No matter how often I fly to San Francisco I cannot believe how much I love that city. The first time I flew there was in late 1996 for New Year’s. Dan and I visited there and stayed in San Bruno. Somewhere on my laptop I have pages and pages of entries from when we were there and the rain and the youth hostels. I loved that trip and have gone back 4 more times since then. I went back for a few days to hit the aquarium and the city in 1998, then I took Donna up there a few summers ago. Last April I was up there for a conference and got together with my friends for dinner. Now this past weekend I was able to take Claire to California. We have wonderful friends who have lived there for over 20 years who went to high school with my mother. Actually, they knew each other since diapers. MaryAnne & Susan have been there for 25 & 20 years respectively. MaryAnne & Susan have begged us to bring Claire up since last year, so we decided to take Claire up for Spring Break.

We were staying back at MaryAnne & Bill’s house where they have a nice sized house with a guest wing in Redwood City, CA about 20 miles from the City. MaryAnne had asked us what we wanted to do while we were there, and I really had no real clue. I’ve done the really touristy stuff, and this trip was balancing friend time with sight seeing time. We never had to fly with a car seat before so we bought this fancy schmancy bag and everything, but when we got to the gate Southwest told us we could stick Claire and her seat in a plane seat since there was a ton of room. That was cool, and even though she didn’t sleep, we still didn’t have to hold her while she squirmed for two hours.

The first day was to the Monterey Aquarium where we’d show Claire all the Otters, Sea Lions, and fish. I was there in 1998 for a few hours by myself, but it was nothing like it was this time. There was interaction and games, and we were armed with our new free Babies R Us stroller, so we were set. We beelined it for the tide pools where Claire could stick her hands in the tanks to touch starfish and maybe a Bat Ray. Daddy got to touch the Bat Ray but it wouldn’t go close enough to Claire. It was as if it knew she may over eagerly jump into the water and ride it around giggling. The other thing she began doing about this time (or a few days earlier) is saying "What that?" "What doing?" She will point and point and point at things and scream "What that!?" at the top of her lungs, and MaryAnne pointed out that the answers are as vast as the universe. If the door green, or is it a door, or is it a portal from space to space. What is it? That’s a good question, Claire.

Friday we spent with Susan, Maryanne’s sister. I’d not been to the Haight since 1997 and Golden Gate Park the same winter. Susan has been in California for 20 years and never went there either, so we piled into her Monterey and took off. Claire fell asleep along the way, so the two of them sat in the car outside the Japanese Tea Garden while Donna and I went to explore. We found a cool botanical gardens on several acres. Each part was a different part of the world and the plants that grew there were indicative of that region. When Claire finally got up, the four of us tramped into the Tea Gardens and looked around for a couple hours before dropping into a couple wooden stools to have some green tea. Next we hit the Haight, where the hippies and everyone else gather on the corners to sell their wares or to buy someone’s Else’s. There was some story I once knew about everyone living with Jerry Garcia down the street from that very corner, but I couldn’t remember the whole thing. But even without the story, Donna was excited about the shopping and spent too much money on jewelry and a jewelry holder in the shape of a model’s dress from a hip-hop guy who had no idea how much to charge. We walked the Upper Haight for another two hours before hitting the Fish Market in SanMateo for dinner. I was adventurous and had Muscles, Oysters, Squid, Clams, Scallops, and Halibut. All of which was over priced and good (for $25 I had probably 4 oz of fish!). We had a yummy dinner before Claire crashed on the way home. It was a long day.

Saturday Bill and MaryAnne acquiesced to humor the internal tourist in me and agreed to take Claire to see the Sea Lions on Pier 39. We stopped by a ~100 year old apartment building Bill’s family owns in Cow’s Hollow where we dropped off some sinks for upgrades, before parking out near Ghiradelli Square. MaryAnne wondered why we were parking so far up the coast, but I though nothing of it until later. We stopped in the coolest shoe store that sold Merrel’s & Keen’s, but Donna didn’t find anything for her trip to Europe this summer and MaryAnne had been looking for a shirt to buy Claire. There was a cute pink hoodie that looked like it would fit a three year old. The lady wanted $7.99 for it, and the fog had rolled in, so Claire got it. We rolled the sleeves and she was cute as a bear. We loved it on her. We were hungry and wanted to get some chowder. I’d remembered going to Boudin’s last spring, so we searching and Donna was worried we’d never find it. I finally called and it was another block down along Fisherman’s Wharf. Everyone wanted to sit down, but the restaurant was about $10 more than just eating in the cafe line on the first floor. Claire was crashing soon, but we still had to see those sea lions. MaryAnne was cold and tired, so she said she’d sit with the truck that Bill had now trudged back a mile to get. MaryAnne parked their ’92 huge ass Suburban that was a big as Moby Dick (which was cool since she parked near a Wyland Wall) in a bus lane while we walked to the pier. The pier has gotten even more and more touristy since I was there 10 years ago, but it was still cool. Claire slept part of the way, but then woke to see the "puppies!" which is what she calls every animal she doesn’t know. The sea lions weren’t close to us, and that sucked, but the view was nice. Sail boats adorned the bay from Pier 39 to Alcatraz and out towards the Golden Gate. By this time we were all worn out, and were ready to head out of the city. We took a short drive up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower for a photo op and then headed out of town.

Today we sat around did very little. We did go to the farmer’s market this morning, and I really wish I lived somewhere less southwest-y and cooler. Ryan and Laura moved to Oregon & North California is beautiful but God-awful expensive. Donna reiterated not wanting to be in the desert forever, and I agree. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon, but it’s something to consider. Somewhere with rain, green foliage, trees, hills. Somewhere we can sit out on the porch and just enjoy where we live so much more than all of this. It’s March, and before I go out tomorrow I need to find shorts somewhere stored away. We’re back now from our trip, and it was wonderful. Everyone already misses us, and Claire did get her own seat on the plane. Daddy & Claire slept all the way home, and we’re looking forward a quiet week around the house.