After we landed on Friday, we walked around in the city for a bit, visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and enjoyed the sunshine near a water fountain.
On Saturday, we were up early thanks to the time zone changes and headed out to take in some of the city before heading north. O loves the backpack, and started the day out chipper and excited.
We rode the cable car down to the water and did some walking at the waterfront. O got to see Alcatraz (from San Fran).
On Saturday, we were up early thanks to the time zone changes and headed out to take in some of the city before heading north. O loves the backpack, and started the day out chipper and excited.
We rode the cable car down to the water and did some walking at the waterfront. O got to see Alcatraz (from San Fran).
He seemed to like riding the cable car:
Here is Tom and O at Pier 39 watching the sea lions.
By the end of the morning, he was just plain tuckered out and ready to get in the car and get away from the noisy city.
Sunday was David and Elizabeth's wedding. The ceremony was very nice and O had a great time dancing at the reception.
Our first hiking adventure on Monday took us out to Chimney Rock on Point Reyes. It was a great hike, but very windy. I don't think O appreciated the wind much, but we had him very well bundled.
The wildflowers are in bloom now, and there was quite the variety to enjoy.
On the way back to the car, we made a side trip to a historic lifeboat station. Unfortunately, it was not open, but we did peak in the windows at the boat inside and enjoyed the break from the wind. The area is also very near an elephant seal breeding ground, so we got to see some elephant seals up close. As you can see, O was very impressed.
Unfortunately, the steps down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse were closed due to high winds. As you can see from the whitecaps, it was very, very windy out there.
On Tuesday, we got a later start, because somebody took a long morning nap...
Once he woke up, we headed out to hike in the Tulle Elk Reserve on Tomales Point. It was beautiful, and we saw a herd of elk. O was yelling at them and all of the elk were looking at us!
The trailhead for McClure's beach on the ocean side of the point. Here is proof that I wear the kiddo sometimes too:
He really liked the beach. Of course, he also really liked putting sand in his mouth so we had to watch that.
On Wednesday, it was raining in the morning, so we headed out to Sonoma to sample some wine and cheese. We had a very nice day. The highlight was our visit back to the Benziger Winery which we visited 10 years ago back when Tom was courting me with a whirlwind tour of San Francisco and the surrounding area. Here is the little guy, getting an appreciation for the "terrior".
We ventured out on a short hike in a State Park on the Point on Thursday. Instead of exploring the drive-up beach, we did a one mile nature walk to "Indian Beach". The trail was marked with interesting facts about the medicinal and nutritional benefits of various native plants. The beach is on the bay and boasts quite the view.
There were two replica Meewok Indian teepees at the beach. O was very interested in exploring...
Our last little jaunt on Friday before we left the area was to do the easy "Earthquake Trail" from the National Park visitor's center. The trail has signs that explain earthquakes and some features from the big one in 1906. The fence in this picture was in one piece before the earthquake shifted the ground 30 feet. Even though this area was quite far from the epicenter, some of the worst damage and biggest movement was recorded at the farms around Point Reyes.
O made a great friend on our long flight home. The flight attendant just loved him, she took him up to the cockpit before we took off and then to keep him busy during the flight, she strapped him in her jump seat and played with the phone. He was actually really good on all four flights - I don't think we could have asked for better behavior from a 13 month old.
We arrived back to 90+ degree weather in D.C. Welcome to summer. The weekend was nice and relaxing before heading back to work today. We took O to the pool on Monday to try and beat the heat. I will post a video of him splashing around soon.
Here is Tom and O at Pier 39 watching the sea lions.
By the end of the morning, he was just plain tuckered out and ready to get in the car and get away from the noisy city.
Sunday was David and Elizabeth's wedding. The ceremony was very nice and O had a great time dancing at the reception.
Our first hiking adventure on Monday took us out to Chimney Rock on Point Reyes. It was a great hike, but very windy. I don't think O appreciated the wind much, but we had him very well bundled.
The wildflowers are in bloom now, and there was quite the variety to enjoy.
On the way back to the car, we made a side trip to a historic lifeboat station. Unfortunately, it was not open, but we did peak in the windows at the boat inside and enjoyed the break from the wind. The area is also very near an elephant seal breeding ground, so we got to see some elephant seals up close. As you can see, O was very impressed.
Unfortunately, the steps down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse were closed due to high winds. As you can see from the whitecaps, it was very, very windy out there.
On Tuesday, we got a later start, because somebody took a long morning nap...
Once he woke up, we headed out to hike in the Tulle Elk Reserve on Tomales Point. It was beautiful, and we saw a herd of elk. O was yelling at them and all of the elk were looking at us!
The trailhead for McClure's beach on the ocean side of the point. Here is proof that I wear the kiddo sometimes too:
He really liked the beach. Of course, he also really liked putting sand in his mouth so we had to watch that.
On Wednesday, it was raining in the morning, so we headed out to Sonoma to sample some wine and cheese. We had a very nice day. The highlight was our visit back to the Benziger Winery which we visited 10 years ago back when Tom was courting me with a whirlwind tour of San Francisco and the surrounding area. Here is the little guy, getting an appreciation for the "terrior".
We ventured out on a short hike in a State Park on the Point on Thursday. Instead of exploring the drive-up beach, we did a one mile nature walk to "Indian Beach". The trail was marked with interesting facts about the medicinal and nutritional benefits of various native plants. The beach is on the bay and boasts quite the view.
There were two replica Meewok Indian teepees at the beach. O was very interested in exploring...
Our last little jaunt on Friday before we left the area was to do the easy "Earthquake Trail" from the National Park visitor's center. The trail has signs that explain earthquakes and some features from the big one in 1906. The fence in this picture was in one piece before the earthquake shifted the ground 30 feet. Even though this area was quite far from the epicenter, some of the worst damage and biggest movement was recorded at the farms around Point Reyes.
O made a great friend on our long flight home. The flight attendant just loved him, she took him up to the cockpit before we took off and then to keep him busy during the flight, she strapped him in her jump seat and played with the phone. He was actually really good on all four flights - I don't think we could have asked for better behavior from a 13 month old.
We arrived back to 90+ degree weather in D.C. Welcome to summer. The weekend was nice and relaxing before heading back to work today. We took O to the pool on Monday to try and beat the heat. I will post a video of him splashing around soon.
