Playing Tourists in San Francisco

Since it was supposed to be such a nice day, we decided on a whim to drive up to San Francisco and take Ella on the pedal boats at Stow Lake. Ella knows about the pedal boats from her 1960's classic "This is San Francisco" book, as well as the more recent "Good Night San Francisco."

We also decided to use the occasion to visit one of our favorite breakfast places, which just happens to be named after our first born. Unfortunately, Ella wasn't in the mood to have her picture taken, so we have Sarah standing in instead.


Then, it was off to Stow Lake. This was an adventure in and of itself, as Golden Gate Park was packed due to the grand opening (and free) day of the Califorina Academy of Sciences. The line was literally a mile long to see the penguins and other exhibits. Unfortunately, Stow Lake happens to be fairly close to the new museum, so navigating and parking in the park was a challenge. But, we made it!

Ella couldn't reach the pedals, so Mom and Dad did all the work.



Sarah, couldn't reach the pedals either, but she looked good in a life jacket.


After Stow Lake, we felt adventuresome, and decided to take Ella to see the sea lions at Pier 39 (via crooked Lombard Street even!). We had talked about going before, but wanted to wait until Fall when all the tourists are gone. It turns out, that like the sea lions, the tourists never leave.


But, Ella had a great time watching the sea lions. She liked the "baby ones."


While we there, we happened to see one of the world's largest sailing vessels make its grand entrance into San Francisco Bay. I had read about the 289-foot Maltese Falcon in Wired Magazine and seen a piece on it on 60 minutes, but it was awesome to see in person. It's amazing what a couple hundred million dollars will buy you.