Off to Monterey

We left San Fran this morning and headed south. South of Monterey we visited Jade Cove and Sand Dollar beach. We found neither jade nor sand dollars. The drive was another twisty, turny one, up and down the mountain. The ocean came in and out of view as the fog rolled in and out.

Can you find the lizard?

Sand Dollar beach was warm and not too windy. CJ played in a fresh water spring that came out of the mountain.

We had stopped at a Wal-Mart earlier in the day for a bathroom break and picked up a box of Oreos. They ended up being lunch since there were no stores or gas stations...nothing but ocean. About 250 miles into the drive CJ got a little silly!!! By the time we stopped for dinner we were all pretty silly. It was a long day in the car, thank goodness there was lots of scenery!

Napa Valley

The morning's plan was to head back into San Francisco and spend the day riding the trolley cars. The fog cover was so thick that we were into it long before we were close to the city. When we got out of the car our first stop was to look for pants for CJ. He and Steve left the hotel in shorts hoping that the day would warm up. Not only did we get CJ a pair of warm fleece pants but he wanted a hat too and I bought gloves! I joked that if anyone asked where we went for summer vacation I would tell them that we went to Winter!!! No one was upset when we found out that the trolley cars were having mechanical problems and we would have to find something else to do. We opted for something warm and sunny - just 40 miles up the road, in Napa, it was 90 degrees and sunny. The winery we visited was in a castle complete with a dungeon, moat, drawbridge and dragons. The wine was good, the castle was better.

Muir Woods

Monday's trip to Muir Woods proved to be a sucessful one! We arrived about 10:30 and while the parking lots were once again full we parked just a little bit down the street. Picture taking on the general trail proved a little difficult with the sunlight being so bright above the canopy. This was one of the few pictures that 'turned out' while we were on that part of the trail. The trees were magnificent, the reason sequioas get so big is because they can live for thousands years. Most of their water comes from the fog so on Monday (and again on Tuesday) they must have gotten alot of water.

While on the 'beginners' trail we noticed an alligator coming out of the swamp. Fortunately it wasn't hungry when we passed!

We ventured off the beaten path to a hiking trail and this tree swallowed CJ whole.

The holes in the trees are from fires that swept through the area many, many years ago. The bark of a redwood is very fire resistant, the fire must have gotten into this tree through an opening in the root structure. They have very shallow root systems. The inside the redwoods is dead so when a fire burns out that section the tree survives.

This is still fairly early in the hike as CJ still has his fleece jacket on. It was cold under the cover of the trees. We warmed up considerably as the hike went higher and higher. Off came the fleeces, out came the thoughts of shorts and lighter clothing!

We hiked for 3 hours up the mountain and then back down. The view from the top of the mountain was wonderful and the sun felt great.

This is Stinson Beach. The drive down the valley was another fun switchback road that made Steve wish he had his 'ultimate driving machine'. And had us wondering just how much the Saturn could take! At the beach we enjoyed the sun but not the wind it was, yet another cold, cold Pacific beach. On a dare CJ put his feet in the water and promptly ran back out!

San Francisco - Day 3

Today we started at the Palace of Fine Arts. This was built for the Panama Pacific International Exposition (a world's fair honoring the opening of the Panama Canal) in 1915. It was not built with permanent materials as the architect did not intend for it to be around after the fair. In the 1960's it was rebuilt using permanent materials and is now being renovated. It was quite beautiful site, well worth saving!



The only steel structure built on the site housed the art from around the world. Today it houses a great science museum, reminiscent of the old COSI. We spent a couple of hours wandering from one hands on activity to another. This one was a giant bubble table. CJ enjoyed making huge child eating bubbles.

We then found an oceanside park and wandered the coast. There was a beach somewhere down there but we didn't see it. Nor did we see the seals but we could here them.

Back to town for a trip to Ghiraradelli Square and then dinner at a restaurant in the old Cannery.

San Francisco - Day 2

Today we planned on a trip to Muir Woods to see the Giant Sequoias, apparently so did everyone else! The parking lots were full, the street parking was full at least a mile down the road. And while we did intend to spend a good part of the day hiking, we didn't plan on doing most of it to get to and from the park! So we will go back another day. I must say that the drive into the park was fun all on it's own. The road twisted and turned and had quite a drop off, all without a guardrail! There were cyclists everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. They were amazing as this was quite a rise even with the twists. The smell from the trees was yummy and very distinctive. Since the park was a no go, we ventured down to the beach. The beach might be one of those areas that never sees the sun. As we ventured down the fog filled the valley and the sun disappeared. The beach was also crowded which may seem obvious for a weekend in July, but we and many others were dressed in pants and jackets. CJ didn't even venture down to the water, he did set up his Star Wars guys and had a battle.

We then headed towards a scenic lookout for the Golden Gate Bridge. It was another fog filled day. This is one of my favorites.

After hiking around the old gun battery (there aren't any guns left but there was an army jail cell). We headed into the city.

And then to The Presidio

Back to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner and then to the hotel to relax!!!

Day One - San Francisco

CJ fits right in on the morning train into the city.

This was taken from the boat as we passed under the bridge. It was so fogged in that when we headed out on the boat this morning there was very little bridge visible until we got right up on it.

The sourdough bread factory was lots of fun and yummy. This is a sourdough croc that CJ befriended.

And a sourdough lobster. We had a sourdough bread lunch and then went off to find warmer jackets. San Francisco is not warm in July and we knew that Alcatraz would be even colder. The wind never stops out there.

Alcatraz - A good reason to obey the law!

We took a taxi to Chinatown and wandered around. We couldn't get MaryKate or CJ to eat in any of the restaurants. Something about cooked animals with heads hanging in the windows. It turned out to be a good thing, we found an Italian restaurant that was fabulous! The pasta was homemade, as were all of the sauces. If we find ourselves back in the area, I suspect we will eat there again.

TransAmerica Building

(the white building on the left side of the picture is the old TransAmerica building)

A Concert for Free

A couple weeks back I received an email that had good/bad news. The bad wasn't bad and the good was fun!
The bad news was that I did not win front row tickets to the Billy Joel and Elton John concert. The good news was that they were giving me 2 tickets for FREE. All I had to do was go get them. So off to Nationwide Arena we went with email in hand. I turned in the email and the ticket lady gave me two tickets. We checked the seating chart and found that the seats were directly behind the stage but, what do you want for free!
Steve's reaction to all of this was 'who are you going to take?' Which is how CJ ended up as my date. His first concert and my first time seeing either performer, was quite an experience. The seats were great, we were so close that we could see their fingers playing the pianos! The did a set of their songs together, sharing the lyrics and then they each did a set with their band and then back together again for the finale. We didn't make it to the finale, it was getting late and CJ had had enough. He was a real trooper, not knowing either performer and not really liking loud music!

Ooblek

Is it a liquid or a solid? Can it be both? Is it fun?

The answer to all the questions is a resounding YES.

Ooblek Shoes

Upside down Ooblek.

This is difficult to watch but very worth it!

4th of July

CJ didn't make it outside on the 4th until it was time to go to the fireworks. He had himself a grand day in the basement watching his very own collection of Stargate SG-1 DVD's. Amazon had a great deal and he had the money.

We coaxed him upstairs with dinner and then out into the world with the promise of things exploding in the sky.

We got to the event early to get prime, easy exit parking and set up. We had the wagon packed with chairs, a cooler, snacks, toys, pants and jackets and a couple of umbrellas! After setting up we spent the evening watching people and playing frisbee. The rain held off and the fireworks were great. I don't have any pictures of the fireworks, as I was too busy with the oohs and aahs. It was a great night.

It's cooling off and time to put the shoes back on so that we don't have to find them in the dark.

Eventually he had a blanket on too!

Off to the Races

Steve and CJ took off one Saturday in June and went to the Drag Races. From all accounts it was fun, loud and hot!

CJ tried out his skills on a motorcycle, looks like he's going pretty fast.

Weeds as Weapons

When school starts and CJ is asked 'What did you do/learn this summer?' CJ has something to tell.

I taught him how to pop the heads off of weeds and make them fly through the air. Of course being the great mom that I am, I used CJ as my target! So now everytime we pass by a field we stop to have a battle. CJ usually loads his pockets full of ammo to use later!

Seems as though this is a skill that he and his friends should have learned ages ago, but in this era of fertilizer and pristine lawns it is hard to find weeds!

notice the sweatshirt - it's not hot anymore!!!