Summer Road Trip 2013, part three - San Francisco

We spent a day in the San Francisco area.  We had visited 3 years ago and did the normal tourist spots then, so this time we did repeats of the things that interested us and weren't too much of a hassle (like the cable cars).  We began at the Golden Gate Bridge, where we found beautiful clear skies.

Here's a series of shots that involved Carter not wanting to take a photo, Ashlynn trying to convince him to cooperate but somehow hurting him, and the fall out (I like to keep things real).  Other than their faces, the photos are pretty lovely.

We tried other arrangements

 Trying again.

 There were some new, cool exhibits that explained some of the physics of the bridge.

 We then walked part way across the bridge, which is pretty crazy with pedestrians and people on bikes (many of whom are not very good riders) sharing the non-car path.

 We drove down Lombard Street (well, once that group finished taking their photo.  Geez!).

 And we finished up by eating lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (which we couldn't help but notice is not filled with cool people, but mostly middle aged and foreign tourists ... not that we were expecting to spot anyone famous ... it's just funny) and watching the sea lions at Pier 39.

 

In the evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner, conversation, and a stroll with my cousin, David, his wife, Margaret, and their younger daughter, Charlotte.

Good times!

Summer Road Trip, Leg 1- San Francisco/ Bay Area

Our summer trip this year was a road trip north to see family and a few sites along the way. We were in the bay area to see my cousin, David, and his family, explored the coastal redwoods, visited my aunt Jane in the Jacksonville area of southern Oregon and wrapped up our trip with Eric's aunt Laurie at her farm that is south-east of Sacramento.
The trip was challenging... most especially because of our little 2-year-old, who acted "very 2" on the trip, especially because he wasn't in familiar places, wasn't getting good naps, and wasn't eating normal meals/ food. There were many battles, especially during meal time, because Carter wanted to do things himself or wanted to do things the big kid way, like drink from a cup with a straw. It sounds like simple problems, but when you're in the midst of a tantrum with a toddler while in a restaurant, it's pretty frustrating and exhausting. Luckily, Ashlynn was a pretty good traveler and frequently tried to help cheer Carter, or even us, when we were frustrated.
All-in-all, it was a pretty good trip and we look forward to future travel with kids who are past the "terrific twos" phase.
We're on our way! (Well, at the point of the pictures we were in La Canada... a long way to go!)
We took a break at Harris Ranch.
There was a fair bit of crying (on the first part of the trip especially) until Carter learned to sleep in the car... something the kids don't normally do at home because I usually want them to get good naps in their own beds rather than cat-naps in the car.
Carter was DELIGHTED that our hotel room looked out on a small airport.

Ashlynn LOVED her big bed.
Another airport pic...
Heading into San Francisco


Our first stop was Lombard Street (which was probably the best outing of our time in SF)

The kids loved the hilly streets
After driving Lombard Street, we walked up and down the curvy block.

What amuses me most about this picture is Ashlynn's expression... looks like me : )

Eric is especially proud of this shot
Then, we headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge
This is one of my favorite photos of the trip... and it was just a lucky shot. Carter would not stand still for a pic (he is 2) so we would just place him in front of the bridge and snap away, hoping for a good one.




We headed back into the city for dinner in Chinatown. Not a successful attempt. Well, we ate dinner but Eric and I both felt it was the worst Chinese food we'd ever eaten.

Promises. I am very careful about making them... unless I am certain I can keep them. I made the mistake of promising Ashlynn that we would ride a cable car. We arrived to the "station" to find a loooong line, which turned out to take TWO HOURS! Luckily the people in line behind us didn't seem to mind that Eric and I took turns walking the kiddos around (especially Carter) while the line moved along very slowly.
Reason enough for us to only have two kids.
Almost our turn! It is pretty cool how they turn the car around.
Finally on the cable car... we took it to Fisherman's Wharf

Lunch!
Pier 39's Sea Lions (this is Ashlynn's shot from on top of Eric's shoulders)
Photographer in training

Poor, pooped-out kid

After the long wait for the cable car, we opted for a ride on the trolley back to our car. (Thanks Cousin David for the guidance!)

To wrap up our time in the bay area, we had a nice dinner at the home of my cousin David, his wife, Margaret, and their daughters, Maddy and Charlotte. It was so nice to hang out with family and catch up each others' lives.