Beaches and more beaches

The day after big Brother graduated Kindergarten, we headed to the beach. My kids love Marmaduke (the movie) in which they move to the OC. So, when we landed in California, Big Brother asked, "Is this the OC?" Just made us laugh a bit!

Our first few hours there, we headed to Huntington Beach. It was actually cold and very windy, but we had to see the beach after preparing and traveling all day to get there!

After a walk on the boardwalk, we found our favorite restaurant from Hawaii. It's called Duke's. In addition to locations on the different Islands, they have 2 in California. It's fantastic- I love the fish tacos and we all loved the Hula Pie. It was gone so fast, I couldn't even get a photo snapped. Little Brother said it was the best restaurant ever. Here he is above with a mac-n-cheese mustache. 

The next day, Kevin was working. I was on my own with the boys for my first time ever in California and one of my first times driving a rental car. I found my way to a Walmart, picked up buckets, shovels, towels and snacks, and we made our way to the tide pools in Laguna Beach. We saw tons of snails, crabs, and even some lobster that were washed up and eaten by the seagulls. We found a few small fish and when the kids got bored, we headed over to splash in the ocean.

We picked up Kevin after his meetings were done and headed down to San Diego. We stopped in La Jolla to visit the seals and do some sight seeing. The kids really loved it.

The next day we hung out on Coronado Island- one of our most favorite places on earth. It was a beautiful, relaxing day- the beach, our favorite ice cream place and a sweet little town. The only non-relaxing (is that a word?) part was a bicycle ride around the island. The boys hung out in the basket up front, while Kevin and I pedaled them around for an hour. Easier said than done!

Our last beach day was spent at Mission Beach. It was a cold, gray morning, so we walked along the beach, writing messages in the sand. Eventually it warmed up and the kids made more castles, found more shells, and ran through a zillion more waves. We relaxed!

Spent the evening with old friends from our high-school days that live on Mission Beach. Had great pizza and fun at their house afterwards. (No Pictures, though!)

Our last day was spent at Legoland. That's a post in itself...

Book Review!

I need to take a break from Vacation Photos and share something that I've loved! It has been a very long time since I've read a book. Sadly, I read to the boys every night, but find myself wasting hours on the internet or in front of the television! So, with 4 long flights and some time on my hands on vacation, I read three books! 

Let me preface this by saying- I haven't written a book review since high school and even then, I was forced to do it! I know I won't do these justice, but the last one, especially, is definitely worth reading!

First, there is my always favorite, easy to read, author- Nicholas Sparks. I usually read his books as soon as they come out, but this one has been waiting over a year for me. It was true to his style and a good fast read. I always feel like I'm watching a movie while I read his books. It's the story of a woman who is hiding from a past life and struggling to start a new one. It's got love, suspense, romance, and is probably going to me a movie someday (just like his other books!)

Next, came Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua. It is an autobiography of a chinese-american mom who describes her ways of raising her two daughters. Oh My Gosh! If you want to feel a little better about your parenting approach, you should read this! I was really amazed at how much she shared and the struggles they had. Not my favorite book, but pretty good nonetheless.

Lastly, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This is by far the best book I've ever read. It's over 500 pages and I couldn't put it down. I read it in record time and every night I am sad that I'm done with it. It's a story of a young girl who lives in a poor neighborhood in Munich, Germany during the reign of Hitler. She doesn't have much, but her most prized possessions are her books, many stolen, some gifted to her. I've always enjoyed books (fiction and non-fiction) that covered this era in history. I really enjoyed the perspective from which he wrote this book. A fresh look at the struggle of the Jews and the Germans who didn't really buy into Hitler's propoganda. All in all, I was really sad when I finished the book. I know it will be on my "favorites list" for a long time to come.

San Francisco: Conclusion

Since it's been 2 full weeks since we got home, I figured it was about time to wrap this up! On our 3rd day of the trip, we scheduled a tour that included the Muir Forest (Redwood trees) and Sonoma wine country. After all the walking we'd done, a day on a tour bus sounded pretty good!

We thought we were visiting were those huge Redwoods that you can drive through, but apparently that's quite a bit north of where we were. These were still Redwoods- just the super tallest ones. Still neat in their own way and only a short drive from San Francisco. What a change in climate, though.

Next, we were off to two wineries in Sonoma. We are not big wine drinkers, but it was a great time. We learned a lot about the process of making wine and enjoyed several types we tried! 

These oak barrels are from France and some are over $6,000 per barrel! Who knew?

At our 2nd stop- Cline Winery

The house in the distance belongs to the Jacuzzi Family- the one who invented Jacuzzi's. Now, they run a winery.

Our last stop of the day was to see the Golden Gate Bridge. He got us a pretty great view!

On our last full day, we walked around San Francisco a ton more! I was determined to see the victorian houses, but there were no buses or trolleys out that way. So, Kevin being a good sport and I took a very long walk to see them. 

Still not sure if it was worth it, but it was a beautiful, more relaxed part of town.

I loved seeing doors like the one above. We couldn't quite figure out if the doors were there first or the sidewalks. Either way, what a pain to get in and out of your house that way! We spent the afternoon in Little Italy (North Beach) and I loved the way the posts were all painted so you knew you were in Little Italy. 

Finished off the day (hiding from the cold wind) in this beautiful church. On one wall, they had many pages from very old Bibles. The one below was an Italian translation of Job from 1217.

It took a couple of days to get my normal home routine out of my head. I kept thinking what my mom and kids were doing while we were out and about the town. Finally, I was able to just enjoy the time away and I'm so grateful that my mom spoiled my kids and allowed us to get away on a much needed little escape from home! Thanks Mom!

 

Here she is getting a much deserved massage when we got home! 

She even offered to do this every 6 months for us. You don't have to ask me twice! Just gotta decide where to next!

San Francisco: Day Two (2nd Half)

Well, if you're still reading this I know you must be my mom or you are suffering insomnia! Either way, here is more for your viewing pleasure!

We stopped off at the Cable Car Museum (hang on there - I know it's getting exciting!) I had told Kevin before going that I didn't need to go to the Museum. But, it was free after all and it ended up being pretty interesting.

This is actually the cable that the trolley cars grab on to in order to be pulled up the hills of San Francisco. There are 4 lines- each labeled above.

This is a closer view of one of the cables.

They are in constant motion. In order for the cable cars to stop, they let go of the line and to go they have to grab back on. Pretty loud in there too.

Just down the hill we found China Town. I had read in my handy-dandy tourist book that there was a Fortune Cookie Factory to visit. We walked and walked and couldn't find this factory. I was imagining a factory, when in fact it was a small little store back in a dark alley way that was a bit wider than an arm span. There were 3 little ladies next to a very hot machine that was turning out these flat pancake-like cookies. They would then fold them on a metal rod and cool them in a pan. They charged 50 cents for each photo. Glad my first one was good enough!

More sights from China Town...

The thing that most surprised me in San Francisco is that you literally walk across the street and you go from China Town to Banana Republic and Gucci stores!

After a rest in the room, we headed out to dinner and ended the night with a couple of drinks at the bar of a Jazz club. They had great music and we were practicing up for our wine tour early the next morning!

Not the greatest quality picture- due to lighting, not the drinks :) We got a good laugh about the white straight-laced suited piano player. He just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the band!

 Are you still there Mom? Thanks for reading this!

San Francisco: Day Two (First Half)

According to the title, this could get long!

We started our 2nd day at Alcatraz. This was one of the things I was really looking forward to doing on this trip and it turned out to be a favorite of my weekend. The history of Alcatraz is very interesting (but not interesting enough to make you read about right now!).

The city view from the ferry

View of Alcatraz from the ferry

The entrance to Alcatraz. The Indians took over after it closed as a prison. Their welcome is still painted on the entrance.

Where the inmates received their uniforms.

Where they showered (bet you were hoping to see that!)

An inmate's cell

Some notorious inmates

The cell of an inmate who may have escaped Alcatraz. 

The 5 inmates who escaped made replica faces to fool the guards. This was one of them.

The kitchen- the knives were painted on so they would know which (if any) were missing.

Took these for the kids. Kevin thinks I was crazy for smiling in the cell!

What once was a house to the worst criminals is now a safe haven for nesting birds.

After Alcatraz, we had lunch at a little cart off the road (no- I am not joking) at Fisherman's Wharf. We had Clam Chowder and Fish and Chips. When you see the crates of crabs below you might see why I was a little nervous about our lunch, but it really was very good and nobody was sick later in the day!

The seals at Pier 39. Fun to watch, but smelly!