We decided to take advantage of a little lull in Kirt's work and spend a long weekend exploring California. We left early Thursday morning and drove straight to the Bay area. We spent the rest of the day and part of Friday morning at Fisherman's Wharf, a trolley ride to Chinatown, a drive down Lombard Street, and a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge. Vacations always mean food, so it included a visit to Taylor's on Embarcadero, clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl from Boudin's, Tricia's mini donuts (twice) and peppermint hot chocolate.
We have been to San Francisco at least 5 times and at least 3 of those visits were in July. We always forget that it is freezing, no matter what time of year. The fog over the bridge just seemed to add to the experience.
Chinatown was more tricky to navigate this time. The streets are lined with little nick-nack shops with merchandise spilling out onto the sidewalks. The kids had to grab at the samurai swords at every. single. store.
Friday we drove down to Santa Cruz. They have this great boardwalk on the beach with lots of rides and carnival food. (I still haven't had a fried twinkie or oreo - are they any good?) We couldn't figure out why there were so many people there that day. Parking was a nightmare and when we finally made it to the boardwalk we discovered that we were there on Free Concert Friday. The headliner was Eddy Money - let's just say there were a lot of acid wash, perms, feathered bangs and I may have seen some L.A. Gears with 4 colors of neon laces in them.
This carousel has an added feature. The riders are supposed to reach up and grab a metal ring from the arm that drops down and try to toss it in the clown's mouth. It was oddly fascinating to watch the people and their intensity as some people tried to grab 2 or 3 rings at a time.
Saturday we drove down the coast a little further to San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. It's a long windy road down Highway 1 and most of it is along a cliff. Cal was not a fan, but it's always a beautiful drive. Sunday we stopped in Solvang, which is an interesting little Danish village just north of Santa Barbara. We had our first taste of aebleskivers (pancake cooked into a ball) and I think we'll be back on one of our food tours down the California coast.
All in all it was a great trip and ended like this. Owen and Tessa were so sweet with each other watching out for one another as we walked from lunch in Santa Barbara. I hope they spend more time like this as they get older.
We have been to San Francisco at least 5 times and at least 3 of those visits were in July. We always forget that it is freezing, no matter what time of year. The fog over the bridge just seemed to add to the experience.
Chinatown was more tricky to navigate this time. The streets are lined with little nick-nack shops with merchandise spilling out onto the sidewalks. The kids had to grab at the samurai swords at every. single. store.
Friday we drove down to Santa Cruz. They have this great boardwalk on the beach with lots of rides and carnival food. (I still haven't had a fried twinkie or oreo - are they any good?) We couldn't figure out why there were so many people there that day. Parking was a nightmare and when we finally made it to the boardwalk we discovered that we were there on Free Concert Friday. The headliner was Eddy Money - let's just say there were a lot of acid wash, perms, feathered bangs and I may have seen some L.A. Gears with 4 colors of neon laces in them.
This carousel has an added feature. The riders are supposed to reach up and grab a metal ring from the arm that drops down and try to toss it in the clown's mouth. It was oddly fascinating to watch the people and their intensity as some people tried to grab 2 or 3 rings at a time.
Saturday we drove down the coast a little further to San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. It's a long windy road down Highway 1 and most of it is along a cliff. Cal was not a fan, but it's always a beautiful drive. Sunday we stopped in Solvang, which is an interesting little Danish village just north of Santa Barbara. We had our first taste of aebleskivers (pancake cooked into a ball) and I think we'll be back on one of our food tours down the California coast.
All in all it was a great trip and ended like this. Owen and Tessa were so sweet with each other watching out for one another as we walked from lunch in Santa Barbara. I hope they spend more time like this as they get older.
3 comments:
Fried Twinkies are soooo yummy! Very sweet, but really good. Don't bother with the fried Pop Tarts. No so good. I've got to try the fried Snickers this year.
I think jono and I would both agree that aebleskivers are NOT just pancakes cooked into balls. cute pic of tess and owen.
Wow, that was quite the blog catch-up. It looks like you guys are having a great summer.
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