Day 3 of our Trip: In the City

The Saturday that we were visiting Don & Kaylen we had plans to take the BART into San Francisco for the day.
We had no concrete plans, we just figured we would explore a bit and see where the day takes us.
Here we are making our way to the train station to buy our tickets.

Waiting for the train.

I think both girls were a little bit nervous, not knowing what to expect.

And then once they were in their seats, they thought it was pretty cool to be on the train.

First thing we did when we got off was find a restroom for one of the little people.

I can't tell you how sick of using public restrooms I get when traveling with kids.  And I can't count how many times I say "No, don't touch that! Stop! Get up! Don't sit down right there! Do not play with that.  Knock that off!  Keep your hands by your sides! Stop touching things!"  Sigh.  Hopefully one day they will learn about the nasty germs lurking in those places.  

Turns out it was an unseasonably sunny and warm day for the city.  And a Saturday at that.
So to say it was a bit crowded was an understatement.
Holy smokes.
I didn't even use my slr because I was too concerned about keeping my eyes on the girls before they disappeared into the crowds of people.
We walked halfway to Pier 39 and decided the girls were getting too cranky and tired and hot to finish the walk.  
So the boys hailed a bike taxi for us women and children and they walked the rest of the way.

Pier 39 was even crazier crowded.

So we put our name in for lunch at Wipeout and ate outside on the patio.

The girls had gotten super cranky and whiney by that point, and when our food came, they scarfed down every last drop on their plates, and their moods instantly turned around.

Oops, I guess they were just starving.

After lunch Hannah wanted to jump on the bunji trampoline so we stood in line for her to do that.

I wasnt' sure if she'd like it or not.  She seemed a little hesitant at first but once she got out there she was loving it.

All smiles the whole time.
Claire was not up for trying that sort of nonsense. ;)

Not too many seals out on the docks.

We spotted our same bike taxi guy to give us a ride back to where we started from. 

This pic makes me laugh because Don & Kaylen's taxi rider was such a crack up.  Fun talking to those guys though.

Second time on the BART and these girls were like pros.
Hannah didn't even want to sit this time, she wanted to stand and hold onto the rail. 

The girls were pretty worn out after all that,

so we wound up going back to swim and then ordering pizza and salads for dinner.

It was so much fun to finally get to visit these guys!

We loved having them show us around and we hope it's not too long before we get to go and visit again!

Next time we'd like to:

- of course visit Hog Island again

-Point Reyes Lighthouse

-trolley ride in the city

-visit Alcatraz (Mr. H and I have been but the kids were very interested and wanted to go which surprised us both.  Next time.)

-boat ride in the bay

-try a blue bottle coffee

-eat at The Dead Fish, or the place next to it that Don told me about

Oh boy, this list looks kinda long now that I wrote it out.  We might have to stay for a week DON! :))))))

Our Visit with Don & Kaylen in San Francisco: Day 1 & 2

Last Thursday morning we took off on our road trip.

We left the house at 6:30am, heading to Walnut Creek to visit my cousin Don and his wife Kaylen.

The night before I put together these binders filled with paper, coloring books, pencil pouches with post it notes, crayons and pens, princess stickers, and white board markers and a white erase board from the dollar bins at Target.  And also some colored hair extenstion clips, because who doesn't love that? ;)

I made up a scavenger hunt checklist for the drive.  I wasn't sure if they'd be too into that or not, but they both kept busy with that list the whole drive.  Hannah especially loved it. 

Buckled up with their new binders and ready to go.

Mr. H and I weren't quite ready until we got our jumbo coffees from the gas station.  

Hannah made good use of her white board and about 2 hours into our drive she showed us this.  We were cracking up.  Poor kid.  I can't even tell you how many times she asked "Are we there yet?  How many more minutes until we are there? Is it time for lunch?  How much longer until lunch?"

But eventually, we made it there. 
Aside from the famous "are we there yet?" question that we got asked 99 bazillion times, the drive really wasn't that bad.  We got there about 4pm.
My cousin Don was still at work, but Kaylen gave us a nice warm welcome.  Her dining room table was covered with gifts for the girls.  They were so excited to see pool toys and chalk and coloring books, and hello kitty hair bows! So nice of them. 

We took the girls to the pool to burn off some of their energy from that car ride and it was the perfect thing.
When Don got home from work we bbq'd burgers and just hung out.

After breakfast the next morning, we all piled into a roomy SUV that Don's friend let him borrow for the day so that we could all ride together, and we headed off on our adventure.

Our first stop was to see the Golden Gate Bridge.
Hannah is actually the one who wanted to be sure that we were going to see the bridge.  That girl cracks me up.  We are always saying that she's like an old wise soul inside this 6 year old's body.
Recently one morning Mr. Hass came downstairs to leave for work at 5:30am and Hannah was laying on the couch watching the news. He asked what she was doing up, and she just said "Hey Dad, did you know it's only 33 in Big Bear right now and it's already 75 in Palm Springs.  It's gonna be a nice day."  

It was nice and sunny but it was super windy and cool at the Bay Overlook.  

Our little history buff Hannah also really enjoyed exploring Battery Spencer which is right next to the bridge.  Actually, I think we all enjoyed it.

It was neat to go inside the bungalows and try to imagine what it might have been like for the soldiers who were stationed there during war times.  

 In that pic above is where the cannons once were.  

It was also a fun place to pose for pictures.  

As much as the girls didn't want to leave we had to get them back in the car because we were driving onward to Hog Island.  But first we stopped in a cute little town called Point Reyes.

We bought breads and cheeses and delicious sandwhiches and mac n cheese and olives at the Cowgirl Creamery.  What a neat store.  I could have stayed there much longer than we were but the girls weren't too into that.

Don & Kaylen had gone to Hog Island and when I saw Kaylen's pictures I said I want to go there when we visit!!!

And I am SO glad we did.

Hog Island is an oyster farm with gorgeous views overlooking the bay.

And the oysters were Ahhhhhh-mazing!!!!!
We had them raw and also bbq'd.  
Both were great, but the flavors of the chipotle sauce on the bbq'd oysters was just out of this world.
Hmmmm, I must have them again some day.

You can bring in your own food and drink and even bbq it yourself.
We wound up having them just bbq our hotdogs for us and we ate our goods from Cowgirl Creamery and sat back and just enjoyed the views.

The pictures don't even do it justice.

I could have sat there smiling all day.

I loved the baskets at each table for the shucked oyster shells.

I think the grown ups could have happily sat there much longer enjoying our beverages, but the antsy kiddos were ready to get on the move.
So we made the hour and a half trek back home.
After another car ride the kids needed to move.
So we went for a walk with Gracie (I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Gracie.  Their sweet puppy that the girls would not leave alone for one minute) to get ice cream and run around outside.

After the girls went to bed we opened up a bottle of wine from Ehler's winery in Napa.  This was my very favorite place that we tasted at during our anniversary trip last year.  We bought wines from each winery we tasted at and absolutely loved this wine.  We've been saving it for the right moment, and it was great fun to enjoy it with Don & Kaylen.  

How much do you love that lazy susan on their table huh?

I love it a lot.

It's designed by an artist that sells her pieces in Laguna Beach at the  neatest place called Sticks.  

I told Mr. H that I think our table realllllllly needs a lazy susan from Sticks.  :)

And then we played Redneck Life.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Have you played that yet?

It's a crack up.

That's all for now.

I'll be back with more of our adventures from Day 3 soon.

I'm off to chill with my favorite guy.

Peace Out.