26 March 2023 - It was the first Sunday of the kids' spring break, and we spent the morning getting the house and our stuff ready for our trip to San Francisco tomorrow. We said goodbye to Roary and Robin, then headed for Milwaukee. We charged up in Madison, and had an uneventful ride overall. We met Steve and Vicky at the Best Western by the airport at 3:30 pm. the kids grabbed their swim stuff while Nick parked the car. Felix didn't swim long, because he got a bloody nose that took a while to stop. We ordered some pizzas for delivery, then I joined Iris in the pool area. She was having fun swimming. We had connecting rooms and all ate together once the Toppers arrived. We wound down after that and the lights were out by 8:00 pm.
27 March - 3:30 am came way too early, but I got up and got ready. Nick and the kids followed suit, then we were off to catch the airport shuttle at 4:15 am. It was pretty painless to check our bags and go through security. Unfortunately, few places were open, so I paid $27 for waters and breakfast bars for me and the kids (ouch). We got on the plane - sitting near the wing to do two rows of three - Iris, me, Nick / Vicky, Steve, Felix. Our first leg was from Milwaukee to Phoenix on Southwest, which would have had enough time between flights, but we lost a half hour to deicing. Oh well, safety first. Nick and I tried to nap on the 3.5-hour flight. Iris got antsy the last hour. Then we had to do a mad dash from Concourse C to the end of Concourse D to catch our flight to San Francisco. There was our exercise! We made our way ahead so we could let the gate know Steve and Vicky were on their way too. Got on, got seats together again, this time near the back. 1.75-hour flight with interesting scenery. Iris's ears bothered her a lot during the descent. :( We deplaned to a surprisingly clear day. We got our luggage, made our way to the air train to get to the rental car place. Found that we had to take a shuttle from there... We landed around 11 am and finally left in our Pacifica rental around 1 pm. We picked up some McDonald's to ease hunger pains. From there, we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge to see it and drive across it. Busy traffic, as expected, nice clear views. It was about 2 pm when we crossed back, so we decided to head to our Airbnb (923 Florida St) to park, stow our bags and walked the many blocks to KitTea. We reserved an hour in the cat café (on the kids' to-do list since we missed an opportunity in Milwaukee). Most of the cats were sleepy while we were there, but the kids enjoyed it. From there, we walked to an Irish pub (The Napper Tandy) for a drink and an early dinner. Iris was struck by a wave of homesickness that I tried to talk her through. Looking at pictures of our kitties helped. After dinner, we picked up some groceries and headed back. Everyone did their own thing at the house. Iris went on the trampoline in the backyard (joined by Felix later) while I met and visited Ina (who lives downstairs) and the various house pets (dogs Stella & Mango, cats Cupcake & Cookie). The kids were too loud outside, so I sent them in. Everything quieted after that. I'm trying to stay up until 9 pm.
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| 27 March highlights |
28 March - I had to wear earplugs to sleep last night because someone's snoring was so loud. I woke around 7 am and got up at 7:30. Nick and I showered, then went to pick up coffees nearby. Felix made everyone omelets with some trial and error on the gas stove. There was a pretty steady rain in the morning that looked to continue all day. Iris wanted to do the California Academy of Sciences. Felix took some convincing. We got there around 10:30 am, bought our (pricy) tickets and spent the next two hours looking at the exhibits. Iris wanted to do (and was subsequently frightened by) the earthquake simulator. (A young schoolboy fainted while we were getting in line, so that was interesting...) We spent most of our collective time looking at all the aquarium exhibits. We were feeling hungry when we got through, but the cafeteria line was long. We got the kids each a chocolate bar to tide them over, then headed out. I wanted to take the family over to the Japanese Tea Garden, but when we walked over, it was closed due to the rain. :( We walked back to the car and headed to 9th St, where we parked and found a place for lunch - Gordo's Taqueria. After a filling lunch, we trudged back across the street. Iris wanted to go in the magic shop there. It was busy, so I left Nick and Felix with her and check out the gift shop next door with Steve and Vicky. We didn't shop long, then we headed back to the house. It felt good to change out of wet socks. I'm writing this from the couch in the alcove adjacent to the kitchen and backyard while listening to the rain fall (and Steve read off menu items to Vicky). We streamed the UW Men's basketball NIT semifinal game. Nick and I left the kids with Steve and Vicky, then took the half-hour walk to Monk's Kettle on 16th, which Nick wanted to try. (Note - walk down Valencia, not Mission...) We got seats at the bar and each ordered a beer new to us (I got Death & Taxes by Moonlight; Nick got Damnation by Russian River) and we ordered dinner (kale salad for me because when in Rome; chicken sandwich for Nick). We had a nice chat, enjoying the bustle of the bar. For our second beers, I got Gallagher's Best Bitter cask ale by Freewheel and Nick got Gouden Carolus Tripel by Het Anker. It was starting to get dark as we finished, so we took that as our cue to go. We bought a couple cans to take with us (Allagash White and Chonk by Ghost Town). We stopped at a market to pick up more breakfast stuff, then headed back to unwind. Called it a night early.
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| 28 March highlights |
29 March - We found out that the waste trucks come by this neighborhood three times, starting at 4:30 am. I was done with sleeping by the time the third came at 7 am. We spent a quiet morning eating what was at hand and got coffee brewing. We got ready for what was already shaping up to be another rainy day. We left the house around 10 am and drove up to our Fisherman's Wharf parking garage. We made our way west a bit in the rain. Nick, Felix, Steve and Vicky went to look at the WWII ships moored nearby, while Iris and I went to Museé Méchanique. We found a pinball machine with a free credit (score!), then walked around looking at the old arcade games and antique Wurlitzers and mechanical players. The others joined us, and I gave each kid $1 in quarters. Iris did whack-a-mole and an arm-wrestling game. Felix spent money on a bad pun (quarter pounder with fries) and did pretty well playing an antique baseball game. From there, we used some foul toilets (the building smelled strongly of dead fish and there was no toilet paper). We improved our moods heading across the street for lunch at The Chowder Hut. We enjoyed our bread bowls with chowder (though Felix got a burger) under awnings and heaters, so it wasn't so bad outside. Given that it was about noon, we walked toward Pier 39. We went into a souvenir shop to avoid a downpour, then headed to see the sea lions (stopping at a shop for lefties with Iris & Vicky - the kids got cheap umbrellas). The rain let up a bit while we got to the sea lion viewing area, and we got nice atmospheric pictures of Alcatraz and San Francisco. From there, we headed to Pier 33 to board our ferry to Alcatraz. Iris got progressively crankier with every wet step, to the point where I bribed her with socks afterward to keep her going. Things improved slightly when we were actually on the ferry and out of the rain. We made our way off the ferry once we reached the island and headed up, up, up to the prison block. There, we did the audio tour, which was interesting and informative (even the kids were engaged). It also kept us out of the rain. We took a while getting through the gift shop. Felix wanted a baseball, then a book in German, then a key, then settled on a multi-tool pen. Iris took a (surprising) pass on things. We headed back out to the south part of the island, endured another downpour, then went down to stand in line for the 3:45 pm ferry back. Felix was annoyed by the group of older teens amusing themselves by singing pop and Hebrew songs. We weren't sure we would make it on, but the ferry could hold a lot of passengers. We got a coffee to share and a pretzel to perk up Iris on the ride back. Since I promised socks, Iris and I headed off first to go to Pier 39 where I found a sock store. I got myself some warm ones, some hummingbird socks, and ones that matched my feelings about the rain. I got Iris fuzzy toe socks. We met back up and headed to the car. Nick dropped us off at a nearby Trader Joe's, where we picked up some pasta and sauce to make for dinner. We found ourselves near Lombard Street and decided to make a detour to drive down it. I'm not surprised people live on it, but I think it would be annoying. We continued back to the rental (passing a street with multiple ladder fire trucks at work). I started laundry while Nick made our pasta and garlic bread dinner. Steve and Vicky made their own dinner after us. It finally cleared up as we were driving home, so the kids went out in the twilight to use the trampoline again. I'm catching up on today, waiting for our laundry to be done, and enjoying some California pinot noir we got for $7.
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| 29 March highlights |
30 March - I woke up around 7 am this morning, made coffee and showered. Natalie asked us to come by her apartment at noon, so we spent a quiet morning kicking around the rental. It was nice and sunny, so the kids spent some time on the trampoline. We left a little before noon and drove to China Basin. After parking and walking to Natalie's building, she let us up to see her apartment. The kids tried to feed treats to her cat, Beaker. Natalie broke out a couple bottles of prosecco (with flavoring cubes) that we used to toast us all being here together. We visited for a bit, then we walked along Mission Bay to the food trucks. There, we all found food (Nick and the kids got food from BaconBacon, I got a poke bowl, and some Boba teas for the kids and me). Joann (Vicky's sister) and Clarence (her husband) joined us. It's been a few years (at the 2020 Rose Bowl) since Nick and I have seen them, and they've never met the kids. The kids chased each other around the green space while we enjoyed some beverages under the sun. It was in the 50s and breezy. Nick, the kids and I decided to play the mini golf course that was nearby. It was a very cleverly designed course, with each hole representing San Franciscan or Californian history/landmarks. We had fun playing while the other chatted. We didn't keep score, but that was fine. The others left to get us a table at Natalie's favorite bar, district. We got the kids dishes of ice cream, then made our way there as well. It was still sunny, but cooler with the wind picking up. The kids were surprisingly good at the bar, and handled lots of adults talking loudly well. I was feeling overly full from lunch and a bit sunburnt, so I stuck to a non-alcoholic beer and water. Nick put back a couple glasses of cava and a couple beers over the course of several hours. We abandoned thoughts of going out for dinner because no one was very hungry. I did take the kids for a walk over to Oracle Park to stretch our legs and see some sights. They liked that. We didn't stay much longer - just long enough for Nick to feel like he had enough time visiting to suggest heading back. The sun was setting as we left, so it was probably a good time. I drove us home uneventfully. The four of us had a light dinner of various leftovers before calling it a night.
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| 30 March highlights |
31 March - I had trouble sleeping last night, not getting to sleep until after midnight. Sigh. I still woke up around 7 am. Nick and I got ready, then walked down to pick up some donuts and coffee from Dynamo Donuts on 24th. It felt like being in Europe - just the two of us on a quiet morning walk. Once we got back, we all tried bites of the half-dozen donuts we picked up. We spent a little while relaxing and planning our day before we all headed out at 10. It was another nice, mid-50s day like yesterday. We traveled back to Golden Gate Park, where we found parking and walked to the Japanese Tea Garden. It was beautiful (with the cherry blossoms and azaleas flowering) and very busy (for the same reasons). Iris liked the koi and Felix liked the big cedar trees. Once we meandered around and got our fill, we headed to Japantown to get an early lunch. Iris got a big sushi roll for herself, Felix went for udon, Nick and I had combo lunches (small rolls and rice dishes), while Steve and Vicky stuck with cooked food. Natalie joined us there, and ate with us. Once finished, we headed to Chinatown. Unfortunately, our parking garage as blocked by a minor crash, so we had to find a new lot. That accomplished, we started off toward the Chinatown gate. The kids wanted to go into every kitschy shop. We did get some coffee for energy before embarking on a brief, self-guided walking tour. It was busy and we spent way too much time in junky stores for my tastes, but Felix ended up with chopsticks and a San Francisco snow globe. Iris was resentful that no personalized stuff had her name on it. Once we had had enough, we returned to the van and made our way to the Ferry Building. We parked and walked around in a couple groups. Iris settled on a big piece of amethyst as a keychain (matching her purple hair) and a sticker. It was about 4:30 by then, so we ended up at Gott's Roadside for a much-needed break and an early dinner. My fish tacos were good and Nick got a chili dog. The kids got kid fare. Once sated and rested, we walked back to the van, passing a naked bicyclist on the way, because California. We made a quick detour at a candy store, then took Natalie home. We all got out at her place to say bye, then headed back to our house. I spent some time getting the kids' and our suitcases ready to go.
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| 31 March highlights |
1 April - I woke at 5 am to get ready. Nick and the kids got up shortly after. We had everything packed up and left the house at 5:55. We had an easy drive back to the airport area, returned the car quickly, got on the shuttle, got on the air train, and reached our terminal as the sun rose. After checking our bags, we got through security slowly. Our first stop was for breakfast and coffee. Thus provisioned, we hunkered down at the gate for a two-hour wait. I walked with Iris to find a "real" San Francisco souvenir for her, and got her a t-shirt. On the plane, Nick sat with his parents and I sat with the kids, which worked well. The flight was under two hours to Denver, and I watched Barb and Star go to Vista del Mar for the first time. Our descent was pretty bumpy, but we made it. We had about three hours to kill in the airport. I listened to the Brewer game. Nick did some work and the kids played Roblox together on their phones. Iris and I also walked the concourse and got some drinks. Our flight left at 4:05 pm instead of 3:55, which wasn't bad. We sat the same way on this flight as the previous. (It's a good thing I checked in early because all our flights were completely full.) I tried to rest on the flight. We got into Milwaukee as the sun was setting. It didn't take us long to deplane, get our luggage, and say bye to Steve and Vicky. We caught the shuttle to the parking lot right away. We packed up, swung back by the hotel to check if they found Iris's stuffed cat (they had not :( ), then headed home. We stopped in Madison to stretch our legs, get a snack and charge. We pulled into our garage around 10:45 pm. The kitties were very happy to see us and we were glad to be home.
Trip cost for us: $6,890
License plates: 37 of 51 (saw Hawaii twice!)
{Transcribed 6/27/23}
