An Admirable April Adventure: SF Bus Tour

On Friday, 12 April, we spent the day in San Francisco. We opted for the hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It turned out be a great option. We got on at the Cannery near Fisherman's Wharf and hopped off at Union Square. The girls all spent some quality time at H&M and the boys explored and watched the cable cars on Powell Street. Next we hopped off at Chinatown and walked to Little Italy where we had an excellent lunch at Tratorria Pinocchio on Columbus. The  humorous mafioso-like waiter told Tucker that he wanted to see his money or he would have to wash dishes. When we finished, he wrapped Tucker in an apron and wrapped his head in a towel in preparation for washing dishes. It was a nervous moment for Tucker, but he escaped unscathed.

 Second breakfast at Boudin Bakery

 When I was a young lad this was ALL of Fisherman's Wharf

 The Cannery

  Alcatraz

 A stop at Ghirardelli Square for chocolate

 On the bus in the Financial District

 Union Square with Maiden Lane in the distance

 Powell Street

 Waiting for the shoppers

 Chinatown

 Handsome coolies

 Transamerica Tower

 Chinatown

 

Yowsers!

 Tratorria Pinocchio

 Excellent lunch

 Pasta pomodoro

 Dishwasher?

 Lombard Street

 Vintage trollies from all over the world on the Embarcadero

 Our guide

 We felt right at home

 St. Peter and St. Paul

 Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill

A splendid day with more in store. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

An Admirable April Adventure: Points South

On Thursday, 11 April, we headed south down the 101 to San Juan Bautista Mission in the town of the same name. It was a pleasant morning enriched with lessons about El Camino Real and the California Missions.

 Hank's splendid patio

 Our gracious hosts

 The spring-green hills of Northern California

 San Juan Bautista

 The church at San Juan Bautista

 Sparkling votive candles

 The baptistry at the "Baptist's"

 View along the arcade

 Like daughter, like father

View from a small remnant of the original

Camino Real just below the church

The next stop was Cannery Row in Monterey. Lucy is reading John Steinbeck, so this was a well-timed visit. We had a delicious Lunch at the Fish Hopper with views of otters in the bay.

 The look, feel, and smell of Cannery Row has changed
since John Steinbeck was here

 

 Kris's fish and chips and my sand dabs

 Otter spotters

 They were kind enough to stand still - more or less

Cannery Row is home to the wonderful, pricey Monterey Bay Aquarium where we spent several enjoyable hours. I believe everyone loved it.

The Aquarium building is built into the remains of 

a former cannery

 The kelp forest

 

 The jelly fish are my favorites

 Touching is allowed

 More otter spotting

 Point Lobos lies south of Monterey. It was a beautiful afternoon for visiting this incredibly beautiful spot.

 

 Point Lobos

 Entering the bit that looks like a Hobbit forest

 The sparkling Pacific

 The ice plant adds a touch of color

 These boys would go no matter how danger

 Dramatic waves crash against the cliffs

 Wild iris

Some of the Hastings

Our plan was to spend the evening at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, but it is April and the Boardwalk closes at 5:00 P.M. this time of year. So plan B included a stop north of Monterey for some cold Northern-California beach fun.

 Cold and beautiful

 Dune jumpers

Back from a beach stroll

We arrived back in Palo Alto just in time for some time with cousins and a great "canyon" supper: ham, baked beans, funeral potatoes, etc.

 Celebrating the HDT family (except for CGT) April birthdays

It's important to break it down

It was a scenic and fun-filled day. There are more to come, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.