San Francisco (by Sunshine)

San Francisco has long been a place we've wanted to visit. Jim remembers looking at a book as a little boy illustrating the 7 man-made "wonders of the world"... the Golden Gate Bridge was one of those "must see" wonders. And who could resist the lure of Alcatraz, the prison built on an island? Finally, we had our chance!

While in the San Francisco area we are stayed with friends Kelli and

Crazy fun with Kevin, Kelly, Rowan, and Kieren

Kevin and their two sons Rowan (2 years old) and Kieren (2 months). Walden thoroughly enjoyed being settled in one spot with a plethora of new toys to play with, along with a little boy nearly his age. Kelli and Kevin live in one of the East Bay Regional Parks so we had a perfect place to park the Burro – solitude surrounded by greenery, safety, plus the amenities of home. They were also amazing tour guides who know the best places to visit, where to park, and how to best navigate the insane amount of traffic in the city. A HUGE thanks to the family for hosting us and making our stay in the bay area so special.

Oh no! Locked up!

On our first day in San Francisco we visited the famed Alcatraz. It was a big day that included a ferry ride to and from the island in the bay. Alcatraz was originally built as a fort during the Civil War, then used as a military prison, then the famous high security penitentiary, then a Native American protest site, until finally it became a national park site. We enjoyed the audio tour of the cell house to learn the stories of the famous inmates such as Al Capone and attempted inmate escapes. There is a large sea bird population nesting on the island and we were fortunate to see newly hatched Western Gull chicks which, much to our surprise, are white with black spots covering their fuzzy bodies. Since we were in the area we visited Pier 39 near the Alcatraz ferry port which is filled with street performers, artists, shops, and hundreds of sea lions that lazily fill floating docks. Getting out of downtown during rush hour was enough to make us realize why we saw so many commuters on motorcycles and bicycles, which dangerously weave in between the stalled lines of traffic.

Our Silicon Valley experience with Cody and Amy

Sunshine’s cousin Cody and his wife Amy live in San Jose so

we visited them for a day. They both work in Silicon Valley so a visit to the Tech Museum of Innovation was a fitting adventure. Walden loved all the interactive exhibits full of lights and buttons. We experienced an earthquake simulation, met a robot, and watched balls move through a giant series of rails and levers. Jim and I wore these crazy biometric sensors which scanned our brain waves, muscle tension, and heart rate and recorded how we were experiencing the exhibits... which exhibit made us most tense (earthquake), most social (solar panels), most focused (astronaut jet pack simulator). After we were done, we put the sensors on a big table screen, and saw our entire experience timeline, complete with pictures and how our feelings compared to other visitors. It was fascinating! Walden also loved playing in the water fountains downtown and smelling the roses in the Municipal Rose Garden.

Walden meets a robot!

Kelli, Kevin, Jim, I and all the kids had an outing together one day. One of our stops was the San Rafael Farmer’s Market, the third largest in California. We loaded up on heaps of fresh veggies and fruit. The strawberries, blackberries, peaches, salad greens, broccoli, and zucchini are all ripe now. Kevin is a grilling extraordinaire who much to our delight shared the secret of grilled strawberries. 

We actually visited our long-awaited Golden Gate Bridge on two

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

different days. Because of the shape of the bay, prevailing winds, and difference in temperatures between the mainland and ocean this time of year the bridge is sometimes fogged in. So fogged in that you cannot even see it at times. We also discovered it can be forty degrees cooler on the bridge than it is just down the road due to microclimates. It was fun to see the bridge in its different moods and learn about the construction of this man-made wonder. Facts we didn’t know before visiting – the bridge is not just a tourist attraction in the National Park Service, it is actually part of many people’s daily commute. You can walk or bike across the 1.7 mile long bridge – and we walked from one side to the other an back, dodging bicycles along the way!

Family at the Golden Gate Bridge

One of our unplanned stops was for a picnic at Rodeo Beach which is a beautiful pebble beach carved out of the headlands along the San Francisco Bay. We loved sitting on the tiny polished stones watching the surfers bob in the waves. The area around the beach is part of Fort Cronkhite, a historic site in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. We learned that the bay area has a long military history as a primary defense area of the west coast. The hills surrounding the bay are filled with bunkers and historic military buildings and forts.

Perfect pebbles at Rodeo Beach

Peaceful Muir Woods

We are proud that Walden can now identify John Muir in a line-up of famous naturalists. Our visit to San Francisco would not have been complete without a visit to Muir Woods National Monument, a grove of redwoods just north of the city. This gem of serenity with beautiful boardwalks and trails is short drive from the chaos of the city. We enjoyed the sound of the stream, smelling the damp earth, and seeing the dappled sunlight on the forest floor as we strolled through these ancient trees.

One afternoon, we got a special inside tour of Big Break Regional Shoreline Visitor Center where Kevin is the naturalist and docent coordinator. Walden loved the interactive exhibits and getting to assist Kevin in turning the lights on and off. The park is family friendly and includes a giant sand area with scooper, dock over the delta, and trail that wound around nearby neighborhoods and passed a playground.

Helping Kevin to feed the fish at Big Break

Rosie the Riveter historic park

On our last day in the area, we explored the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park. This is one of four National Park sites that Kelli oversees in the bay area. The visitor center had great exhibits and we learned about the contributions of women and minorities to the war effort. We’d heard of “victory gardens” but didn’t realize they were planted as a way to contribute to food rations due to the war and promote good eating to ensure a healthy workforce. To complete our John Muir experience, we visited the John Muir National Historic Site, another of Kelli's sites, which is the home where Muir lived his final years and wrote his memoirs. Much to our surprise it is a well-furnished mansion (by early 1900 standards) surrounded by orchards that he inherited from his father-in-law. We thoroughly enjoyed eating the perfectly ripe plums that we found beneath the trees next to the house. Walden was dripping with pink sticky juice by the time we left the site. We also picked up a few lemons to juice because who can resist drinking lemon aid from John Muir’s orchard? 

Plums from Muir's orchard were so tasty.

We had an incredible time exploring the San Francisco area with Kelli, Kevin, and their family! It will be especially difficult to leave this morning... Walden and Rowan have so much fun playing together. We are headed north... to the Redwoods, Portland, and then Seattle.

Walden and Rowan playing in the sand table... their favorite!