Bryan is an excellent daddy. The boys love him so much, sometimes they just follow him around the house wherever he goes. They can’t get enough of him when he’s here (I’m always here so I’m no big deal). They were very excited to get him some presents for Father’s Day. First, we took the pictures below & put them in a three-photo frame with nice mats. We also got him the camera he’s been ogling (it’s the panoramic one that Taylor Swift is hawking on TV). At least I think he’s ogling the camera. Maybe he’s ogling Taylor.
Bryan taught me how to make an omelette today, while I made him one for breakfast. It was pretty good! Ham, beef smoked sausage, green onions (homegrown), olives, cheddar, & feta. Mmmm…
We spent the morning packing & hanging out with Grandma. She took us out to a nice lunch & then we started home.
Bryan really wanted to try a slot canyon hike in Kanarraville that he had read about. We were able to locate the trailhead & headed up. We knew we’d be hiking in water, & I felt pretty unprepared hiking in skinny jeans & Chucks. However, it turned out to be perfect – the jeans protected my legs & the shoes were actually super comfortable! Jamie was tired & fussy, so Bryan ended up carrying him the whole way up & back. At least he was in a good mood being carried. Rees was awesome, he had a blast & only needed help when we forded the creek – which was very often, because the trail criss-crossed the creek the whole way up. The whole hike took us a little under four hours.
I brought the Flip but we totally forgot to use it! Dang! At least I have nice pictures. There are more pics here.
We are spending Memorial Day weekend with my Grandma in St George. We arrived late last night (lots of holiday traffic). This morning we got up & went to visit my Grandpa’s grave at Tonaquint Cemetery. My Grandma had gotten some beautiful fresh flowers that we arranged when we got there.
While poking around on the internet, I found a sketch of him (below) & his obituary. More pictures here.
After spending some time at the nearby playground, we went to see the famous dinosaur tracks. I had not been there for many years. Bryan reminded me that the two of us actually went with my Grandpa before he died (Grandpa was pretty excited about it). I’m sad that my Grandpa died before Bryan & I were married, but I’m grateful that they got to know each other & got along well.
The last time we went, there was no charge, & the tracks were in a big makeshift tent. Now there is a new building & an admission charge! Jamie’s favorite part was the dragonfly tracks.
I’m so glad we went. I have to admit that I was pushing for something more exciting than California (we’ve been there four times together before, but not to San Francisco), but it turned out to be a good choice. It was great bonding time for me & Bry. We have not traveled alone since before we were married. Actually, we did drive to Bodega Bay for our one-year anniversary, but I was three months pregnant with Rees & pretty sick. I didn’t enjoy it much. I also went to California with him for the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007, but he was very busy working. I am so glad Bryan was able to take the time off from work. Someday I hope to be in a position to travel more – but for now, trips like this are so precious to me.
The boys had so much fun with Camillia, my parents, & Bryan’s parents. We are so grateful to have friends & family who love our kids & take such good care of them. I don’t think the boys wanted us to come home!
We slept in (of course), had breakfast, & headed across the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove up the seaside highway, enjoying the sights. We saw the coolest little ranches along the way. Someday, someday… I had an idea for a beach I wanted to visit, but I didn’t research very well so we missed the turn. No worry, we ended up going to Dillon Beach further north, & it was beautiful. I got my fill of freezing cold water & warm sand.
On the way back, we ate @ Tony’s. The fried scallops were awesome! As we headed into San Francisco, we stopped for another photo (with the rest of the world) of the bridge.
We slept in (of course), had breakfast, & headed to the wharf on the cable car. We spent some time @ the Aquarium of the Bay. It had an interesting tunnel-style section of aquarium that was neat, as well as lots of other animals & displays. They have some rays in a shallow pool – very similar to the setup at our local Living Planet Aquarium, but their rays were super friendly. We wandered around Pier 39 for a while & had lunch (Chowders) & ice cream.
Then to Pier 33 for a trip to Alcatraz. Very neat. The boat ride was about 10-15 minutes. Once on the island, we skipped the audio tour they provided & just scouted the place on our own.
After our cruise, we had dinner @ Boudin @ the wharf, before heading back to the hotel on the cable car. Then we got cleaned up & went to Wicked @ the Orpheum, which is right across the street from our hotel. I didn’t know one thing about this show when we went, but I really liked it. Found myself in tears @ the end of the first act. And the inside of the Orpheum theater? Stunning!
We slept in today & then went to a late breakfast across the street @ Sam’s Diner. Yummy. Then we spent some time in Japantown, where I picked up some Japanese sewing books (tops & dresses for me) & cute Bento supplies. Bryan is so patient.
In the afternoon, we went to the Academy of Sciences. We had a little trouble getting our prepaid passes redeemed, but once inside we had a good time. We had fun there, checking out the aquarium, rainforest & Extreme Mammal exhibit. I was especially excited about the mammals because that is one of my favorite parts of our local Museum of Ancient Life. They didn’t allow photos of that exhibit.
Unfortunately, the place closed @ 5:00, so we found ourselves unoccupied. We decided to have a walk over to the interesting building across the courtyard (seen behind Bryan in the last picture above). Turns out it is the de Young Museum, which just-so-happens to have an Amish quilt exhibition. So amazing! No photography was allowed in that exhibit, so I was trying my best to remember each piece that I loved. Bryan hopped down to the gift shop to try to track down a pencil & paper, & ended up finding & getting me this book. I am so spoiled. We strolled around the other exhibits a bit, & Bryan took some photos of their New Guinea collection.
We stepped across the street to have dinner @ Pacific Catch. Even though they were very busy, they were able to squeeze us in, & at a nice table. Bryan had the Firecracker sushi, & I had fish & chips (my favorite). They were both super delicious.
Bryan generously agreed to use some of his frequent flier miles from work to take me on a trip for my 30th birthday. We had lots of options & ideas. For a number of reasons, we ended up choosing San Francisco.
This afternoon, we left the kids with friends & family & took off. We arrived at Hotel Whitcomb @ about 6:00 pm. It’s a very old hotel, & our room was small. However, it was clean, with high-end furniture & a very nice bed. The staff was nice. We noticed some strange blue spatter in a few locations on the walls – Bryan later guessed that it was from a dye pack…Awesome!
From the hotel reviews, we knew that the blocks immediately surrounding the hotel were dodgy. We also knew that there were few local restaurants, other than the hotel restaurant & fast food. With that in mind, we located a street a few blocks away that looked like there were a few decent restaurants to choose from, & headed out. We were soon joined by a homeless man who became more & more belligerent – not toward us. He walked along with us, verbally assaulting people we passed. It took a little effort to ditch him, but eventually we did. I was rattled, & our surroundings seemed to keep going downhill. We decided to turn around & either grab fast food or eat @ the hotel. Luckily, on our way back, we came across Show Dogs, a hip & clean little spot that saved our evening.
We grabbed ice cream bars & walked around the United Nations Plaza, San Francisco Library, & City Hall before going back to the hotel.
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