On our second day in San Francisco, Mark and I wanted nothing more than to sleep in late. But I was too productive for that; I'd pre-purchased tickets to the first Alcatraz tour of the day, so I dragged poor Mark kicking and screaming from bed to get there on time. (I may have even yelled the words "Suck it up!" which I'm pretty sure goes against the whole idea of vacationing.)
Fisherman's Wharf was full of tourists the day before, but early morning was a whole different story. The only ones on the streets now were homeless people and delivery people re-stocking the restaurants.
It was another gorgeous sunny day--I couldn't believe our luck. It was pretty dang cold (40s), but the weather report before we left called for rain every other day of our trip, and the only rain we'd seen was on our way out of Los Angeles. So we were stoked at the sunshine.
The boat ride to Alcatraz took about 15 minutes. A National Park ranger waited on the dock for us, giving a brief history of the island. Then he dismissed the mob of tourists, who slowly walked uphill to look at the prison.
But we had other plans. Another park ranger was giving a live tour, so we joined her group instead. She took us around the entire island, showing off the amazing views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge. She told us the history of the island, how the prison came to be, and how it switched hands from a military prison to a federal prison for the most dangerous criminals. She told us how they fed the prisoners a fatty diet and only allowed them two hours of exercise a week, and how they only let them shower in hot water, never cold. All these measures kept the prisoners out of shape and unable to acclimate to cold waters, making escape attempts nearly impossible.
We also learned about the Native American Indians who took over Alcatraz for a couple years, forming their own sovereign nation. The government eventually froze them out, forcing them back to the mainland by refusing to deliver supplies. But many changes came about because of this rebellious act, and you had to respect the Indians for that.
The tour was awesome--we learned a lot, and saw a lot. The ranger released us in the exercise yard, and from there, we entered the prison. Everyone else was wearing headphones, but we'd just taken an hour and a half tour, and Mark was all listened out.
"I just want to explore," he told me. "I don't want to learn anything else." Fair enough!
"I just want to explore," he told me. "I don't want to learn anything else." Fair enough!
Come on, Mark, make a break for it!
Our return boat landed us back in the city at lunch time. We dined at the Franciscan Crab, which had ceiling to floor windows and a spectacular view of Alcatraz. (We just couldn't get enough of the prison that day!) Mark went crazy, ordering crab fondue and a giant clam chowder bread bowl. I had a crab sandwich, which was tasty.
"Isn't San Francisco fun?" I asked Mark.
"Yes," he answered, face planted nearly inside his bread bowl. "And delicious, too!"
I asked Mark what he wanted to do after lunch, and he answered, "Nap." I explained this was our last day in the city, and didn't he want to see the sights?
"No," he said. "I'm tired. I want to sleep."
"Um, everything," I said. "The entire city."
I realized maybe I've turned into the one thing I always accuse Tim of being--a vacation Nazi. I'd literally run my kid into the ground with exhaustion.
The next day dawned bright and sunny again, but still cold. After a quick breakfast and a slow drive down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, we headed south to Monterey, to see our dear friend Vicki.
Vic had to work that day, but Tim, Kim and the kids were still on vacation. So they met up with us in Monterey for another day of fun. (I really loved all the good times we spent with them this vacation, and this year!)
Nic and Mark hit the beach in search of...whatever 12-year-old boys search for.
Hannah and I scanned the ocean for sea life--Hannah's got sharp eyes and immediately spotted seals and otters. It was awesome--we saw otters every day on our vacation.
We drove over to Fisherman's Wharf for ice cream, which sounded yummy at the time. But the sun was already setting, the temperature was dropping fast, and suddenly, eating ice cream in 40 degree weather didn't seem like such a good idea after all. (The kids didn't mind!)
Dusk was gorgeous. We couldn't actually see the sun setting, but the colors all around were amazing.
We bid our family farewell, which made us sad. But on the other end of that sadness was a whole lotta happiness, because we got to see Vic!
Vic is Monterey's newest citizen. She moved up there a month ago after landing a job with the aquarium. It was so great to see her fabulous new apartment, and have her show us around town.
Vic was also working Friday, so Mark and I went to the aquarium. I was super bummed that the otter exhibit was closed, but Mark still managed to get up close to one.
The sea horse exhibit was cool, and I loved the jellyfish.
I also dug the little room with the splashing wave simulator. You sat in the little glass room admiring the view, when suddenly the waves came crashing over you. It was cool, and a little unnerving all at the same time.
Saturday was our best day in Monterey, because we got to hang out with Vic. She took us to a monarch butterfly habitat, where we fared batter than in Santa Cruz. We actually saw a large group of butterflies clinging to the branches--they looked like dead leaves.
We also found a cool butterfly bench. Of course I had to sit in it.
We also found a cool butterfly bench. Of course I had to sit in it.
Our last stop was Castroville. Its claim to fame is that it grows 80% of the country's artichokes, and Mark loooooooooves artichokes. I'm not a fan, but I do love big things, and Castroville was also home to a giant 15-foot artichoke.
The artichoke was at a produce stand and restaurant aptly named the Giant Artichoke. The veggie stand cracked me up, because each display was a replica of the fruit it displayed. It looked like a giant plastic fruit salad in there!
We'd promised Mark lunch there, but the restaurant was not quite what we expected--it was less diner and more truck stop. There was also a sketchy little craft fair going on in the restaurant, featuring items such as plastic flowers in beer bottle "vases" (seriously--they didn't even take the labels off the bottles!). I'm no food snob, but it was...sketchy. I couldn't even look at Vic because I knew she was thinking the same thing. Eye contact would have sent us into uncontrollable fits of laughter, and there was no way we would recover in any polite sort of way.
Then it was back on the road for us. We had one final stop, in Buellton, gateway to Ostrichland and Solvang, our last stops. I was stoked to find the Firestone Brewery and restaurant just around the corner from our hotel that night. Dinner was AWESOME!
Our plans changed the next morning when we awoke to rain. Mark was grumpy and tired, we were both a little homesick and ready to leave. I stopped briefly in Solvang for some Danishes, and I was only moderately bummed to see that Ostrichland was closed due to rain. Between Christmas and this vacation, we'd only spent two of the last 16 days at home. We missed our cats and our beds, and Mark didn't argue when I suggested we head home early.
So all in all, we had a fantastic Christmas and winter vacation. We put 1,200 miles on the car, and we saw a whole lotta California. I'm grateful to live in such a beautiful place, and I feel so lucky Mark and I had so much time and fun together. I was thankful to Tim, Kim, Hannah and Nic for joining us so much along the way, and to the late, great Huell Howser for inspiring us in the first place.
Viva California!
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