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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Exploring the bay

East coast time worked in our favor on Monday as we all woke up early and beat the crowds to Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. It seems San Fransisco isn't an early morning place. It was chilly and foggy most mornings we were there, so I can understand why the locals might want to avoid that weather and come out later when the sun is shining.
We started our day at the Aquarium of the Bay, a small aquarium devoted to study and conservation of local aquatic animals of San Francisco and neighboring waters. The aquarium is divided into three parts - Discover they Bay, Under the Bay, and Touch the Bay. Grace's interest grew as we progressed to the end. Personally, I thought the two tunnels that were meant to show the fish near the shore and in deeper waters were really cool.
But, Grace had the most fun where she could touch sharks, rays, starfish, and sea urchins.
We eventually had to coax Grace away to have lunch. It was really chilly and windy outside and she didn't want to leave the warm aquarium. We told her we would go see the sea lions at the end of Pier 39 but only a few were there. I guess they wanted to go somewhere warmer too!
Even with the wind, the pier was fun. Kyle was surprised Alcatraz was so close. It does look like you could swim it, if you happened to escape. But now we know about the cold water, strong currents, and sharks out there!
Kyle told Grace about the "jail for bad guys" and for the rest of the trip she kept talking about the place where the bad guys lived.
Our afternoon was filled with a visit to Union Square for some shopping and the Cars 2 movie. Look Nana, there is a flat iron building in SF, too!
I know it is "touristy" but we rode a double-decker bus to see the city. Miss Grace chose seats at the top of the bus all the way in the back. What windy fun we had, especially when the driver raced down some of those famous steep hills!

My favorite part was getting to see the Painted Ladies from the opening scenes of Full House. The view from Alamo Park was incredible. Now I need a tour of the inside of some of those old Victorian homes.

4 comments:

cathybcareers said...

Some good shots second day too. I forget to say I loved the tee ball shot and now the flatiron building was fun. Looks like SF is a place you can go to time and time again.
Grace, our Traveler, will always be looking for the next adventure. Good Job Mama.

Kellie said...

Keep the pictures coming....I have never been there and would love to go sometime! Looks like a fun vacation!

Phyllis said...

These brought back some fine memories...one of which was the sticky buns in the morning at Fishermans Wharf...YUMMMMMM

Carrie said...

Oh my, you guys sure do a lot of fun things! Looks like Grace is having a blast in all the pictures. I love the shots of her running. She has great running hair :) What a cutie she is - thanks for sharing.