We had planned to get lunch outside of the airport at Whataburger or something similar but the Houston traffic had other plans for us so we decided to just get to the airport and eat there. TIP- We parked at the Parking Spot (#1) off of Airport Blvd. This is a great location with covered parking, a good option during hurricane season in South Houston, as well as a FREE shuttle 24/7. Be sure to sign up for an account and get the app to save even more money on your parking at The Parking Spot!
The airport was VERY busy as we could tell just by the 20 minute wait to get a shuttle. Reminder- Texas is 100% open and at full capacity everywhere so the delay was not due to social distancing but rather just a very crowded and busy airport!
Travel is definitely back!
This was such a nice added touch to the chaos in the terminal!
LIVE MUSIC by local orchestral musicians!
I had to get my Tex-Mex fix before we headed west!
After lunch we made our way to our gate, which had changed since check in, and waited for our boarding time. TIP- Be sure to download the Southwest App to get up to the minute details of gate changes and other important travel info.
This flight was about 90% full but at least 70% of those were families traveling with small kids. There were also several medical needs on this flight and the boarding took over 45 minutes since there were so many with wheel chairs. We were in boarding group B but we found an empty row about 6 rows from the back of the plane. We sat down on the window and the aisle and hoped nobody would sit in that middle seat. Our hopes (and prayers) worked and as they were shutting the gate, the last passenger sat down and we had an empty seat between us! Thank you Jesus!
We are on our way... I cannot wait to touch down in CA!
Sometimes I still cannot believe I live here! I love H-Town!
Not bad snacks for a 4 hour flight... Not Keto but that is ok, right?
I'm on vacation!
The mountains as we approached the CA border!
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Our arrival into San Jose!
This was picture perfect!
The 4 hour flight was fairly boring and uneventful, just the way we like it! We arrived in San Jose on time despite the late departure but there was another plane at our designated gate so we sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes before pulling up to our gate. That had never happened to me and it was a little nerve-wracking and claustrophobic! I am so glad we didn't have a connecting flight!
As the worker looked up our reservation she called to the garage to locate which car would be ours. After about 12 minutes on the phone, she realized she gave our SUV to that older couple. We eventually were told we would have an SUV from Avis Rental Car, a sister company to Budget. Whatever... let's just GO!
We got our paperwork and went to get our car.
We waited... And waited... And Waited! This was a car that had just been returned same day so had to be cleaned out and washed. After another 30 minutes of waiting I was super irritated so went to the Avis counter in the garage and asked where our car, a small Mazda SUV, was. "It's on its way ma'am. Just wait here" Well, that waiting worked fine for about another half hour and then the "HUNGRY BEAR" came out in Chris. We saw several other groups who were behind us in the long line at the Budget counter come and GO with their car. But there were no workers pulling up the cars to guests and only one worker at the counter. This would be a preview of our entire experience in California! Chris went to the Avis counter and spoke to a manager and within minutes we were upgraded to a bigger SUV.
Well hello there Jeep Grand Cherokee.. We have patiently waited for you!
The whole ordeal took nearly 2 hours and the daylight had faded. It was after 7PM before we pulled away from the San Jose Airport. We had planned to go into San Francisco that evening to explore but this delay changed things as the San Jose airport was an hour and fifteen minutes from SFO.
Whoa... WHOA! The difference in gas prices in Houston vs San Jose!
We later learned the prices in San Francisco proper were over $5/ gallon!
We were both disappointed and discouraged but as we drove on the CA 101, we saw a sign for Stanford University! We looked at each other and knew we should get off and explore. This was an unexpected blessing as we never dreamed we would have time to see this!
Stanford had these types of signs all over campus. This was really interesting!
We made sure to stay only in areas that were open!
The Hoover Tower in the quad at Stanford!
The "zones" throughout the campus!
This was set pre-Covid!
The Stanford stadium!
Stanford was a GORGEOUS campus and not at all like the old and worn down campus I imagined. We drove around and explored for over an hour before making our way to Brisbane, CA where our hotel was located.
The Double Tree San Francisco Airport NORTH was located in Brisbane, CA and about 10 miles from downtown San Francisco. TIP- This was an OUTSTANDING hotel with great amenities (hello warm chocolate chip cookies) but there were not restaurants, gas stations or anything really nearby. Just to get to a Walgreens and dinner options, we had to drive 5 miles south to San Bruno or into San Francisco. This was not a deal breaker but something to keep in mind as you book hotels. Usually an airport hotel is not only incredibly safe, but it is also centrally located to the airport and has lots of outside amenities like food and gas within blocks. This would be my only complaint from this particular hotel... in that it did not offer the outside amenities!
This was such a gorgeous view!
Hello Double Tree... Long time no see!
I really enjoyed this hotel and hotel room!
Our Queen Marina View room... So glad we went with 2 queens plus a view vs a King and roof view!
We got checked in and enjoyed our hot and fresh Double Tree cookies from our Marina View top floor room and then went to Walgreens to get bottled water and snacks for our long excursion day coming up the next day. We were both SO TIRED from the delay at the airport and the long drive into Brisbane and we could not find any food options near this Walgreen besides a McDonald's so we went back to hotel to order food for delivery.
We got back to the hotel after 9PM and ordered from a local Chinese restaurant that was suggested from the front desk worker. As 10PM rolled around and our food was still not here Chris was getting VERY frustrated. He called the restaurant several times and finally at 10:30PM (12:30PM central time as our bodies had not adjusted to the time change yet) our food arrived. I ordered the wrong thing and was not happy with mine at all so I ate a very little and then literally crashed. My poor body was just too tired and exhausted. I had a lot of shortness of breath this day and wanted as much rest as possible.
We were off to a TERRIBLE start to our foodie trip... Oh well!
Despite the frustration once arriving in California, it was a good day. The following day was going to be our absolute busiest day so we knew we needed as much rest as possible.
UP NEXT... DAY 2 with Muir Woods and WINE COUNTRY!
Thanks for following along! We appreciate your support!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
