Another amazing day in Cali! We woke up in San Francisco, but are crashing tonight in Pacific Grove near Monterey. It was another whirlwind of a day with only a couple hours in the car to catch our breath.
Bender was up and at 'em at 5 something...which really is 8 something Jax time, so we were impressed! He tiptoed out so as to not wake anyone and came back a couple hours later with coffee. I love him. A lot. He also had these awesome pics from his run!
Then it was time for food! On the recommendation of the staff at the Kensington Hotel, we walked a couple blocks to Sears. It has been there forever and was insanely good.
They sat us in the basement. We had a discussion about what a jukebox did. Our kids had never seen a big one in person before!
Chris got 18 pancakes with Lingonberry jam. Zack got a Belgian waffle with plenty of whipped cream. I had an amazing omlete full of chicken sausage. I would definitely go back to Sears!
Then we had to explain swine flu.
(*Although we didn't wait at all to sit, when we left the line was out the door and down the block. Talk about great timing!)
After breakfast it was back to the hotel to pack up and check out. Chris was able to sneak on a computer and print show tickets for Vegas and we were off to Lombard Street! (Zoe had to hug the horse in the lobby one more time).
Lombard Street is known as one of the U.S.'s curviest streets. I was really hoping to get some awesome pics, because beyond being seven hairpin turns of awesomeness, it's beautiful! The flowers and landscaping were super impressive. Alas, the only pic I got was this one.
That two minutes of driving was probably the toughest he'll do all trip! Bender rocked it though!
Next it was bridge time! Woot woot! Ta-da! Beautiful pic of an impressive landmark, right?
This is what it looked like while we were trying to get it together. Gotta love back seat photographers...
...especially when their pictures are better than yours!
We stopped and took a couple shots in the park nearby but it was honestly tough to even see the bridge with all the fog. This is a keeper.
As is this. Bender is getting to be a pro with the GoPro!
Bridge completed, it was time for Alcatraz! While we waited to board, Zack and Chris checked the soccer scores and watched highlights.
Then it was time to board the ship that was transporting us to Alcatraz. Standing in line made us feel like we were at Disney. Ropes to contain lines, canned recordings about rules, your picture taken before the event. I'm glad we're not doing much of this waiting in line deal on this trip . While taking this pic, I got chastised for holding up the line - which was so not true - on the mic. Whatever...it's a good shot!
The boat we rode powers it's screens and displays with solar power, so the roof and edges of the boat are all panels. Such a cool idea. It gave us something to think about while our teeth were chattering - because baby it was cold outside!
Aren't they super cute? And I love that the kids are wearing sunglasses this trip. No more fighting about closed eyes in pics! Yay! It was a quick 25 minute ride to Alcatraz and the views were insane, both of the Rock and of the city we've become quite fond of.
We headed for the top of the hill to view cells inside the prison. I'm not sure how much landscaping was done versus luck of wild plants, but with the Bay in the background it was gorg!
We tried to just walk through the prison without the guided audio tour, but after we walked by the showers a nice young woman explained that if we didn't get the tour, we'd be looking at empty cells. And that it was free. Winner winner chicken dinner!!
Inmate showers.
This was their #cellfie from inside. Yes it was cold. Us Florida peeps struggled at times today. We brought jackets and sweatshirts, but it was still chilly!
The audio tour ended up being the best. Thing. Ever. We learned so much and nobody talked to me for a good 45 minutes. Amazing all you can learn in 45 minutes. Zack actually is only through half of his book - he was not happy about the spoilers!
This is a typical, non solitary cell. Cot, toilet, shelf.
This is Zoe in a cell. She had way more fun today than she thought she would!
Family selfie in solitary.
Part way through the tour it led you outside and spoke about how on certain nights the prisoners could hear what was going on in San Francisco. Ladies laughing, music, parties. They especially hated New Years when the happy noises were the loudest and most plentiful.
Back inside. Check out this normal cell...
And then we were done. Time to catch the boat back to the mainland.
Such a great educational, fun experience. The Benderz give it 8 thumbs up!
We loved the boat ride too...but talked about how L would not like it at all. We saw dolphins on the way there and a ray on the way back!
Back on the mainland, we discovered that my poor, neglected kiddos had never been to a Ben and Jerry's. Of course we had to fix that immediately. Ice cream instead of lunch totally worked today.
We are missing the PRIDE parade by one day. Bummed that we won't make the parade, but San Francisco was proudly flying their flags. #lovewins (Chris did not get a Mohawk, it's just the picture. But how awesome would that be if he did?)
We jumped in the car for our two hour ride to the Monterey area. The kids and I promptly passed out. Still adjusting to the time zone changes (and late night blogging!). When we woke up we were overwhelmed by the size and number of farms. California is beautiful!
We are staying at Asilomar Conference Center tonight. It's like Frost Valley for adults. For all the non-AGMers, imagine the Dirty Dancing resort, but updated. We could totally spend a week here!
Our room is perfect. Enough room to sleep and near the pool! Beds are close enough to fly between.
The Pacific is RIGHT HERE. Craziness! Like a two minute walk from our door!
After we dropped our bags, Zoe made use of the Yoga room to burn off a little steam doing her presses and conditioning (she used the extra couch cushions as mats...always thinking that one.)
Then we headed to meet the boys at the pool. The poor people who were swimming peacefully before we got there didn't know what hit them!
Many races later, it was determined, Zack can kick Zoe's booty in free style, Zoe can kick Zack's in breaststroke...and Zoe looks like a dying whale when she tries to do butterfly. Not pretty. On the other hand, Zack's fly is still a sight to see!
While the kids were swimming Chris took a walk along the boardwalk to check out the beach. So stinkin close!
Then it was back in the car to head to dinner. We stopped in downtown Pacific Grove to show you how awesome it looks! All the trees in the median are full of paper lanterns in preparation for their lantern festival at the end of the month. It looks amazing! And my kids look like they like each other! Yay!
We put our names in at Hula (tonight's culinary experience) and walked a few blocks down to Cannery Row. We felt like we had done the uber touristy thing last night at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, so we weren't interested in spending bunches of time or eating here, but we wanted to check it out. So glad we did. Adorable little street full of fun shops and great photo opps!
Thinking with the Cannery Row thinkers.
We made it back to Hula before they called our name. I would have been in big trouble if we had missed our name, because the Benderz were hungry! Island food on the menu tonight...fun curry bowls, pan fried fish, ribeye (boy loves a steak), and some incredible fried brussel sprouts. I love brussels. They are the bomb. Great meal...Chris says it'll be hard to top it. The atmosphere was super laid back and fun too! Another winner!
We headed back to Cannery Row after dinner to grab a couple fancy caramel apples we had eyed earlier and headed back to the hotel. The kids wanted to play pool and be a part of the lodge fun..
Meanwhile, I had an apple all to myself (Zack had already gnawed his all the way to the core. Incredible)
We headed back to our rooms and took a short walk towards the beach. Earlier today we saw a warning poster about bobcats. Zoe was less than thrilled about walking in the pitch dark where bobcats could be lurking. When we talked about how to keep them away, she said (and I quote), "just don't let them get me. I'm younger and have more years ahead." Zoe had a couple zingers tonight...that one took the cake.
I am headed to bed. 1am here means 4am there...and I think I'm somewhere in the middle. Either way, it's late. Enjoy your Sunday all! See you tomorrow in LA!
Love and XOXO,
Benderz
No comments:
Post a Comment