The First Week & Muir Woods

The first week in The City was mainly getting set up. We went shopping and checked out the local parks. Our favorite so far is Michelangelo Park. It has a community garden, a blacktop with a basketball court and a wall off which to blast soccer balls. The park is in the middle of a block that is situated on a very steep hill, so the playground area is two-storied with sand. The kids love the park, and it also has a shady area where I can read after Jacob and Aidan completely school me in soccer.

We ventured across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods over this past weekend. Karen and I went there shortly before we were married, and it seemed to be different than we had remembered, much more national parky... When we went fourteen years ago, we both remember parking and just sort of wandering into the forest. It didn't seem as guarded as it does now, which is fine because it also appears that there is a lot more foot traffic.

Caity & Isabel working on their Jr. Ranger packets.

Jacob was not too thrilled about going, mainly because we were getting up at 7:00 on a Saturday morning during summer vacation. We got to the forest, after a half-hour twisty shuttle ride, and started in on the trails. We'd only walked a little ways, when from the right a doe and her fawn came right across our path. I fumbled with the camera, so the pictures were all blurry, but that even seemed to soften Jacob's attitude.

Throughout the day, we must have hiked 3 miles or so. The kids did amazingly, and Karen and I held our own, too. The following day, we ran nine miles as part of our training for the San Francisco Half-Marathon at the end of July. By Sunday night, we were DONE.

 We found a little beach just to the north of the wharfs and just before Fort Mason. This may be our new favorite after-work spot.

Back in the SFO!!!!

Lisle Crocodile prepares for his trip.

Late in the afternoon on June 1, we arrived again in this fair and wonderful city. The house we are renting is so much more than we'd imagined, just a short walk to the Cannery, the Wharf, and the tourist pier... It's also a slightly longer walk in the other direction to the bookstores and museums of San Francisco's literary past. Ideal.

Just a view of Alcatraz from our deck.

Our upstairs dining room.

The hot tub. Yes! The hot tub. On our deck. On our roof! Yaaaasssssssss!

From our upstairs deck, we have a fantastic view of Alcatraz and Coit Tower as well as prime water-balloon launching cover. The best digs by far.

During our first week, we've done so much. Last weekend, we ventured back to Golden Gate Park and rented paddle boats. We all had a blast navigating the weird, radioactive green lake in our fiberglass vessels of death.

A wild calla lily. Bonus points to the person who can identify its significance.

We then took to the playground, with the legendary slide carved into the side of an enormous rock. The kids all took pieces of cardboard boxes and tossed sand down the slide to get maximum velocity. It worked about 28% of the time.

We also happened upon the gigantic carousel, and we all had to ride. Jacob took the frog, and you'll see what the girls chose.

Our first weekend in San Francisco was a blast. There will be more to come!

Happy Birthday Jacob, Jake, Jakey, Snake, Snakey, Snacob!

Twelve years old.

When I asked Jacob what cake he wanted, he chose the usual Entemann's chocolate doughnut as his cake. Next year, he will need to choose a proper cake or we will have to start creative math in order to avoid a fire hazard.









Please excuse our bed head!

Visting the Land of Hippies and Smart People

Located just 15 minutes from Walnut Creek was Berkeley and all it has to offer those who yearn to be smarter. We decided to check out the Lawrence Hall of Science which is tucked away in the Tilden Regional Park providing amazing rolling views of the Bay area. Just to reach the location was an adventure as we climbed higher and through fog. The kids insisted we stop to take a picture since they wanted to show their friends that they were in a 'cloud'.

When we arrived, Isabel was beside herself as the current exhibit is Dinosaurs Alive. For those of you who have not been instructed that she plans to be a Paleontologist or corrected for identifying the wrong dinosaur, let's just say she is passionate about dinosaurs.


She just happened to have on her favorite shirt on for the occasion. A little girl riding a T-Rex.




Yes, that is a bug box hanging from her neck. We made her leave the butterfly-catcher in the car.

After an excavation, we found the small animal room. It had something for each child: Aidan was able to see the fish, Caity preferred the Chinchilla and tarantula, and Isabel was partial to the frog. Opps, she just corrected me, I meant toad.



The Hall was unique in that it was hands-on but with real science concepts from Nanotechnology to Astronomy. Dan and Aidan had fun engineering a bridge.


We ended our day in the Planetarium. Now this was nowhere near the sophistication of the Adler Planetarium we have in Chicago, but it was narrated by a UC Berkley student and done at just the right level for the younger set. Caity loved it and exclaimed that the comet on display looked like a zombie fishing. Isabel decided to use the darkness to refuel.

Missing: Jabob "Snake" Ridges

Jacob was reported to have been seen at SFO boarding a plane (by himself!) bound for Chicago. He was later spotted in this dubious photo of the Northwestern University Soccer Camp (back row, second from right). Investigators are hot on the trail of the notorious Athas Clan which Jacob is suspected of getting mixed up with.

All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl.

Nestled in the Mt. Diablo foothills are small ranches that offer horseback riding camps. Caity, Isabel and Aidan all wanted to learn how to ride horses when they found out their Mom use to ride horses when she was their age (that was hard for them to comprehend on a few levels). The kids went daily for a week and learned to saddle, mount, and ride the horse. In addition, they did barn chores (yes, incessant conversations on horse poop ensued).

Over the week, each child became attached to their steed. Isabel rode Chaps, Caity rode Shadow and Aidan was on Smoke. The kids loved the hum of ranch life which included dogs, ponies, a miniature horse and assorted cats.




With her tenacious spirit, Caity insisted on a horse (NOT a pony) and she did not want any help. The instructors do not push kids at this age; the goal if for them to be comfortable and will offer to use a lead line and walk beside them until they feel confident on their own. Our smallest child wanted command and control from the beginning. Caity had to put her whole body into a kick just to get the Shadow to walk.





Sweet Isabel has a deep love for animals and was more interested in their care than conquering riding skills. The size of the horse made her cautious and she wanted the extra reassurance of the instructor beside her. During the horse show on the last day of camp, Isabel played the showgirl as she dropped one of Chap's reigns to wave to the crowd and added her running commentary throughout.





Aidan was the one who surprised me from beginning to end. He caught me off guard when he told me he wanted to do Horse Camp with his sisters. He went on to quickly and easily pick-up the skills (most of the kids this age have had some experience). Toward the end of camp, Aidan's horse was spooked by a loud truck and took off in a full canter. Aidan hung on until the very end when he fell off. He got up, dusted himself off, got back on Smoke and did not think much more of it. This is a big deal as many kids will become hesitant or afraid, but Aidan took it in stride and was proud he was the first in his group to canter by himself.




A few more of my favorite pictures from the week. Below left is Patches who is a blue-eyed Arabian. The one on the right has a beautiful blue color to its coat that was amazing. I have never seen either and I look forward to sharing these with my brother Greg.


Caity communing with Shadow.