Half way to LA

On Tuesday morning we got up and left San Francisco in our automobile.  We drove along Highway 1, which goes along the Pacific Coast.  We tried to see New Zealand, but couldn't.

At one beach we saw all the driftwood that had been made into things like huts.

We saw elephant seals which were nearly extinct because of the oil-rich blubber, but are now increasing in numbers.

We saw Carmel Mission, which is where Junipera Serra is buried.  We didn't go inside, but looked over the fence.

As we drove along, we looked out and could see Hearst Castle, which took 30 years to build and if built today, would cost $400 million to build.

We drove through Monterey and saw Cannery Row, where sardines used to be canned in America before all the sardines disappeared.  We also saw California's first theatre.

We had dinner in Morro Bay, and could see Morro Rock, which is the last in a chain of 21 volcanoes.  Morro Bay has lots of fishing boats.  We then drove to San Luis Obispo to spend the night.

Last Day in San Francisco

On Monday we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge so we could walk over the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is 1 and 1/4 miles (2 km) long.  Papa drove over it because he had already walked over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Papa met us at the other end with the car. After that we went to Sasalito on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. In Sasalito we saw houseboats on the water. We talked to a man who owned a houseboat. The man said that everyone needs to paint their boat regularly so it looks neat.

After that we drove back across the Golden Gate Bridge and went to Mission Delores.  In the 1906 earthquake and fire, the Mission survived becasuse the walls were 4 foot think adobe walls, but the church next to it was badly damaged.

Then we had dinner at Scoma's, a restaurant on a wharf by Fisherman's Wharf.  I really liked the clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls which we had for dinner.  For dessert, we went to the famous chocolate factory, Ghirardelli's and I had a chocolate ice-cream.

We had a late night because we then went shoe shopping and didn't the shop till it closed at 9pm!

We wanted to watch the lunar eclipse, but there was too much fog and cloud.

San Francisco, Again

On Sunday we woke up, had breakfast and started our day. First we walked to the town hall. There were a lot of homeless people at the town hall. 

After that we got on the bus to go see the Painted Ladies. The Painted Ladies are a row of houses painted different colours.

Next we got on the bus again to go to see the Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park. Also at Golden Gate Park we went to see the Bison. While we were at the Bison we saw some Gophers. 

Next we went to the California Academy of Science. My favourite part was the rainforest when I was good at spotting things.

After that we went to the San Francisco Aquarium. My favourite part was touching the animals. The animals I touched were the Shark, the Stingray and the Starfish.

San Francisco - Day 2

While we have been in San Francisco, we have rode the trolley buses a lot, as well as the cable car, which is famous throughout the world.  Here are some of the trolleys we have been on.  They are painted differrent colours because they represent other cities that had trolley buses.

We did a walk with a National Park Ranger, learning about the waterfront and how it has changed over time.  Then we went back to Ghirardelli's to sample some more free chocolate squares and Papa treated us all by buying us an ice-cream sundae.  My one was Rocky Road which had 2 scoops of chocolate ice-cream, 1 scoop of vanilla and chocolate chip, covered with chocolate fudge sauce and marshmallow sauce, with whipped cream on the edge and finally, a chocolate square and a cherry on top.  Yum!  But, I could not eat it all, so Mama had a little bit of mine, and then Papa finisshed the last of it.

Then we walked up the hill so that we could walk down the crookedest street in the world, Lombard Street.  There are houses along the sides and cars can drive down it.  We walked down one side and up the other side.  There are 249 steps on one side and 253 on the other.  We then got on the cable car back down the steet, with Mama and Papa standing on the outside.

Next, we went to the Farmers Market at Pier 1, and got to try samples of some foods.  Our next stop was the ExplOratorium, a place where children can explore, play, tinker, learn, discover about everything.  My favourite activity was when a magician showed me a card trick.  I also liked making a marble run on a wall.  It was awesome.  We were there for 3 hours, but could have spent longer.

Finally, we went grocery shopping then went back to our hotel for dinner and bed.

San Francisco - day 1

Today we explored San Francisco.  We walked to get tickets then went on a trolley bus to Pier 39.  We saw sea lions, which were really noisy and smelly.

Then we did a 1hour San Francisco Bay cruise and went under the Golden Gate Bridge then around Alcatraz.  The Golden Gate bridge wire can wrap around the world 3 times, and the bridge is 1.25 miles long.  Alcatraz was a prison and the first prisoners went to the island in train carriages on a barge - they were so bad they were not allowed to step foot on land!

We did another Natioanl Park Junior Ranger badge for the San Francisco Martime Park.

We then went to try chocolate at the Ghirardelli chocolate factory then went on a cable car.  When we got off the cable car, we were in Chinatown, the largest china town outside of China.  We had dinner there, then went back to our hotel on a cable car and a trolley bus.