San Francisco is 49 square miles; 7 X 7 miles... Last Saturday, Karen and I ran to the Exploratorium in less than an hour. It took the kids and I over an hour to get there on the bus. It's just the way things work around here. If you have the time, and you don't mind having really sore legs, you can get anywhere you need to be within the city limits within the day.
This is a very different concept for our children who come from a lifestyle that is dependent on using the car to get to the places they want to go. Pretty much everything we need around here is within 1 1/2 miles, and there is no parking, and if we need to go any further, the bus is $2 for me and $.75 for Jacob and Aidan (girls are free because they are "4 years old" - THAT was an interesting concept to explain to Aidan. 8/) . It has been quite an adjustment for the kids, who apparently become fatigued the minute we step onto the street.
Today, however, after watching Spain triumph over an uncharacteristically thuggish Holland in the World Cup Final, we ventured into Chinatown, and the kids had such an adventure that not one uttered a complaint about all the walking. We started off at the famous gate, and made Caity and Isabel stop for a picture with a dragon. Then, we stopped at St. Mary's Square and the kids played at the playground while being watched by a twelve-foot statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the first president of China. We then found our way to the Canton Bazaar, where the kids bought strange trinkets (the boys bought wooden Samurai swords... Erm... Aren't those from Japan? Isabel bought a toy kitten with a voicebox, and Caity, in a surprising and later upsetting [to her!!!!] last-minute, split-second decision, chose a small, purple purse to carry one of her many fluffy babies OVER a new fluffy baby.), Mom got a few sets of designer chopsticks, and Dad bought a one-of-a-kind good-luck elephant key chain (at least, until he entered the next bazaar).
We then made our way down Waverly Place with its beautiful painted balconies... Then, down Ross Alley where the world-famous Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is housed. By factory, I mean one large room with a big machine that drops batter into a mold and cooks it by blasting the mold with a flame. This is a DEFINITE must-see for anyone visiting the city. They charged 50 cents for a picture. I took two, and paid for that and a bag of unfolded fortune cookies and a bag of almond cookies because, only my family knows this, I absolutely love almond cookies. It's disgusting. I bought one bag, and it was a big bag... My children also love almond cookies... Let's just say we'll be taking another trip there before the week is done, I'm sure...
We finished up the trip with a spectacular meal at R & G Lounge on Kearny Street. You know it's a good Chinese restaurant when English is not the main language spoken by the patrons. It was definitely a good day.
Moving backward from this wonderful day, we spent a part of Jacob's birthday yesterday at the ice-skating rink at Yerba Buena Gardens. I took Jacob and Isabel, while Caitlin, Aidan, and Karen went in search of the perfect birthday gift for Jacob. Karen definitely got the better end of that deal, as she and I ran 10 miles (out to the Exploratorium and back to the apartment) that morning. The last thing I wanted to do was do anything useful with my legs that afternoon. It ended up being a lot of fun, especially seeing how much fun Isabel was having learning to skate. She got frustrated, of course, but she watched all the older girls dancing and spinning, and soon was able to skate a bit on her own... And, she stopped quite often to hold onto the wall and ice dance. Jacob is great at picking up speed, but he has yet to learn to stop, so he resorts to falling onto his stomach and spinning, splay-limbed, like some spastic ninja star. We finished the magic day with breakfast for dinner at Denny's. Not so magical for mom and dad, but, it's not our birthday, right?
On Friday, we walked 12 minutes (in theory) to Market Street to catch the brand-new 3D spectacle, Despicable Me, which really hit all the major "win" factors for a kids' movie: the bad guy turned good guy went through his transition in a believable way; the bad guy wasn't really bad, he was VERY competitive; there were no parts where any character was in any real peril; there were no monsters; the cute guys never got old; the children characters weren't annoying; the soundtrack was done by Pharrell Williams; it never appeared to try too hard, like Shrek or Ice Age. The entire family thoroughly enjoyed it. I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up and four stars, and whatnot.
We miss our family and friends a bunch! We love you, and we'll see you soon!
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