We departed our wedding reception on November 2, 1996, and headed directly to Richmond International Airport for a flight to San Francisco.  Our first full day in the city was Sunday, November 3.  We had identified Four Sisters Inns -- a group of nine inns, mostly in California.  We selected two in San Francisco and another in Pacific Grove.  I think we got a room discount based on the total number of nights at the group of properties.

- Petite Auberge

- Gosby House Inn

- White Swan Inn

The front of the postcard shows the breakfast area.  It was very charming, and the breakfasts were delicious.  The french doors in the postcard photo opened to a small garden on the lower level of the inn.

The coffee mug was affectionately referred to as the "Petite Auberge Cup."  The handle broke off but was repaired by Kevin.  It has held for 25 years!  After the repair, it is used solely as a pen & pencil holder.

The reservation card shows "o.k." in Kevin's handwriting. I suspect he called to confirm the reservation a day or so before our departure and made this note after such a call.

I was very stressed leading up to the wedding and immediately after.  I had terrible ear pain from clenching my teeth at night.  It cleared up on our honeymoon, but I remember it was painful upon our arrival in San Francisco, unfortunately.  Maybe that is why I am clutching the teddy bear.

The Presidio is a 1,500-acre park on a former military post.  We visited only the section with Fort Point National Historic Site.  I don't recall touring the fort itself (it is barely visible in one photo with Shary); we focused on views of Golden Gate Bridge and the Golden Gate (waterway).

We drove to the Legion of Honor (a museum), but it wasn't free to enter, so we skipped it.  We were on a budget!

View of Coit Tower, Transamerica Pyramid, and Bank of America Center from Fisherman's Wharf.  

Kevin is pictured at either The Anchorage or The Cannery, also in Fisherman's Wharf.

I expect our ferry to Alcatraz Island departed from nearby.

Kevin's friend from the Research Department at the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, Jed DeVaro, was in graduate school at Stanford University, so we visited with him over pizza.  We drove southeast to meet with Jed.

It's funny that a Starbucks Coffee is behind us in this photo.  In 1996, we had no idea what Starbucks would become!

This parking receipt reminded me that we were in a car accident during one of our San Francisco stays, I think the first one.  A woman late for work ran a red light and hit the passenger side of the car.  San Francisco is a hilly city; she was speeding uphill. We were fortunate she hit the front corner of the car and not the passenger door, where Shary was seated.  

Our hike began in Muir Woods and ascended to the Mountain Home Inn, where we enjoyed lunch.  These were the days before we had proper hiking attire.  It might have been our first hike together.  The trees are coastal redwoods; the photos don't do them justice.

In one of the Oceanview Trail photos with trees, the Pacific Ocean is in the distance.

This was our first day north of San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Next we headed to Muir Beach and Muir Beach Overlook.  This must be late afternoon, based on the sunlight.  

This was our second day north of San Francisco.  We enjoyed views from Marin Headlands and Battery Spencer.  

Finally, we hiked to Kirby Cove for views from the shore.  The photo of a hillside also includes a deer.

We left San Francisco and headed south along Route 1 to Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, and Big Sur.

We stayed at the Gosby House Inn in Pacific Grove.  The handwritten notes on the back of the inn postcard must be for San Francisco, not Pacific Grove.

The pink congratulations card accompanied a floral bouquet in our room. 

Just as we didn't have true hiking attire for our Muir Woods outing, our biking outfits on 17-Mile Drive are a hoot!  I don't remember how far we biked; I am fairly certain it wasn't 17 miles....

The postcard to Shary's parents is dated November 8 and postmarked San Jose (which is between San Francisco and Pacific Grove).  The handwritten text indicates it was written in Pacific Grove.

The photos with Kevin and the waterfall were taken at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

The view from Nepenthe restaurant was amazing; I recall we ate outdoors on the stone patio. The photo with trees and ocean was taken at Nepenthe.

Our third inn, White Swan Inn, was just down the street from the Petite Auberge.  Only two days left in the city!  

The views are from the 52nd floor of the Bank of America Building ~ cocktail lounge. The blue photo shows the Oakland Bay Bridge; the sunset photo shows the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Transamerica Pyramid shot is my favorite.

After dark, we went to Treasure Island for views of the city.  We must have both had shaky hands, given the quality of those three photos!

The red turtleneck sweater I am wearing was one of two stolen from our apartment by a maintenance person; we didn't renew that lease!

I don't remember whether we visited Coit Tower during our first San Francisco stay or our second.  I expect the latter, as its location seems to fit best with other outings during the stay at the White Swan Inn. We framed the postcards and displayed them in two of our homes (for ~20 years).  I removed them from the frames to scan them before the move to Colorado.

According to San Francisco Recreation and Parks:  "The murals inside the tower’s base were painted in 1934 by a group of artists employed by the Public Works of Art Project, a precursor to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and depict life in California during the Depression."

Dinner at the Carnelian Room the final night of our honeymoon trip was a big deal; it was an expensive restaurant.  We had an early reservation, because we wanted to ensure a table with a view. We succeeded!  There weren't many other diners in the restaurant while we enjoyed our dinner. I remember my suit was a black sheeth dress with jacket, by Jones New York (wool crepe). It was no problem packing formal attire for this dinner, as we both had to dress this way for work. We were excited for the dinner, so we took a photo in our White Swan room using the camera timer before our departure.