain. We arrived and he took a photo with it – this made his day as he is a massive Star Wars fan.

We had chosen to stay at the Embassy Suites by the airport for our last couple of nights – mainly because the hotels in the center of San Francisco were extortionately expensive and as we had a car we really wanted parking. Stu & I chilled for the evening whilst Tom & Izzy made the most of the pool.