California - Day 7

Until this particular day in our trip, we woke up mostly to fog/smog covered skies with little visibility. However, on day 7, we awoke to bright and sunny skies, which allowed us to view the Golden Gate Bridge from our hotel room window. C had asked prior to the trip if we could walk onto the bridge. I thought this to be a great idea....how many 9 year old children can say that last year they were standing/walking on the Great Wall of China and this year they were standing/walking on the Golden Gate Bridge? With this request in mind, Ryan and I took advantage of the morning and planned a trip to walk onto the bridge. Perfect. First stop, though, was Lombard Street, or what is better known to tourists as "the crookedest street." Silly, but I wanted to drive it. So, to Lombard we went and then onto the bridge....two great places.

Then we proceeded south on Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. Thankfully, C tolerated the drive well and we were able to enjoy the magnificent scenery that the west coast has to offer. After a two hour drive, we landed ourselves on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Similar to Myrtle Beach, lots of interesting souls to see and rides galore for the children to enjoy. This is when we learned lesson #7....gone are the days of "kiddie" rides, we, as of this date, have officially entered into the roller coaster, death defying rides - the faster, the higher, the twistier, the better....
**MK was beside herself when the boys agreed to take her for a helicopter ride. Once the ride ended, she exited and ran right back into the line to ride again! Following our daytrip down south, we quickly cleaned ourselves up and attended the rehearsal dinner of my cousin, Matthew, and his fiancee, Deborah. The rehearsal was held on a lawn surrounded by the San Francisco Bay at the marina where my cousin houses his boat. It was a perfect California evening. We were joined by my cousin's friends and family members, lots of laughing occurred, the children happily played, and, to put an end to our evening, the boys were given a tour of Matthew's boat.

California - Day 6

My parents under the grapevines.

Day 6 - Wine Country. When Ryan and I first started planning our trip west, we both sat down and discussed the things that we really wanted to see during our visit. For me it was the redwoods. For Ryan it was wine country. Being that we had our three little ones in tow, our sites in wine country were different than what they would have been sans children. That being said, our first stop was Train Town Railroad. I knew this would make Pryce's day and it did....he was on cloud nine. We boarded a miniature train ride and toured the grounds. The train made one stop, a makeshift town. The town had a jail and of course the boys were all about being prisoners. They named the prison Alcatraz - imagine. Their crime consisted of stealing from the church (sigh) - the church was located directly beside the prison. C had to stay in jail longer, he apparently had stolen more....whatever the case, I love their imaginations and the excitement they show during their pretend play. Of course, I suggested that maybe they steer clear of being prisoners and try being the lawyers to help the prisoners or the engineers that design the prison - why would they want to do that, they asked....too much fun being the bad guy! All was fun and games until little Pryce took a fall....this time it was his knee. I heard that all too familiar scream, those cries of hurting and there was my little man with blood streaming from his knee. P only cries if he is really hurt....otherwise, he jumps up looking for me to tell him he is alright and all is good. If he cries, then he is really hurting. Thankfully, though, C was there to assist P with forgetting his injury.....C walked over to him later that day during a break and said, "gosh, we could be running around playing Star Wars if you weren't hurt....I would even let you be whoever you wanted to be." It wasn't too long following that invitation that P was up and running again, swollen bandaged knee and all.

We then made our way to a local vineyard, toured the city of Sonoma via trolley car, tasted grapes straight from the vines, had a picnic in the park and drove through Napa. That evening we made our way to the indoor pool located at our hotel. We had managed to keep MK out of the Hilton pool due to the fact that it was outdoors and it was COLD. This one, being an indoor and heated pool, was not so easy to keep her away from. We did not have any floating devices so Ryan and I took up residence on either side of the pool anticipating the saving of MK - we knew she would jump in and not think twice about it until it was too late. Like little ducks in a row, C jumped in first from the steps, then P, and, as we were telling MK for the umpteenth time not to jump in, she takes her best jump ever and sinks to the bottom. Lucky for her, and us, she has two wonderful brothers who quickly plucked her from the water and landed her safely back on the steps. Phew! Lesson 6 learned.....even though the child is looking at you while you talk and nodding like he/she understands what you are saying while you talk, the child is a child and is going to do what he/she wants to do (hence the jumping in).

California - Day 5

Day 5 started with a drive across the Golden Gate bridge and then on to Muir Woods. Muir Woods took our breaths away....the trees are amazingly huge and the area is so peaceful. We began our tour thinking we would do the one mile loop and ended up doing the 3 mile round trip tour instead. All five of us were mesmerized.

After Muir Woods, we continued north to Point Reyes National Seashore. Not too far into the drive, C complained of his stomach hurting. We stopped, let the kids play by an inlet for awhile, and then proceeded with our trip after C announced all was well with him. Once back on the road, C began to complain again. We agreed he was carsick. Not good seeing as our drive was to involve a lot of twists and turns. With Colin asleep on MK's carseat, we made it to our destination and hiked Earthquake Trail. The park ranger stated that hiking Earthquake Trail basically puts you straddling the San Andreas Fault Line as you walk. Seeing as I already was feeling like I was on the edge of the world, this made me a little nervous. We then proceeded onward to one of the many beaches that make up Point Reyes. The park ranger, after having told me that we were straddling a major fault line, chose to tell me also about the "sneaker waves" that are present among this particular part of the California coast line. His words were, "be sure that the children don't swim in the water or even wade as people have been known to be swept away by the ever present sneaker waves...." Ok. So we hiked a little over a mile down a skinny little path to this beach. The California landscape is just incredible, really the pictures that I have will not do it justice. Here we were hiking down this skinny little path between these two mountains, then we passed what appeared to be a desert sandhill - red sand even, and then suddenly there is the ocean with these ginormous waves crashing over rocks, breathtaking. Beautiful. Amazing. Our little C had a tough time driving back to the hotel but he made it and we were all pleased to be greeted by my parents, aunt and uncle upon our arrival. Lesson 5....Benadryl, strangely enough, has a lot to offer to a carsick child.

Looking for a sneaker wave.

Did I mention that the hike to the beach was over a mile long, down a winding narrow path? Well, then factor in that we had to come back UP the winding, narrow, ever so long path....not to mention that Ryan was carrying 30+ lbs extra! This picture describes how we were all feeling towards the last few steps.....

California - Day 4

Day 4 was spent at the California Academy of the Sciences. We toured a 3 story high rainforest, visited the aquarium - fabulous, viewed the largest digital planetarium show in the world, toured Africa, watched a 3D movie on catepillars/butterflies - it was a wonderful day. Of course, an accident did occur which put us all into a stir. While taking a break outside, the children asked if they could play in the courtyard. C crawled up onto this sea lion statue and I thought it to be a great pic opportunity. Pic taken, C jumps down safely. Then it occurred, P decides to climb onto the statue as well, a statue that is at least 4 ft tall and surrounded by nothing but hard, hard dirt, not soft dirt, hard as concrete dirt. MK decides to tickle his legs that were within her reach. As I watched in horror, my little Pryce fell head first onto the hard as concrete dirt. Of course I screamed, the woman beside me screamed, Ryan came running, MK was crying and Colin was standing there asking if P was going to live. It was awful, but with a piece of gum and a little extra love, he recovered and was soon running around with a bruised head like nothing had happened. Following our day at the Academy, we ventured back down to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner at Rainforest Cafe. We thought this to be a good idea, fun for the children. Well, two out of three isn't bad, right? Upon entering the restaurant, the boys were in awe as we were being led to our table. There was the sound of rain, the animal sounds, lots of greenery, everything that a rainforest has to offer. Finally we were seated in front of a waterfall with two elephants braying beside us. Lovely table. MK, with her head tucked into my chest, screamed in terror. We requested a different table out of view of the elephants and for a moment I thought all to be well (that is when we took the pic).

Then the elephants began to bray again and even though they were not in her sight, they were within earshot and she quickly made her way back into my lap, head tucked into my chest. Food was served, MK did not budge. She would only say, "Mommy, en-a-nants (elephants) scare me!" She did not breathe easy until we were back safely at our hotel that evening! Lesson 4 learned: All's well that ends well.

California - Day 3

After our 5:30am wake up call, we proceeded to Fisherman's Wharf via cable car. Note to travelers in San Francisco - if you wish to forego the waiting for a cable car, arrive very early in the morning as there will be no line to jump on. We toured the aquarium that is located on Pier 39, it was ok, the children enjoyed it but it definitely rates lower to others we have visited. Following the aquarium, we boarded a boat to do a bay cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge. The boys were intrigued by Alcatraz and loved the history they heard in reference to that particular prison....on a side note, they are now into playing Alcatraz - they take turns with one being the officer throwing the other in jail, what gets me are the crimes they come up with. Boys. MK is the parole officer. We couldn't end our morning at Fisherman's Wharf without purchasing a traditional clam chowder bread bowl at Boudins....yum. Our afternoon was spent visiting the Cable Car Museum and touring Chinatown. For me, Chinatown was ok. I was somewhat bummed when I went to purchase what I thought to be a lantern from China....nope, the lady said it was actually made in Japan so I put it back. MK had the whole cable car in awe as she kept saying "Ni Hao" to everything/everyone....really she was asking us to watch her latest favorite show, Ni Hao Kailan, but everyone assumed she was speaking Chinese. Following our outings, we dined yet again at my Cheesecake Factory. It was on this night that I realized we had started a little trip tradition....every night after everyone had bathed and settled down, we turned on a family movie, all climbed onto one bed and shared a piece of cheesecake. Pryce said to me on this night "hey mom, this is so much fun!"....lesson 3 learned, little things can mean a lot.

MK could not figure these guys out!

California - Day 2

Our second day in San Francisco started out much like our second day in China....EARLY, with 4:00am being the ideal time to wake up. Of course, both boys pointed out to us that it was really 7:00am at home. We caved around 5:30am and began our day....our first stop was the Palace of the Fine Arts. Amazing the architecture that went into that particular structure. We took it all in as we walked around the surrounding reflection pond and made our way into the Exploratorium.

The Exploratorium is a hands-on science center for children of all ages....really something there for everyone, even Ryan.

Following the Exploratorium, we boarded a bus back to the hotel. MK fell asleep and slept through people talking, laughing, horns beeping, etc. as we made our way across the city. Following our brief stop at the hotel, we chose to take our first of many cable car rides into Fisherman's Wharf. After a short wait, we boarded the cable car and the boys were allowed to stand on the very back with the controller.

We traveled a few blocks and then we stopped. On a hill. A very steep hill. And people started to get off and catch other cable cars as they turned by us. And the chatter of "our broken down cable car" began. The next thing we know, this thing appeared and literally pushed up us the hill.

By the looks of this guys bumper, we were not the first cable car to be pushed up a hill. Of course, I casually asked the controller if our brakes worked!

Lesson #2 learned....help is always just around the corner!

California 2009 - Day 1

Ryan and I decided if we could do China with three children then we could certainly tackle San Francisco with three children. And the verdict is, we were right. We arrived home safely, soundly and sleepy last night after 8 days of nonstop touring. The only thing missing from our trip was a laptop for us to recount the day by day activities so I am forced to go on memory. After arriving safely without incident in San Francisco, our first order of business was to find a cab to accomodate our family of 5....as well as our luggage aplenty. We did well, scored a van and off we went. Our hotel, the Hilton, in Union Square was awesome though they first thought that we would all fit into a room with a king bed and a crib....seeing as we do not co-sleep, that was NOT an option. We were told to go to dinner and it would be resolved. Ok, so off we go to learn our first lesson in the big city. Walk to dinner, my fave the Cheesecake Factory, then walk to the hotel. Oh yeah, we need water for the children.....so we stopped at this little corner market. Go in, grab a 2 gallon jug of water, a six pack of Coke and a tiny little, one serving size bottle of juice. We pay, we go to the hotel, we are given a Bay view room with two beds and a crib, much better, and we also scored free breakfasts for the duration of our stay. We were feeling good. Just before bed Ryan says to me, "hey, you know, I think we got ripped off at that little store....we paid $16 for water, coke and a little thing of apple juice"....lesson one learned.