Day Two San Fran Trip==part one

We started this day early. I think we were waking up at about 6am.
I had read about the Farmers Market that was held every saturday morning. The guides said that the "locals" would come and do their weekly shopping for local veggies and fruit. I love farmers markets. My mom and dad would take me to them when I was younger. I can remember how happy I was to get a flat of strawberries. So, I really wanted to take the kids to this.

Everyone agreed and off we went. They didn't know that it was at least a mile or two walk down to the Ferry Building where the market was held. We had a pleasent walk. Steve and Drake spent the time testing their vertical jump on the sidewalk art/benches. I think the joggers, and there are TONS of joggers, thought they were a bit strange. But they were having fun together. JIlly and I stayed back so we weren't thought to be with the weirdos! LOL!!

When we got there in time for a really nice sunrise. The market was SPECTACULAR! We got to sample tons of local fruit and veggies. I don't think any of us has had such wonderful tasting oranges. We also sampled fried asaragus that was delish! I wish we could have something like that to shop at here. We bought some oranges for the room and a couple of fresh breads to eat for breakfast.



We had tickets to go to Alcatraz for 9:30am so we headed back down the bay toward the pier for our ferry. This is the one thing that EVERYONE wanted to do on this trip for sure. The kids and learned a little about it before the trip and I think were really looking forward to seeing a "real" jail.
The ferry over was fun. We sat outside on top to get the full view. It was chilly but we are tough!

As you can see the views were stunning. We all thought the city view looked fake.
Once we got to Alcatraz the fun began. I had been before when I was a teenager (20 years ago) and was amazed at how much had changed. It has really deteriorated over the years. It made us really glad that our kids got to see it. It is something that their kids might not get to experience.


We took our time walking up the steep hill to the prison house. One thing that I had not seen before and wasn't only on Alcatraz, was "wild" lilly flowers. They used lillies as ground cover. They were really really pretty. As a matter of fact all the flowers were gorgous.


I think that is a good place to stop this post. I'll pick up inside the prison house.

Day One San Fran Trip Report

Well, I'm back at work and missing our time off. I'm going to do the trip report in sections. That way maybe I'll get it done.

We got up at 3am on Friday morning to fly out of OKC at 6am. We were a bit tired but more excited than anything. The kids didn't complain and I don't think they even fell back to sleep on the drive to the airport.

After a stop in AZ for a tiny lay over we arrived in Oakland airport right around noon. We were scared about how to get from the airport to our hotel since it was across the bay. We opted to spend a little $$ and hire a towncar. It was a nice ride over to the hotel. It was really neat seeing HUGE crane along the water to lift off the crates from the barges.


Once we got to our hotel we saw how close to Fishermans Wharf we were. It was a perfect location. We were all starving by this time. For some reason airplane peanuts just weren't holding us. So we walked over to Peir 39, tourist central, and found a hamburger joint to get something "safe" to eat.

You can see that Jilly was ready for a great day of getting the lay of the land.

After a good lunch at WindSurfers we headed out to explore the area around the hotel.
The wharf was a treat to look out over the bay. It was a little cloudy but no big deal.


After walking down the wharf we came across the Liberty Ship and submarine that Poppie had told us about.


It was really neat to look around the ship. I think the kids liked it too. Jilly thought the kitchen was cool. She thought the stuff was so little. Drake liked the guns the best.


I'm not sure how much the kids learned about the ship but I think the memory will help them in the future. Steve was in heaven. He loves the history stuff.

We thought about doing the submarine too but it started raining and the kids were historied out. I had made them skip the tourist shops after lunch b/c I was in a hurry to see "stuff" not "junk"! LOL! You know how moms are, go go go.

So back to the tourist central, Pier 39, and the shops. I did see one thing I just had to take a picture of...


Thank goodness he didn't turn into a grown up while on vacation. Although, he is getting there quickly.



After browsing at the shops for just a little while, we headed down the street along the water. We found a small beach area and stopped for the kids to play.




I think the kids could have stayed here the rest of the day but I was to close to chocolate to let that happen. So we headed up the hill to Ghirardelli.


We were given free samples when we walked into the chocolate shop! YEA!! So we bought a bag of mixed chocolates and headed back to the beach to enjoy a few.


We started to get tired so we headed in to the hotel after eating at Boudin Bakery. We did a quick swing by the famous sea lions. It was pretty crowded so Jilly couldn't see them very well the first day but we could hear them just fine.


It was an early night what with the 3am morning and time change. We wanted to get up early the next day to head down to the Farmers Market. I'll close with a couple of pictures from the wharf area.

San Fran Here We Come!

I think I have everything in order for vacation. Bags are packed, clothes are set out, flight checked in, car set for pick-up. I think thats most of it.

Steve is at home right now putting down weed-n-feed. You know the yard will just go to hell if he doesn't do that TODAY! Four more days and it will be a jungle out there. Sometimes he is so much like my Dad that it frightens me.

I went to the book fair this morning. I did good and only bought 3 books. One for Drake, Jilly, & I for the airplane. Ooops, I bought 4! I forgot that Drake kept one at school to read. It was some Anime/Skateboard book. I knew that it would only take him like and hour to read so I made him pick out another one for the plane. Steve didn't get one. He'll read the tour books I have.

Tonight we have parent/teacher conferences. Steve will do Drakes teachers and I'll do Jilly's. I always like to go to these. Maybe I wouldn't if my kids weren't pretty good students. Its always easier to hear your kids are great than if you heard they were nothing but trouble.

Drake thought he was going to get a 'B' in reading. He had several papers he turned in late so he lost points. I have never seen a child so upset over a 'B'. Heck, when I was in school I was happy with them. Not him though. I thought he was going to have a breakdown over it. I finally convinced him to talk to his teacher and see if there was anything he could do about it. It sounds like he said the right things. You know, how it was all his fault, he knows it was his responsibility, etc... Well, it turns out that one of the ones he turned in he forgot his name on it so it wasn't recorded at all. So his 'B' grade was including a zero for one of his papers. I think the world is back on axis now that he found that out.

Jilly just finished her first "4th grade" book. She feels so smart about it. I'm just tickled pink that she does so well. I always worry about her vision but it seems that she is able to do any and everything she puts her mind to. Thankfully she hasn't put her mind to anything dangerous. Well, yet anyway!

I guess that's enough for now. I'm sure I'll make a big long report filled with pictures when I get back from San Francisco!

Got to post!

I've got to post something! Nothing really interesting has been going on. I keep waiting to see if something steller happens so I can post an amazing story. But alas, nothing.

We were able to buy a Wii. It is a ton of fun! I don't like video games and I've been playing it every single day. My stupid arms are sore from playing. Isn't that the saddest thing you've heard. Getting a workout from a video game. My only redemption is that Steve has got a little tiny bit sore from playing the baseball. I KNOW he is in good shape.

I had to wait in line at Wal-Mart to get one. Thank goodness the UPS man called me and told me that he had dropped some off. It is awesome to have connections.

Drake has started on his science fair project. He is doing a wind energy study. His hypothisis is that a 6 bladed windmill will generate more power than a 3 bladed one. If he is correct we will have to figure out why they use a 3 blade design on the "real" ones out here. I've had to pull Steve back from taking over the project. He is just eating it up! Poor Drake doesn't stand a chance.

Jilly is doing good. She has been complaining about karate a little bit. I was worried until she told me that her partner for ground fighting is just too "prissy". I guess that means that the girl isn't getting after it. Jilly is used to Drake sitting, punching, and otherwise abusing her. She doesn't get the whole girly thing.

Anna and I have a LCMW planned for July! I can't wait. In case you don't know what LCMW is, it stands for Linda Chapdelaine Memorial Weekend. We wanted to get together every year, just the two of us, but it hasn't worked out that way. The first year we went to MN for a Taste of Home convention. Then the other times the family has always been with us. So, I'm really pumped that we are just going together. We are meeting in PA for a DISMeets. It should be fun.

Ok, I think that's enough for now.