Tuesday, July 29, 2014

San Francisco July 2014

I was going to put our San Francisco trip and the month of July all into one post, but realized it was going to be huge so I decided to split it up.  So here it is, our trip to San Francisco . . .

A few months ago Dan found out that he was going to be spending two months in San Francisco on a work detail.  We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to take the girls on a little trip to see their daddy during the summer.  We know that Dan is traveling a lot, so anytime that we can go spend time with him is always such a great thing for me and the girls.

The first night after we flew in we walked over too the bay to take a look at the Bay Bridge.


Because Dan would be working most of the time, I decided to get City Passes for me and the girls. Our first stop on our first morning was the Exploratorium.  This place was awesome!!  So many things to see and do and play with.
The Exploritorium


A toilet drinking fountain.  I couldn't bring my self to drink out of it, haha!




The girls loved that they got to play with everything in here.





And the place was HUGE!


In the kaleidoscope room


Cool mirror!


We had lunch at the Hard Rock afterwards.  We shared some bbq ribs and chicken.





Then we wandered around Pier 39 for a bit.





Afterwards I somehow convinced my girls to climb up to Coit tower with me.  It was quite the hike, but they were troopers!!
Up we go!




A mural inside Coit tower


A picture of us from the top!


Then we started the long hike down








We made it back to the pier!  Here are my girls waiting for a bus that would never come.  We ended up walking back to the hotel.  It was a long day, but fun.



The next day was Saturday so daddy got to join us.  We started out heading back to pier 39 and getting our tickets for the Escape from the Rock cruise.

It was a little chilly this morning


Dan and the girls wanted to go on the Rocket Boat, but being that it was only 60 degrees and you got wet on this ride, I said no thank you :).

We took this boat instead!


Hannah and I stayed inside on the lower deck because it was a bit chilly, but Dan and Emma spent most the time on the upper deck.


Then we made it over to the Golden Gate Bridge and I looked over at Hannah and saw this.  Hahahahaha!  Apparently she was impressed.



Then we did a little more wondering and shopping at the pier.



There were sooooooo many people


Cool boat



Afterwards we walked down to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream!



We saw one of the places where they turn the trolleys around


And then we walked . . .


. . . up some really steep streets.


And then I realized we were passing Lombard street, so I decided to get a picture.  Not that you can see much.  I really didn't get why so many people come to this spot.  It's a curvy road people.


Then we found our name in the road!


My kids started to go crazy after the long day.



The next morning we hopped on a bus and headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge.

It looks a lot colder than it was, it really wasn't too bad this morning.


A close up of one of the cables.  These things are HUGE!


Family Pic!


Then we decided to make the walk across the bridge and back.  Again, my girls were such troopers.  Afterwards I went in the gift shop and bought them both pins that said "I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge".


Finally, lunch time.




Then we hopped on a trolley and headed back to our hotel


View from the trolley








Our hotel was right next to an old cathedral so we had to stop in an take a look.  It's amazing how quiet it can be in a church that is right in the middle of a busy city.





Monday morning Dan had to head back to work :( so me and the girls headed out to the California Academy of Sciences.  This was also a really cool place with so much to see.

A white alligator


Lots of fish


They got to touch starfish


AWESOME!!




Creepy spider in the rainforest


The roof of the building was covered in plants




We took a little break and drew some skulls in the skull exhibit



Emma was so excited when I told her she should buy this hat!!


Then we took a really long walk down to the coast to see this windmill and the beach.  If you can't tell, they weren't very happy about all the walking on this day :).


There it is, the pacific ocean!


The ocean cheered them up a bit



My girls were asking to swim every night while on vacation.  I told Dan that we didn't need to take them on any more vacations, just find somewhere with a swimming pool and they will be more than happy.  And it will be a lot cheaper. :D








Our last day in San Francisco we went to the Aquarium at the Bay.  This was the least favorite off all the things we did.  Compared to the other places we went it was very small and kind of dull.  Maybe we were a bit tired too.  We still ended up having a great day though.

Look at all those little fish!!


Emma's new buddy


Giant octopus


This was on our bed when we checked into our hotel for the last night


So there you have it.  I'm so grateful that we are able to take the girls to see all these fun things.  I just hope that they remember some it (and not just the swimming) when they get older.  Hehe

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