Summer Vacation #2: San Francisco

Day Zero: SLC Airport

What was supposed to be the first day of the trip turned into an adventure in the Salt Lake City International Airport instead. We arrived at our gate at 1:30 PM for a 2:15 PM flight. What we found when we got there was a delayed flight and a plane with mechanical troubles. Not to worry though, the plane would be fixed in a jiffy and we'd be on our way. No such luck and the flight was canceled about an hour later. At which point Delta Airlines was courteous enough to book us on the 8:55 PM flight. Oh sure, I'd love to stay in the airport for another 6 hours with two kids and nothing to do. We could have left and come back home but by the time we got our car out of parking and drove home, we almost would have had to turn around to get back to the airport and get through security. Plus we had the possibility of standby for two intermediate flights and we decided to hang around to see if we'd get on one of those. Of course the chances of 4 people getting on a standby flight are ludicrous and we were forced to stay in the airport. They were gracious enough to provide $56 in meal vouchers so we ate an early dinner at Squatters (yummy!) and let the kids play in the kids area for a long time (that's the good thing about this airport and living in SLC, there are so many kids in these families here that they have play areas in almost all terminals of the airport). The kids made friends with two lovely Italian girls and we subsequently talked to the friendly parents who were also stuck with us. So thanks to the family from Bologna, the Rabbis and their two girls, Maria Christina and Cecchia (sp?) for keeping our two kiddos entertained for quite a while. Finally we took off on time and arrived in San Francisco at about 11 PM, now almost midnight for us. Then we took off on the adventure of using the BART and getting to the hotel. The BART was very popular and quite crowded for that time of night so it was not scary at all. We made it to the hotel and checked in, I was a little annoyed that we didn't get bumped up to Executive Level (spoiled me!) but they gave us free breakfast every morning so that made up for it. We then collapsed into bed where I swear no one moved a muscle until at least 9 AM! This is the view that greeted us from our window on Saturday morning.
Day One: Touring the Town
We decided to walk down to the cable car and buy our Muni passes. The cable car line was long but we waited. Keely and I went into what became her favorite store, Sephora while we waited. After about an hour I think, we finally got on a cable car and took it to the end of the line, where we took this picture.
Then we walked down towards the pier and Fisherman's Wharf. This is a picture of us in front on The Rock, barely visible in the fog and smoke of the day. Keely's cold, as would be obvious to most by her lack of desire to wear anything but summer clothes (remember, she was born in Tucson).
We then decided to tour the battleship Jeremiah O'Brien. Quinn is thrilled to get on an actual ship, even if it doesn't move.

After the ship tour, we walked back up to the wharf and picked up some fish & chips for lunch. In what seems to be commonplace, we ate on the curb in a parking lot to give our feet a rest for a few minutes. We also happened upon the Bush Man, who waits along the street hiding behind leaves to scare people. We weren't scared by him but we watched him give others a few scares. He's a SF legend, and it was fun to see him that first day -- we looked for him the rest of the trip and didn't see him again.


After eating our lunch (yummy fish!), we walked down the main road toward Ghirardelli Square. The kids were getting tired but we bribed them to walk the whole way with the promise of ice cream sundaes. This trip wouldn't be complete with them. Here's a picture of the famous ice cream shop but silly me didn't take a picture of the kids eating their sundaes. James and I shared a banana split and it was divine!

And here's a picture of us sitting outside in front of Hyde Street pier, just resting before the final trek to the cable car turnaround.

Day Two: Chinatown and More Boats
On the second day, we walked up the BIG hill to Chinatown and to visit the Cable Car Museum. We went to the fortune cookie company where we watched the ladies making the famous cookies from scratch and bought a nice big bag of them to snack on (both regular and chocolate flavors!). The Cable Car Museum is really cute, not that big but it's cool to see where the cables actually turn to keep the cars running smoothly. Riding the cable cars became not just a means of transportation but an activity for us. Next up was Lombard Street while James headed off to his symposium (the reason we were in SF in the first place). We got off the cable car at the top of the famous street and then I challenged the kids to count the steps on the way back up. Quinn got 134 steps, and it certainly kept them entertained and not complaining about walking back up. Here they are posing on the steps.
Next up was the end of the cable car line and a trip to Hyde Street Pier. For just $5 an adult (kids under 17 are free), you can tour 4 ships including a ferry boat, schooner, tug boat and pirate ship. Quinn loved them all, pirate ship best though. Keely was a good sport, though not enjoying them as much as Quinn.



After that, we walked down the pier and toured the USS Pampanito, a submarine docked in front of the Jeremiah O'Brien. This was fun (sorry I didn't take any pictures) and Quinn asked the intern on the ship lots of inquisitive questions (how fast can it go?, how many people can ride on it?). Keely's only question -- how long is this tour going to take? Her reason to ask is that she knew once it was over, she could have lunch :) Lunch was corn dogs for the kids and clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl for me...can not go to the wharf without it!

Day Three: Golden Gate Park
The last full day, we took the Muni bus (again, sans James) to see Golden Gate Park. Had I known how much walking this would involve, I would have planned differently. Nevertheless, we walked to a huge childrens' playground and then on to an interior lake called Stow Lake. There we rented a paddle boat for an hour and I paddled the kids around the lake (yes, that was good exercise for me!). After that, we walked back to the bus and took it to the end of the line which is Ocean Beach so the kids could play in the Pacific. The water was cold but we stayed for about an hour and played. Here's Quinn playing by the water...

And Keely posing for the camera, as she typically does...
That night we went down to Fishermans Wharf for a fish dinner. The kids also got to choose their souvenir. Quinn is displaying his below and Keely chose a change purse. This ship that Quinn chose had to be hand carried all the way home since we were afraid it would be crushed in the suitcase (the fortune cookies on the other hand didn't fare so well in the suitcase so that was probably a good idea!).

Day Four:
The last day was spent near the hotel in an area called South of Market. We walked around a huge park called Yerba Buena. This waterfall was fun for the kids to walk under. If you look closely, you can see them in the picture.

Then we let the kids play on this nice large playground for a while. They loved this long slide and went down in over and over. Quinn challenged me to get pictures of them when they came out at the bottom.

Keely always seemed to come down on her belly...


After that, we headed back to the hotel to grab the luggage and take the BART back to the airport. Luckily, the plane was on time and we all made it home in one piece. It was good to be back home and we had a fun trip! Next time I visit SF, it won't be in June...too much gloomy weather but it's a fun city. Very easy to get around and lots to see and do, regardless of age!