Boats, ships and submarines

So we are just back today at about 8:30pm - it is still light - but we are all weary from a long day of all things maritime.

First on the agenda was the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. We were treated to a great tour of several ships - the Eureka (side wheel ferry originally built in 1890), the Hercules (steam powered tug boat), and the Balclutha (square rigged ship built in 1886, a favourite of mine and the children).This took most of the day, exploring all these vessels.

Sitting in the beautiful wooden seats on the Eureka

We headed off for Pier 45, and happened upon the Musee de Mecanique http://www.museemechanique.org/

What the???

That's more like it!

Sheesh! Grrr!

Pier 45 - USS Pampanito (submarine) and WWII Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien:
By this time I was thoroughly over boats moving on water ... Still, the kids had a blast, and I lost a bet that Ken would bang his head on the short doorways of the submarine - you can usually bank on this happening, but today was not my day for betting! Oliver was in gadget heaven. Sadly, the kids were very taken with the cannon, torpedos and guns - mother was not impressed.

On the deck of the USS Pampanito

Looking through a grate in the flooring in the largest open space on the whole darn submarine!

Fun on the roomier Liberty Ship

Speaks for itself really. Liberty Ship

Benedict turns 5, and a visit to Muir Wood

So, Benedict turned 5 and wanted a spiderman cake ...

New York baked cheesecake, with spider web like patterns on top, and Spiderman himself shoved in the cake! Ben enjoyed sucking the cheesecake off his feet :)

We ventured out in the huge Dodge 'Caravan' vehicle/car/huge thingy. We took turns driving (although Ken has nerves of steel and did far more driving than I did). I did however get to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge - which was nerve-wrackingly cool. We eventually found ourselves at Muir Wood after a winding drive along California 1/US 101 http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm. What a glorious place. Even standing in front of the enormous trees it was difficult to believe just how tall they are, or indeed how old they are. The weather once again was glorious and lent itself to a great morning of wandering through the beautiful reds and greens of the wood. The children completed their workbooks and were sworn in as Junior Park Rangers (raising their right hands and swearing to look after the plants and animals!) and received a patch and badge. Very sweet.

The swearing in of the new Park Rangers

Afterward, we had a lovely picnic lunch at the Bay Model Museum - a working scale model of San Francisco Bay and the fresh water inflow from inland California.

To finish the day, we drove to Marin Headlands.

Some photos from Muir wood - Ken was photographer

The learning never ends! :)

This tree was 1021 years old when it finally fell down

Tall sprouts

Oli and a hollow log!

Best sisters

Oh exercise, how I have missed you!

So tonight I went for a lovely long run.
Then I did a zumba class - and was invited to take a track! Woot woot! (For those in the know, I did 'Pegate') Sergio Flores of Daly City is my new best Zumba friend! He was so welcoming, and I was asked back which is nice :)
Then I ran home.
I feel so normal!

end of class photo

Sergio's 'crazy' zumba photo

SF Zoo and the animals in my family

San Francisco Zoo - superb weather, a great day out.

Benedict squashing something

monkeys...

A larger monkey ...

and ... you guessed it! :)

All the kids loved the pink birds! We couldn't leave until all four kids had practised standing on one leg!

There were many young students helping at the zoo, providing plenty of interaction for the children with the animals.

Sophia the butterfly

Oliver was so fascinated by the bees and their sound

Tired parents

The only bear they will be riding these holidays!

"Miss 10!"

Ken's take on the Cable Car Museum - from TripAdvisor

  "An interesting 30min or so"
Us: Fairly cosmopolitan family from Australia, with 4 kids (4 to 10 years of age).
Cost: Free! About 30min of touring time.


The Cable Car Museum is a small display-based museum, built around the powerhouse that drives the underground cables. There are some minor interactive things (peepshows about San Francisco history driven by quarters), but in general the museum consists of text to be read or pictures/items to be looked at. Main topics are the introduction and antecedents to the cable cars, the technology of the cable cars, the heyday of the cable car system, the Great Fire, and the decline of the system.

Without the kids I would have lingered a little longer and enjoyed the museum more. Generally, I quite enjoy passive museum displays, especially if there is primary material on display - it means that I can reflect on how a museum's contents expand my own understand of a given subject. In this case, I was astonished by the map that showed just how much of central San Francisco was destroyed by the earthquake and fire in 1906 (ie. all of it west of Van Ness, pretty much). 

However, being on "kid patrol", I was more trying to prevent the rugrats from looting the shop or touching the "do not touch" items than being able to engross myself to the level I wanted to.

Although the displays did not mean much to the kids, the machinery-minded boys loved seeing the huge drive wheels and cables, and promptly grasped the cable car system after a few minutes in the museum. From that point onwards, they have been peering down into the tracks on (busy) San Franciscan streets listening and looking for the drive cables.

OVERALL: Given it is free, I strongly recommend taking a peek in this museum if you are in the area (ie. Chinatown) and have a little free time. Adults might appreciate the displays; kids might appreciate the impressive machinery. But this is not a "must-see" if your time is limited. 

Sorry Benny, it doesn't turn!

Yes - we are working on Oli's "photo face".

How to hypnotize an Oliver

Alcatraz

So yesterday was a huge day. We headed off for Alcatraz, and spent a fantastic day there. The kids filled in the National Parks workbook (Alcatraz is cared for now by the National Parks) and received their first Junior Ranger badge. We were all taken with the place - it was fascinating, and our guide was super, telling us many stories of the guards' families who lived there, and the daily routine of the place. We took a picnic lunch, and unlike the other day when we picnicked in the freezing cold, this day was glorious. We meandered through Pier 39 afterward - incredibly touristy - but our destination of the Ghirardelli chocolate store was very rewarding. The sea lions at the pier were a sight to behold, as was Oliver's impersonation of them - grunting and drooling included!

Today (Sunday) was Pride Day in SF. We began our day by attending mass at Grace Cathedral, followed by sushi for lunch - the food here in SF is so fresh and clean ... we are making the most of it before we head into 'steak land'. By chance we visited Julie's shoe mecca (see image below). To get back to the Children's Creativity Museum we had to head downtown past the crowds of the Pride parade. The children wanted to know what the party was all about, so we gave a potted version for them. Though I think the colourfully adorned people (and those who seemed to forget to adorn themselves with anything to wear) filled in the gaps for the kids. A lady handed Benedict a placard which he gratefully accepted (he had no darned idea what was going on) and waved it madly at people who thought he was cute! Hilarious! Victoria on the other hand knew exactly what was going on, and was very unsure of herself. All things were made better in the end with an ice-cream and carousel ride at the Creativity Museum.

On the ferry to Alcatraz

Alcatraz - land officially given back to the Indian people
(Ken: A few years after the prison closed, Indian protesters occupied the abandoned site for 19 months.  Even though they were evicted eventually, this period is now memorialised as part of the National Park.  Still, you have to admire the chutzpah of the protesters offering to buy Alcatraz Island from the federal government for $24 of beads and blankets!)

We forgot to lock the darned door, and they followed us home!

The beautiful and welcoming Grace Cathedral

After sushi, the kids saw these sculptures and had to sit with them

Oh, why oh, why did I not save more money before leaving home! These shoes are fab!!!!

Yeah for me! I am too cute!!

Sheer joy as Oliver descends the huge slide at the Creativity Museum.

Just because :)

Kids like!

Ken's take on Chinatown - from TripAdvisor

“What you would expect - with a great guide!”

Us: Fairly cosmopolitan family from Australia, with 4 kids (4 to 10 years of age).
Cost: $180 for a two hour tour, then a dim sum/yum cha lunch.

The tour consisted of Linda Lee showing us around Chinatown, with some brief stops (5-10 minutes each) to explain some of the highlights of the area, and for Linda to provide some anecdotes about growing up in Chinatown.

In general, the tour was pitched at a fairly basic level; for my wife and I, with many friends from Asian backgrounds in Australia, there were only a few surprises in the tour and the meal.

A couple of things pushed this tour above the average. Firstly, our guide, Linda, was genuinely friendly and attentive to those in her group - she tailored her presentation to those present quite well. Her anecdotes were amusing, and her impersonations of her relatives were the spitting images (toothpicks in teeth and all) of several of my friends' extended family members. Secondly, Linda was able to engage well with our kids and had excellent props - even the younger pair found several things of interest that they continue to animatedly describe.

The main downside was the cost. The yum cha was reasonable value (I think - I am used to Australian prices) at $80, but the tour seemed a little steep at $100. Especially compared to the almost-as-good guided tours provided by the volunteers at San Francisco City Guides. Still Linda WAS excellent, and I certainly don't begrudge her for making a living providing this service.

OVERALL: A solid tour, pitched at those new to (genuine) Chinese culture and cuisine. Content as expected, tour guide significantly better than average, cost perhaps a little high.

I'm not sure what was so exciting standing to the left of Julie ...

The tour group outside the Chinese Benevolent Society.

Yum!  Free (unrolled) fortune cookie samples!

Golden Gate Bridge

Ok - I am a wee bit miffed. I was so looking forward to the 'endless summer' this year! Instead it was Arctic cold here today. Winds blowing a gale and dropping temperatures enough to make my ears ache! We bravely headed out anyway for THE bridge. Everyone on the bus laughed as we approached our destination and the kids all spotted the bridge at once - all crying out, "The Bridge! The Bridge!"
We joined a guided tour that was very informative (the kids patiently stood through that!) then we walked across the bridge dodging people jogging, serious cyclists on a mission, and zigzagging tourist cyclists - all highly dangerous! 
After a hastily eaten lunch in the cold, we retreated to the warmth of the Exploratorium afterward. Another wonderland for kids! See pictures below.

Darling Sophia and THAT bridge!

Watching a tornado form at the Exploratorium

Benedict's huge bubble!

Cccccccooooooollllllllddddddd!!!!!! oh, and the Golden Gate Bridge

Stop film animation!

Yesterday saw us visiting the Children's Creativity Museum SF - wow! It is an awesome set up. Ken and the girls quickly set off for the stop film animation - and emerged two hours later triumphant film makers! They modelled their figures, plotted their stories, then filmed - the results were emailed through to us in MP4 format, and were enjoyed by all. If you would like a copy just email us, pay the affordable fee of $25.99, and we will send it to you! It will be worth every penny!

Benedict, Oliver and myself were occupied in the under 6s room playing with magnets, making videos of ourselves sliding down slippery-dips, and inventing new creatures on the available ipads. The best part - riding the huge carousel afterwards!

Sophia with her clay figurines for her motion picture extravaganza!

Victoria and Ken filming their movies

Oliver and Benedict on the lego wall at the Creativity Museum