One of my most favorite things I like to do is wander neighborhoods laced with gorgeous homes and fantasize about living there. It's as fun as it is disheartening because it's so easy to envision yourself nestled into the couch with a cup of joe in the decadent living rooms you see ... and just as easy to snap back to reality. However, manicured lawns and to die for views are always lovely peripherals so we often seek out these types of locations for slower, longer weekend dog walking.
We have meant to visit Sea Cliff since we moved down here (like I said here, there are a ton of MUST SEE things to do in SF and we are steadily crossing them off our list at a leisurely pace). We had long heard of this neighborhood mainly due to its phenomenal homes which are seated on the cliffs overlooking the sea (ahhhhh, now it all makes sense!). It's the reclusive, separated from the herd 'hood which is the rumored home to many of the area CEOs and one very notable former resident, Robin Williams.
Due to its off-the-beaten-path, hilly location outside the scope of public transit, we had to drive our car to the area and were pleasantly surprised to find easy parking on numerous side streets. With SF being such a tourist destination and major city, anything worth seeing here generally means a ton of crowds and no parking (which is why we generally do not drive anywhere -ever, except to get out of town). But because this place is a quiet, sleepy neighborhood it was an exception to that norm.
Upon exiting the car, we found ourselves right in front of Robin Williams' former home (video of it at bottom of this post). It was big, quite pink and had such pretty views of GG from the backdrop. I like Robin Williams in many things but really, "Mrs. Doubtfire" still is just the crème de la crème for me when it comes to him (which is kinda funny that movie fared so well, when you think about it, it's really weird). I thought the movie was a funny treat as a kid but it took on new meaning after my parents' divorce when I found myself saddled with the grief of that hardship. Granted, my Dad never donned a grey wig and a blue skirt during that time but it did aide a bit in seeing a family coming to terms with the new normal. I still think the very last scene in that movie (right here) is phenomenal in its summary of divorce through a kid's eyes. So anyway, to live right by the Hillards' home now and then see where the actual RW lived, just felt very cool.
^Robin Williams' house right there with GG backdrop
^Casa de Williams
Following that, we moseyed up and down through the streets and admired every gated courtyard, every snippet of view we saw between the homes and all of the variation in these NorCal mansions. It was not a bad date with my camera.
^Casa de Williams
Following that, we moseyed up and down through the streets and admired every gated courtyard, every snippet of view we saw between the homes and all of the variation in these NorCal mansions. It was not a bad date with my camera.
Without even trying to, we stumbled on the edge of the neighborhood which turned into a full on hiking trail leading away from the man made affluent homes to the naturally captivating ocean view woods and all the way down to the Cliff House restaurant (post on that restaurant here). We delighted in this surprise hike and visually binged on the endless Pacific Ocean as our feet crunched into the earthy terrain.
As far as weekend dog walks go (which we like to be longer, slower and more relaxed than their weekday counterparts ever allow), it was a dang near perfect one. We've now tucked that experience into the folder of "potential things to do when someone comes and visits". If you have 2 minutes to spare, here's a little video of the hike/RW house. Those views though!
^Poor Jay outed in his doggy speak on video. We call dogs "schtinks" and then sometimes use baby talk when we're talking around the dog on accident... #TheMoreYouKnow