San Francisco/Oakland/Moraga

After our brief stop in Monterey, up the coast we headed. I often forget we left when Brandon was 4 and Matthew 18 mos., sometimes I don't realize they don't remember anything about the Bay Area, I just assume they do. We did many of the "tourist" things. It was fun to share with them many of the places and things I did growing up.







No stop to Pier 39 is complete without watching the sea lions! Zach's laugh was uncontrolable as he watched them barking and fighting with one another.

A boat trip around the Bay.

Cable Cars. Brandon was thrilled when one ride he was able to stand and hold on

Lombard Street- we hiked down it- and then not so happily, hiked back up. I love the manicured yards the homes have.

My Uncle is a Superior Court Judge for the city of San Francisco, so we stopped into his chambers one morning. They loved seeing the holding cell off his chambers, sitting in his chair and playing with real handcuffs.

This is the only picture from the Exploratorium I have that came out ( it was fairly dark, so not much luck). We loved the Exploratorium- hands on science experiments! Tons of them! We spent almost an entire day, usually kids tire, but not with this musuem. A toilet drinking fountain- don't you wish you could drink out of one?

Walking across the Golden Gate- windy and foggy- perfect SF weather! We were loving wearing jeans and sweatshirts all week. Andrew had the hardest time, he was always freezing.

Trying to climb the south tower.

I only put this picture in for me. When I used to go the California Acadamy of Sciences one of my favorite parts was the alligator swamp which had the seahorse railing. The room was hot and steamy and there were generally 10-12 alligators, and one albino one. We would always try and find the albino one. They have completely redone the whole complex, but saved the railing and the one albino alligator. Thanks for the memories!

The California Acadamy of Sciences is in Golden Gate Park. No trip to the Park for a child is complete without trying the cement slides. Of course they always seemed longer than they actually are, as a child. We brought our own cardboard, so we had nice fast rides!

Andrew, the child with very few fears, climbed to the top of the huge web shaped pyramid which was close to 15 feet tall. He is on the top on the right.

This is the house I grew up in in Moraga ( we lived in 3 different homes) but this is the one I associate most with my childhood.

Ahh the temple... this holds many sweet memories for me. Our Stake Center growing up was on the grounds of the Temple. I was baptized here, I went to church here for a few years while our regular ward building was being remodled, and we were married here. We lived Alameda for four years which is just west of the temple, and if you were on the right streets, you could look into the hills and see the temple.

Andrew trying to peek in the East doors.

13 years later.... four kids!