Best Vacation EVER - Part 1

Our BEST VACATION EVER started out slow, not leaving the house until after 1pm. But at least by then we were pretty sure we hadn't forgotten anything! Along with books, food, and the portable DVD player, I downloaded audio of the scriptures so we could (realistically) keep having family scripture time on the road.

Charlie in the van

We stayed in Reno that night, just for sleeping, and then back on the road for the Sonoma Valley (aka wine country), staying with Mark's Aunt Kalleen and Uncle Jed for two days.

It was really the perfect beginning to our long adventure: couple days of driving followed by a
couple low-key days hanging on their gorgeous property, letting the boys run wild with their
(second?) cousins, playing at the park.

Kalleen & Jed w/their grandkids (pic copied from FB)

J & K's backyard at sunset. Seriously. I know!

Carson, Sam, Max, Charlie, and Isaac feeding the horse carrots.

Isaac climbing at Howarth Park

Feeding ducks at Howarth Park

We really enjoyed our time there with family that we hardly ever see. Cousin Jenny and her sweet baby Maya joined us for dinner one night, as well as Jenna (mom of the favorite friends of the trip: Carson & Max), and Jared managed to stop by, too. Great people, great conversation, great home. Kalleen spoiled us with delicious meals. Jed was full of helpful advice about what to do the rest of our trip, plus we got book and nutrition recommendations. And they even let us take their California Road Map (it was from the 80s but still).

The one quirk was that Isaac lost a shoe. We think their puppy burried it somewhere! After Isaac, Mark & Kalleen had used up half the day looking for it, we gave up and went to PayLess to get him a new pair.

The next day we headed to San Francisco, armed with city maps, the fantastic children's book
Larry Gets Lost in SF, and consequently WAY too many ideas of things to do. We crossed the Golden Gate bridge as our entry to the city - something I'd never done before - then went straight to Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor... Didn't opt to go in the (looked amazing) art museum, besides security kindly letting me run Sam to the bathroom, but enjoyed stretching our legs a bit, getting our bearings.

Golden Gate Bridge seen from Lincoln Park

Isaac in Lincoln Park

Next we cruised Point Lobos Avenue past Seal Rock and along the beach and just a bit into Golden Gate Park. Mostly just checking things out from the car as we looked for a good place to lunch. A few wrong turns later, we ended up lunching at the deli/Chinese food counter inside a grocery store. Not quite what I'd had in mind but filling and easy on the budget. Definitely our only meal in SF you can say that about.

Heading east across town to our hotel, we had to stop by Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies (just like Larry had). Sam was the most insistent on this, and consequently the most disappointed. (The depiction in the book was much more colorful.)

Sam in front of famous row of Victorian homes.

We stayed in the Westin off Market Street. Got a very nice room at a nice (Priceline) price, and they gave free "Kids Club" gifts to the boys: hats, maps, postcards, colored pencils, all in a nice drawstring bag. (Those became our laundry sacks - perfect.) After checking in and unloading we walked over to the Powell Street Trolley and took a cable car ride up the hills to the Cable Car Museum.

 Isaac on a cable car pre-official boarding.

The museum was just barely interesting to me, but much more for Mark and probably the boys. Even so, stopping there was probably a mistake as we were now sorta middle-of-nowhere, and with 6 of us it was too difficult to hop back on a trolley... We walked up and down the many blocks to end up at touristy (but with Sea Lions!) Pier 39. (Well I walked, with David in the stroller, while Mark carried Charlie on his shoulders and Isaac & Sam ran - with terrible speed - to each corner.)

 Coit Tower as seen from the waterfront.

Checking out The Rock.

 Crab statue and flags - we made it.

Sea Lions were the draw so we stopped only briefly to view Alcatraz and watch a street performer before winding our way through the overpriced shops to the docks where the animals hang out. I was nervous that this would be another let-down for the boys, but they were completely delighted. We stayed there til almost sunset, then ate some (overpriced) fish and chips nearby and took a cab back to the hotel.

Sam, me, and Isaac in front of the sea lions.

The next morning, after breakfasting in the hotel ($8.75 for a bowl of Frosted Flakes - I don't even want to tell you what my eggs cost), we walked back over to the Union Square Westin to ride the glass elevator to the top (just like Larry). Fun but nothing spectacular. Beautiful sunny day for us to drive down to Monterey (and spend the entire rest of the day inside the aquarium there).

My men in Union Square.