Monday July 30 Golden Gate Park

Well, 6am arrived really quickly. At least the early risers were all in one bed, and the lazy people could sleep a little (really, only Sam got to sleep in; David had a conference call at 5:30, but he did go back to sleep a bit after it was done).

I did my best to keep them quiet - videos with headphones, etc. Sofia and I took a shower together (always an ordeal: she thinks she wants to be a big girl and take a shower, but she’s not too keen on the water coming at her from so far up), and I took the two of them downstairs for breakfast. When we got back, the boys all showered and dressed, and eventually we got out of the hotel.

We went directly to Golden Gate Park, and stayed there most of the day. It was a lovely day, and we just walked all around. Went in to the Japanese Tea Garden (one of my favorite places on earth), and had a bite to eat there. Walked and walked and walked.

We left the park after 3pm. Drove to the Fisherman’s Wharf area, which was just swarming with people. Walked around a bit, and played Facebook-tag with my friend J, with whom we planned to have dinner.

Dinner was at a vegan restaurant on Valencia near 21st, and was delicious. And all the more spectacular for seeing J, who was one of my very best buddies in high school. I have not seen him in well over 20 years. The boys (Micah especially) did their best to get as much of his attention as possible. It was a very nice evening.

Got back to the hotel around 9, and they are all either asleep or reading. Mama had photos to download...

Micah Quote of the Day: "That's very Vincent Van Gough-ish of you"

Breakfast stop, Sofia getting cozy:

A walk in the park:

Woody came along for the ride, too:

Beware of Dinosaur:

Mama goes berserk:

Cool guys:

Micah spotted two awesome shirts in the gift shop of the Science center:

My loves:

Walking on his hands:

Japanese Tea Garden:

Sam tried to show Sofia how to do the Stork pose, but she wanted to do the Bear Crawl:

Kiddos:

Sofia always stops to smell the flowers (before she picks them):

“Hey, what are you doing back there?”

Showing off at dinner:

It’s been TOO long!

J figured out the appropriate Micah hold:

Sunday, July 29

Last night, we didn’t eat dinner until after 9pm, but it was wonderful. We dined outside; Sofia and I set the table, and she did a lot of counting while we worked. Had to make sure we had 7 of everything.

Micah and Sofia went to sleep right after dinner, but Sam stayed awake with the grownups. The three “boys” watched Zombieland on Sam’s iPad, while Agnes and I looked over New Zealand information. I finally got to bed after midnight.

And of course was woken up at 6am by my bouncy younger children. Cereal, coffee, and a movie on the laptop. I sat in the kitchen for most of the morning, working on the NZ itinerary (about time, huh?!). Micah played with the dog, Jade, outside, which was good for both of them. Sofia watched movies and TV and played. Sam started writing his thank you notes for Bar Mitzvah gifts.

Eventually we got dressed and out of the house. Headed to the “Old Faithful” Geyser:
(The blue on Micah’s cheeks is a zinc stick):
 

 Sofia insisted on bringing her baby doll with her, because it was “sick”! Poor baby - this one we call “Boneless Baby” because the sound box was mysteriously removed. Ugly Baby stayed in the car.
Adam’s preferred method for carrying Micah:

There was a little area of goats and llamas, too:
 
After the geyser, we went to the Petrified Forest, but my kids were grumpy and hungry:

Sofia hitched a ride on Adam’s shoulders for the places where David had to carry the wheelchair:
After the Petrified Forest, we went back to Calistoga for lunch and ice cream. My darling children:
We packed up, said goodbye to our wonderful hosts and headed south to San Francisco. We managed to get to our dinner appointment only a few minutes late. The ride in through Berkely was lovely: We met my cousin Eric, his lovely wife Alilda, and their gorgeous sons, Jake & Mickie, for dinner at a Paella restaurant. The kids had fun - after they finished eating, the boys went outside (supervised by Eric) to throw pop-caps on the street and make lots of noise.
We’re settled in to the Marriott near the SF airport now. Sam refused to share a bed with his brother, who has been MUCH too bouncy today, so Sam and David have one bed and I get to share with Sofia and Micah.

A lovely Saturday in Calistoga and St. Helena

Well, I suppose 6:00 am isn’t too early, only two days out from the time zone. Still, it felt awfully early. Pre-dawnish, even. But Sofia and Micah were up, which means so was I. Got Sofia set up with her grits and Micah with a snack. Settled in to read and work on Sam’s Bar Mitzvah photo album on my laptop. We just saw Agnes, leaving for the Farmer’s Market - she owns Napa Valley Tea Company, and sells awesome fresh teas. But she has to be up and out early to set up for the market.

Adam finally got up so I could get some coffee (couldn’t find it!), and eventually my sleeping beauties, David and Sam, moseyed into the kitchen. By 8:15, David was stressing about being in the house and not “doing” something. I reminded him, oh so gently, about the time change.

But we did get dressed and get going by around 10:15. Went over to Calistoga to see Agnes at the Farmer’s Market. Then the 4 boys went for a hike, and I took Sofia to a local playground for a while. She had a great time, and I actually found it somewhat relaxing; I was able to read on my Nook while she played. Eventually we took a walk through downtown Calistoga, and got her some ice cream (of course!), and then went back to the Market.


The boys showed up just as the vendors were packing up. Once Agnes and her employee were packed, we were off, to V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena for a picnic. The place was packed with people, and the lines were very long for food and bathroom. Agnes and I went across the street to Dean & Deluca for food (which we weren’t supposed to do, since the winery sells their own foods).

I love Dean & Deluca. $98 later, we had a lovely picnic: olives, cheeses, bread, crackers, hummus, Italian tuna salad, beans, chocolate... YUM! Meanwhile, the guys bought wine at the vineyard, and we settled in to a lovely picnic (along with two other friends of theirs, Anthony and Leni, who have the booth next to Agnes at the Market and sell very fancy Sea Salt).

The combination of wine, food, and sun made Mama a very tired girl! I fell asleep in the car, and transferred quite quickly to bed when we got home. Managed to get about an hour’s nap before Sofia jumped on me.

It’s about 6:30 pm now and David is still napping. I think all the grownups napped, but not the kids. Adam just went to town to buy fish for grilling. We will continue our lazy and wonderful visit this evening.

Friday, July 27 - Mt. Tam, Novato, Napa

Micah and Sofia woke up later than I expected - only 6am. After trying to have them be quiet for a while, the three of us got vaguely dressed and went downstairs in search of hot water for Sofia’s instant Grits. Micah was hungry, but I did not want us to have the whole breakfast at that time (needed a ticket, only had one per person). So he went back to the room and got some of last evening’s popcorn.

After she ate her grits, we walked around a bit, and then went back to the room. Sam and David were trying to sleep, so Sam moved into the bedroom with us and the two little ones watched TV in the living room.

Eventually we realized that none of us could sleep anyway. So we got up and went down to breakfast together. It was a very full breakfast - omletts to order, plus all the regular breakfast bar stuff.

After breakfast, David and the kids went for a swim while I worked out (the fitness room was right off the pool. It felt good to work out. I also enjoy the machiens with the built in TVs! At the gym at home, I can’t see the TV in the ceiling, so I end up listening to my iPod and reading on my Nook (which is probably better for me anyway). But this was a nice change of pace.

We all went back and showered and dressed and finished packing up. Got out of the hotel around 10:45, and headed to Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods. The fog was still pretty thick, and it was a little rainy. We really wanted to go to Muir Woods, but when we got there, the first parking lot was full. The second parking lot was full. The third parking lot was full. And side-of-the-road parking was full for the first two miles!

Skip that. We drove up toward the top of the mountain instead (although not all the way up). Very very curvy roads. I got a week bit nauseous whenever I looked out the window. We stopped at a rest area and took a short hike and lots of photos.








Then drove back down to Sausolito.


It was COLD in Sausolito. Still foggy (just after noon). We had dressed for hot weather, so the boys all complained a lot about being cold, although at least I had thought ahead and made the sweaters easily accessible. We walked around Sausolito a bit and then had lunch in a nice little place on the main drag. Then walked some more. I got a treat: a bracelet to match my beautiful Firefly necklace. Yeah! Then coffee, and back to the car.


(Yes, we used the wheelchair!)

 
Then we headed back to Novato, and met Bruce & Madlyn at the warehouse where they and some friends store their collectible cars. (Must be nice to have a good job and no kids!). The most impressive car was the Rolls Royce, which apparently Gueen Elizabeth once rode in. But I think my favorite for driveability was the lavender VW Bug. Only a few belong to Bruce and Madlyn.












So now (4:30pm) we are back in the car, and headed up to Napa. Just passing the Dragster races - lots of people, lots of camper vans! We’re going to stay with our friends Adam and Agnes in Angwin for the weekend. Should be lovely.

The kids are doing ok. Micah gets bouncy and ultra-talkative, which gets on everyone’s nerves. Sofia can be stubborn, and has been testing the limits fairly often. Sam alternates between sullen and fine. The boys LOVED seeing the old cars. All three kids have cameras to use, so that keeps them occupied out of the car. The long rides can be tough, but they are hanging in so far.

And kids, especially Sofia, are a great ice breaker for talking to people. David and I are both people-junkies - we just like meeting new people. So we had several lovely conversations with complete strangers over the course of the day.

Ok, we are already in wine country (I’m typing while David drives). Gorgeous, but so big and vast. Coming from the condensed Northeast, it’s just veyr foreign looking. Like “that ranch over there is the size of Rhode Island”!

--- 10:20 pm ---
We had a lovely evening with Adam and Agnes. The kids explored the back yard, and I had a blast taking pictures. They have all sorts of things growing back there: olives, figs, grapes, pears, various veggies, flowers. Gorgeous. And a neighbor's cat who insists on staying on their porch, despite Sofia's best efforts to torment...









(Cute belly)