We started by taking them to the Golden Gate Bridge Park. We parked nearby, and walked and hiked toward the bridge meanwhile enjoying the view. Ana loves anything that has to do with construction, and Iva is aiming to be an architect, so it didn't matter where we took them afterward, the bridge had captured their hearts.
As we reached the South end of the bridge, right by the observation deck located by the Visitor Center, the fog started coming fast, quicker than I had thought it possible for any water droplets to move. Within five minutes the bridge was covered by a massive white cloud, and it was beautiful and scary at the same time. We have lived here for over three years, and I have seen plenty of fog covered bridges, but never been present at the process of seeing the misty clouds pushing themselves eagerly through the lower level of the atmosphere gradually but steadily covering the bridge. It was a neat phenomena.
The kids loved visiting the Visitor Center, the interesting landmarks, and the historical information found on billboards.
I had promised my kids that this week they would each take a day and practice their photography skills. Today was my turn, but Jefferson had borrowed my other camera and took some really good ones that surprised me with their composition. Here is one of them:
We said good bye to the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, and drove down the crooked Lombard street. My sister-in-law remarked that these kinds of streets were unique for the states, but it totally reminded her of our own hometown and many other cities in Europe where the streets were built for pedestrians but used for cars as the civilization was pulled toward faster means of transportation.
On our way to the Coit Tower, we noticed a cathedral on the right side of Lombard street. I'm very fond of cathedral architecture, and I really like Grace Cathedral in San Francisco with its replica of Ghiberti Gates of Paradise, but I had never seen this one. It looked even more Gothic than Grace Cathedral, but much newer. It was called the Saints Peter and Paul Church, and I read that it offers weekly masses to its Catholic population in Mandarin, Italian, and English. I also learned that some scenes from Dirty Harry were filmed in front of this building, and that parts of the Ten Commandments movie were filmed inside this church while being constructed.
After visiting a few more sights in that area of the city, we headed toward Fisherman's Wharf where we found some food, took some pictures, and played on the beach.
It was late and a bit chilly. It is San Francisco after all, but the kids knew no fear of climate changes. They kept playing ball and tag, building castles in the sand, and throwing water at each other while immersing their feet in the ocean.
Meanwhile, my sister-in-law had visited all of the stores nearby and depleted her credit card account by buying souvenirs for her family. Look at her smile. What shopping does to a woman!
On Tuesday morning, after dropping Ana and Iva at the airport, my friends and I took our kids to the Zoo. I took a break from photography letting Jefferson take care of that part of our field trip, and bonded with Gillian. James and Charlton played for a long time at the play area, and then loved visiting all the animals. Our favorite show was the one that our baboon decided to put for us. He swung, jumped and posed for pictures as if he were a pro. We all loved it. Here are some of the pictures Jefferson took:
Wednesday was a work day. My kids' piano teacher had spring break the week before, so this week they had to practice and attend piano. I could have cancelled it, but since we weren't going anywhere far away, we decided to keep it. The children's playing is getting better, and I'm really enjoying it how Jefferson's desire to learn new pieces and a variety of them is pushing Gillian to work hard at it as well. Plus, I'm loving it when they play together.
After piano and chores, I let the kids have free play, while I read and rested. Gillian read, Charlton took a nap, and the boys played with legos. I love lazy days!!!
