Chasing Sunsets In Sausalito

Sausalito in Marin County is 10 miles North of San Francisco. Cross the bridge by car or bike and enjoy the small town feel and beautiful view of the city.

It has been brutally hot in the Bay Area these past few weeks. We’re talking in the 90’s and almost in the 3 digits kind of hot! I really like warm weather but not this warm where you can’t even leave your air conditioned house. Instead of opting to say indoors last weekend, we decided to cross the bridge and head over to Sausalito. We checked the weather app on our phone and it was going to be a perfect 75 degree day so we were excited to escape the 96 degree weather we were experiencing inland.

Sausalito, located in Marin County, California is approximately 10 miles (25 minute drive with no traffic) from San Francisco. The fun part of going to Sausalito is crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. You can also opt to take the ferry or for those looking to get some exercise or want to travel independently, you can rent a bike in San Francisco, ride it across the bridge into Sausalito, then take a ferry back. There were a lot of bikers the day we went!

Since we had the kids we us, we decided to drive in to Sausalito. It was a busy Saturday and the streets were bustling with many tourists. I must say that out of all the times I’ve visited Sausalito, I have never seen it that crowded before! There was a lot of excitement in the air and people were walking around the bay, enjoying the view or dining al fresco at one of the many restaurants located in the downtown area.

We quickly found a parking lot that charged us $3 per hour which is very reasonable. We paid $12 knowing that we wouldn’t be there longer than 4 hours. We arrived a little after lunch time so the first thing we did was find a place to eat. We looked on Yelp and found The Napa Valley Burger Company, a restaurant that is kid friendly, has great lunch options as well as a nice wine and beer selection. There was a 2o minute wait when we arrived so we took advantage of it and snapped a few pictures of the city from the Sausalito side. There were many sail boats passing by and lots of people just chilling out by the rocks on the water.

When we seated at our table at The Napa Valley Burger Company, we were greeted by a friendly waiter. I was unsure of what kind of beer to get and he was gracious enough to let me try first before I fully commit. Rowell and I decided on a Pilsner which was fresh and light; similar to a Stella Artois. For our meal, we both ordered the Vintage Burger and shared a plate of Parmesan Truffle Fries. My son ordered a kids cheeseburger and fries but we were surprised that his burger was a regular sized burger! He could only finish half and that’s saying a lot for my son who has a huge appetite. Rowell and I thought the food was good but a little overpriced. Our bill came out to around $70 for 2 beers, 2 burgers, truffle fries and a kids meal. That’s a little steep for lunch in my opinion for burgers and fries. Nevertheless, it was still a pleasant experience and it was a nice restaurant to the bring kids to.

After lunch, we crossed the street to get ice cream at Laperrt’s Ice Cream. There was a line when we arrived so be prepared for a little bit of a wait because this is a very popular place. The ice cream was yummy and of course Gabriel devoured his! Like I said, it was a warm day so it was a race against time because the ice cream was melting so fast!

We ate our ice cream near the ferry landing and watched as people boarded the ferry to head back to San Francisco. Taking the ferry is definitely something I’d like to do next time we go to Sausalito. It would be nice experience for the kids to see both sides of the island from the water.

We continued to walk around and couldn’t help admire all the houses perched up on the hill with the perfect view of the water and San Francisco on the horizon. I should call them mansions because some of the houses were massive. *sigh* The cute little shops along the side of the road are also super cute and we passed by a few popular restaurants such as Scoma’s, a classic seafood restaurant and The Trident. If we ever decide to dine at one of these restaurants, I’ll be sure to reserve a window or patio table because it sits right on the water and the view during sunset must be phenomenal!

At this point, we had to walk back to the car and head back to the city to meet up with my nephew for dinner so we bid adieu to Sausalito and vowed to return again soon. We caught a glimpse of the sun as it was starting to set and it created a beautiful backdrop to the boats that were docked.