San Francisco


One of the things I really wanted to do while in CA, was take a day trip to San Francisco and really be a tourist.  On Jackson's map of the United States it shows the Golden Gate bridge, so he was really interested in going there.  We were happy that Grammy and Poppy agreed to go with us too!

 First stop in our day of touring "the city," was a ride on BART.
   

Once we arrived in the city, we walked to the trolley stop and waited for a trolley (another item on our tourist list of things to do that day).  We waited about 15 minutes, which was way too long for the kids to stand in one spot.  We survived though :)


The kids were excited to see the California flag.  Of course, it made me emotional because I love my home state so much!

They wouldn't let the kids be on the outside of trolley (which is the best part right?? I love hanging on and seeing the city).  So Robert and I were the lucky ones and Janet and Erik took Jackson, Wyatt, and Anna toward the middle.  This trolley car was packed, and unfortunately I stood right in front of a man with really bad breath.  Yuck.

This guy was quite the good trolley manager and whenever he saw someone on the outside taking a picture, he admonished them to PUT IT AWAY! YOU DO NOT WANT TO DROP THAT PHONE! So of course, I had to be very sneaky about taking pictures :)


We were treated to a truly gorgeous San Francisco day.  I was worried that it would be super dark and cloudy and chilly, but it was sunny and cool and wonderful!
  
 


We took the trolley down to the last stop at the pier.  It was so fun to look around at the buildings and ocean.


Our next touristy thing to do was a little cruise over to Alcatraz.  Now this was much chillier!  Once we got out into the water the wind picked up!  We finally found the side of the boat that wasn't too crowded and was shielded from a lot of the wind, and then it was much better.

 I was pretty bummed that it got super foggy right as we were crossing under the Golden Gate Bridge.  So alas, the kids really didn't get a good look at it!  Oh well.  I can't remember why Anna was sad at this point . . . 




The main focal point of the cruise was Alcatraz and it was neat to see both sides.  There were speakers with different stories and accounts of everything we saw throughout the course of the tour that were very interesting.  Our first trip to the library since getting home was for children's books on Alcatraz because we were definitely bit by that history bug.




The kids LOVED these cardboard binoculars they were given for the ride.  It really enhanced their experience.





Yay, we took a lot of pictures :)










   


   


After the tour, we walked around the very touristy Pier 39 and found a very San Francisco thing to eat: clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl!  Yummy!  I ate waaaay too much.
   
These docks during the fall, winter, and spring are usually FULL of sea lions.  During the summer however, they all go to the southern CA coast to mate, so we were stuck with this dude as our one and only sea lion.  At least he was there!



  

 
One of the buildings on the pier was a sea lion education center.  It was really interesting . . . and free!


Sea lion skeleton!





We did a little bit of touristy shopping and checked out a magic show.  Then we headed back to the trolley stop to wait (another 15 minutes wait!) for the trolley to take us back to the BART station.
  
I love these San Francisco houses!  I can't help but hear the Full House theme song when I see them! :)

This time I was in the middle of the trolley with the kids.

A look at the famously crooked Lombard street


By the end of the evening we were worn out!  As you can see I didn't have the fight left in me to tell the kids to get off of the gross BART station floor haha

 All in all, we had the perfect San Francisco touring day!  That was The City growing up, so it was great fun showing it off to my kids. 

Comments

Molly said…
looks like a great day! san francisco is fun..how have i still never been to alcatraz? i never make reservations ahead of time...need to go!
July 24, 2014 at 10:03 PM
Molly said…
looks like a great day! san francisco is fun..how have i still never been to alcatraz? i never make reservations ahead of time...need to go!
July 24, 2014 at 10:03 PM
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