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Day 3 - San Francisco & Jelly Belly Factory

The kids were up early today. Today we would be visiting the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, Ca - about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Jelly Belly Candy Company
As we rolled into the parking lot, the gameboys went silent with the kids straining at their seatbelts hoping to catch the first glimpse of our destination.

On the tour we learned that it takes about 2 weeks to make a jelly bean and that the secret to Jelly Belly beans is the multi step process that layers the sugar, flavors and polished crunchy cover into a most delicious product. They even have a full time artist making Jelly Belly pictures - some 14,000 beans to a picture. And, of course, you get a packet of free samples at the end. Did you know this is the same company that makes one of my old-time personal favorites - candy corn? Their newest product, JBz, are a flavored and candied chocolate that is sure to be a hit.

Photos where not allowed on the factory tour so you'll just need to see it for yourself.

http://www.jellybelly.com

Lombard St

Ok, so driving down the crookest street is so for the tourists, but the kids loved it - so we did it 3 times. Here's the Organics of OZ van making its way down the hill with our daughter riding shotgun.

The kids were also very excited to be the first to spot a cable car. After a couple of false alarms, we found a street with the right kind of tracks and waited. We went for several rides, the longest being from the Cable Car barn down to the waterfont.

Ghirardelli Square

Lori and my son, the chocolate lovers, were most excited by this destination. After wandering around the square poking to various shops and a half-hearted attempt at grasping the historical significance of this place, we melted into the Sharper Image massage chairs. After a period of rejuvination, we made our way around the corner to the original chocolate store for the grand finale of our day - some Ghiradelli Chocolate.

http://www.ghirardellisq.com/

We parked our car in a garage near the cable car barn at the Five-O-Five Montgomery garage. The rates were quite reasonable at $4/hr which partially offset the cost of the S.F. cable car transport tickets which were $9.00/pp for an all day multi-trip pass.

If we had more time...

We parked just near the historic Fairmont hotel which hosts the Tonga Room resturaunt. We did visit the Grace Cathederal to light a candle (one of our travel traditions), but would like to have spent more time admiring the architecture and history of it.

DAY 4 >>