Friday Fiasco

Due to budget cuts, teachers and students were off today. I love having my children home. My house feels full of joy when they are around. Plus, we get to do anything we want without rushing back. So, today I woke up earlier than my children (which happens very rarely)and made them hot muffins for breakfast and prepared lunch for our outing. I had checked the weather, and found out the Half Moon Bay (my initial destination) was going to be windy and foggy. Because our plans involved the beach, I checked other areas for warm temperature. Baker Beach in Presidio looked promising. After finishing our breakfast and getting ready, I had the kids pack the car. They had brought two buckets of sand toys, three blankets, an umbrella, towels, and five water guns. I added our cooler full of food. My mother and I were looking forward to some tanning, my children had glorious plans of swimming in the ocean, and Charlton was perhaps dreaming of his delicious lunch.

As we were driving through San Francisco, we noticed the leaves of the trees moving fast from one direction to another. Can that possibly be wind? We didn't want to give heed to that warning, and so kept going. Just before we reached Baker Beach, I shot these beautiful pictures of the beach:
As we got out of the car, we were faced with the fiercest wind slapping our faces. Charlton was crying because he didn't like the wind hurting his ears. James' teeth were chattering. And yet, we kept going and tried to find just the right spot for us. After a few minutes battling the cold and wind, as well as Gillian and Jefferson's determination to stay and play, we ran toward our car. Ah, sweet, warm car!

We didn't want to totally waste the whole day, so we visited a few places that my mother hadn't seen yet, such as the last possible angle of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of the Fine Arts, and others.

We made it home around lunch time, right on time for the children to attend their swimming class. They did get to swim after all. My tan has to wait a few more days, however.