For my birthday this year, when I turned 32, Megan planned a fun weekend up in San Francisco. I had known she was planning something near by. Earlier in January she booked something via Airbnb accidentally using my account, so I immediately got some confirmation text messages with subject lines like “Your trip on airbnb is booked for…”. We were both sitting on the couch at the time and she immediately declared that I wasn’t allowed to open or notice anything about any email or text messages on the topic, which, surprisingly, I managed to do.
/IMG_8045.jpg)](https://www.jonmcosgrove.name/img_8045/)
/IMG_8053.jpg)](https://www.jonmcosgrove.name/img_8053/)
/IMG_8038.jpg)](https://www.jonmcosgrove.name/img_8038/)
/IMG_3172-e1521344394690.jpg)]
/img_3172/)
The weekend arrived and we drove up mid afternoon to check into the [Argonaut Hotel](http://www.argonauthotel.com), right near the Bay at Fisherman’s Wharf. Its a well known hotel in a great location, and we had talked a few times in the past about wanting to stay there. However, I had since looked in detail at the hotel as a part of a different surprise weekend I was planning, and had changed my mind. I thought it was too touristy and a bit overpriced based on reviews I saw online, but I hadn’t mentioned this to Megan.
Coincidentally, the weekend before, we had been in San Francisco for the day visiting the [Tulipmania](https://www.pier39.com/tulipmania/) festival on Pier 39 among other things. We passed by The Argonaut Hotel and I commented to Megan that I had changed my mind about wanting to stay there. Little did I know, Megan had this whole upcoming weekend planned, and she later told me she was super bummed when I mentioned this. Luckily, I was wrong and it ended up being a cool hotel where we had a great night. The hotel has a lounge called the Blue Mermaid where we had happy hour drinks and oysters, and a National Park visitors area attached which had a bunch of cool history about the shipping industry and the Bay in general. After walking around we went for dinner in China Town and had Moo Shu pork, but the big event was planned for the next day.
/IMG_8051.jpg)
Aquatic park pier
In the morning, we drove over the Golden Gate to Sausalito, where we were to meet to go sailing out on the Bay with a local guy offering trips through Airbnb. I was excited! Ever since moving to California had wanted to sail out in the Bay! Originally, Megan had signed us up for Saturday, but the weather was pretty rough: rain and high winds leading to a lot of chop on the water. She arranged to switch days and it was a good call. Sunday we had consistent winds which were on the lighter side, and warm sun despite a bit of chilly air.
We met the Captain, got an overview of his boat and motored out of the harbor before getting the sails up. The tides were in our favor and we made good time out to the Bridge. We got great views and a cool perspective being underneath; we even saw a helicopter fly underneath right near us, and had to maneuver around an enormous cargo ship headed out to sea. Once we turned back from the Bridge, we sailed around for a few hours with good wind in the Prisidio Shoal area. It was a cool backdrop with Sausalito and San Francisco along the shore, and generally we had a great time. When leaving the dock our captain mentioned we might see dolphins which I hadn’t known we had in the area, and we got to see a bunch of them swimming around the boats and surfing in the ferry swells.
[YouTube embed](https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m16!1m10!1m3!1d4815!2d-122.5006885!3d37.8318906!2m1!2f38.58!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f35!3m3!1m2!1s0x80858504b4c95f1d%3A0xd3c5c65691b271eb!2sBasin+4!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1521329891822)
Every year I’m surprised when my birthday comes around. I don’t feel like I think a 32 year old should, but I guess thats how it goes for a lot of people. I’m glad I’ve got such a wonderful wife who plans fun celebrations and finally got us out on the water after over 2 years of wanting!
