The Train Trip - Day 6

Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Well, we had our first rough day today. We had planned to get up and swim for awhile, and then go back to Golden Gate Park to hit the Japanese Tea Garden & Shakespeare's Garden, which we missed yesterday because the museum was so utterly engaging, and be back by five to meet Uncle Buddy for dinner. But we overslept, again, and got to the pool about an hour and a half after we had been planning to be there. Raven stayed in the room and slept, and by the time we got back to the room and then back out the door to head for the park, we were running nearly three hours behind the plan. We made it to the park by three, but we got off at the wrong stop--about 4 stops early--and had to walk through the park to get to the Gardens we were planning to visit, which wouldn't have been sooo bad, except that it was particularly cold today, we were wearing shorts, and everybody had low blood-sugar because we got up so late that we skipped breakfast in order to try and get to the Park earlier.
We saw the Conservatory of Flowers on the way, and I was able to take a few pictures with Za Boo's camera, but unfortunately, we were too cold to really appreciate it. They were advertising the carnivorous plant exhibit there as well, but we had neither the time nor the money to visit it, unfortunately.
We had what would otherwise have been a nice stroll through the park, though, on our way to find the Gardens of our focus.
When we came to the Japanese Tea Garden it was adjacent to the park amphitheater, and we settled for a picture of the kids on the amphitheater stage, although we would have enjoyed the chance to see a performance there.
Just outside the Japanese Tea Garden was a Waffle stand, and we were hungry, but were waiting to eat at the restaurant inside the Tea Garden.
Well, at this point the boys were cold, the girls and I were freezing, all of us were hungry, and cranky because of it, and I had sprained my toe when we were getting off the bus, so when it turned out that the Japanese Tea Garden now charges for admission (either it didn't when I went there years ago, or no one told me we had had to pay to get in), we almost didn't go in.
However, I have had my heart set on sharing the Japanese Tea Garden with the kids since the beginning of the PLANNING of the trip, so I made a quick decision, ponied up the funds, and in we did ultimately go!
And, in the end, everyone had a good time!
We had hot cocoa and fortune cookies in the Tea House (they were out of nearly EVERYTHING we wanted to order to actually eat), and cheered when we heard (via text from Amazing Husband) that Prop 8 was overturned today!
We had waffles from the Waffle Cart on the way out of the Tea Garden, and they were delicious! We caught the bus back to the hotel (and it didn't break down this time!) and arrived with enough time to get warmed up and changed for dinner by the time Uncle Buddy arrived.
We headed out to find 'The Stinking Rose" (They season their garlic with food!), and had the opportunity to explore Little Italy, and, inadvertently, the red light district on the way. We had an amazing and delectable dinner--Ender, Monkey Boy & Za Boo ate 'Vampire Fare' (minimal garlic), while Uncle Buddy, Raven and I all indulged in the full menu of the pungent house specialty. It was delicious!
We went to a chocolate, gelato and candy specialty shop across the way for a fitting dessert (Courtesy of Uncle Buddy).
We had taken the bus to little Italy (well, actually we had taken the bus to the end of Chinatown, and walked into Little Italy from there, which is how we ended up on our inadvertent tour of the red light district), and we walked back to the hotel through the dark and quiet business buildings, which was an adventure all in itself. Za Boo LOVED being in the business area of town! Uncle Buddy lived in the city for a number of years, so he had all kinds of information and trivia that we enjoyed hearing.
We visited for a bit back at the hotel, and The Papa was able to talk to Uncle Buddy on the phone and catch up.
We are headed to bed now, because we have to be up early to check out, and we are off to Vallejo via the Ferry tomorrow! Happy dreaming!

The Train Trip - Day 4

So, we SERIOUSLY overslept today-- 1PM in the afternoon overslept!--and we got up and around rather slow, so we didn't get going until nearly three! But, we were planning on Chinatown for the day, and luckily it was just a few (relatively) short blocks away, so we were able to spend enough time there to enjoy our visit, have enough time to stop off for dinner, and have a swim back at the hotel before an (un)reasonable bedtime (unreasonable as in 1AM unreasonable!). Well, perhaps not unreasonable on a vacation, but definitely unreasonable when we are planning an early morning the next day!
We had lunch at a combination of a street-side hot dog vendor (hot dog for Za Boo, soft pretzel for Monkey Boy) and a lunch stand at the Station-The Cable Car Cafe- which was made out of a cable car-(really good sandwiches for Ender, Raven and I). After lunch we walked to Chinatown, where we bought a large number of Xmas gifts and a few souvenirs. We had dinner at a fun 50's diner called Lori's, which we has noticed the day before. Decent burger, good fries, great shakes, neat decor, retro-atmosphere, all good. We were able to get a couple of 49ers gifts for Trina and Ben--actually from SF!--and a little Steelers something for The Papa, at a tiny little sports shop we caught on the way back.
Raven stayed in the room and took a hot bath, and the rest of us went for a bit of a swim. We all headed back to the room, where Raven had just finished her bath, and settled in to bed and watched a movie. And now, g'night!

The Train Trip - Day 2

We woke up late, relaxed, organized the room, got everybody showered and headed out to get a bite, and our bearings. We had lunch at Jamba Juice, Subway, and ended with Starbucks (free Wi-Fi was needed to help in the "getting our bearings" aspect of our excursion). Not exactly a flavor of the local scene, which we generally prefer to visit when traveling, but it was necessary and appropriate for the circumstances at that point. We saw awesome street vendors, many performers, some significantly overweight pigeons, and finally made our way to the Powell Street Transit Station, which was where we had set out to go in the beginning. We inadvertently found the Visitor's Center, which was just what we needed, but was already closed, and made plans to go back again tomorrow. We explored the station a bit, picked up a transit schedule, and headed back to the hotel by way of the street vendor area. We stopped at a Walgreen's (of which there was one on nearly every corner -there are more of them than there are Starbucks!) and in the attempt to purchase a few inadvertently forgotten sundries, had an injury incident with Bekka; she accidentally pulled the shopping cart over and landed on the ground, hitting her head on the floor, while the cart landed on top of her, and hit her face, causing a cut and a fat lip where her braces and her lip briefly became one. We managed to get her lip and braces separated, and all the blood cleaned up with the help of a kind fellow shampoo purchaser, all the kids, and a box of "we'll just use it now, and I'll pay for it when we check out" tissues. We finished the shopping and headed back to the hotel. We discovered a variety of local cafes and restaurants to try during the rest of the trip throughout the course of the day, and enjoyed getting the lay of the land. We finished the day with a good swim, dinner in our room, and a movie on the hotel network. Goodnight!

The Train Trip - Day 1

Friday, July 30, 2010
We made it! Mainly a smooth trip. The train was wonderful (delightful 81 year old man who used to work the mail car on the same route before they took the mail out of the trains, and who had some amazing stories to tell, as a seat mate, AND I treated the kids to dinner in the Dining Car because I can still remember what a luxury that was when I was a kid), we connected to the bus just fine, we had a bit of trouble when we needed to get a cab, but after nearly an hour and a half, numerous phone calls and a huge tip, we made it to the hotel!
And we have to talk about the hotel! By far the NICEST place we have ever stayed! We have a King room, with a roll away bed for Jacob, and Andrew has taken the window seat for a bed. I am snuggled up in bed with the girls, and ready for a good night's sleep. My babies (who are still my babies whether they want to be or not, no matter how old they get;)), are still so young looking when they sleep. I can hardly believe how big they are!

The Epic Adventure Log Begins!

Today is the first real opportunity I have had to log on to a computer and upload the chronicles of our adventure to date. In fact, we only have three more days before we are homeward bound, however, I HAVE been keeping a journal nearly every day of our adventure, and THAT, in-and-of-itself, is an accomplishment!
As predicted, the entries are all over the place grammatically, stylistically, and probably any other adverb (ly) we can think of, and I have not proofed them for typos, spelling or grammar. All that notwithstanding however (again, *major cringe*), I DID ACTUALLY DO IT, just like I promised my self I would! I am weirdly excited, despite my apprehension regarding publishing something potentially less than perfect, to have done an amazing thing (keep the journal), and to actually publish it (even more amazing)! I would probably set a record of some kind if anyone knew the number of blogs I actually write, and then hide in the draft folder (theoretically in order to edit and publish later), rather than getting them posted. Ay-yi-yi!

The Train Trip Pre-face

Having worked it all out to make the Epic Train Trip happen, I have decided that I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT have it happen, and allow it to go undocumented. Although I had played with the idea of having each kid bring a journal and making them write about the adventures of the trip each night before bed, I realized that, ultimately, that was folly, and would serve only to make me an annoyed taskmaster, and the kids grouchy and reluctant participants in the documenting.
SO, I have resolved to write about the trip here, on my often written, rarely published blog. That is, after all, the reason I began this blog in the first place, no?
We leave on Friday, and I can't wait! The kids are nearly beside themselves with excitement, and we are packing and planning and preparing like mad! I WILL write about the trip, everyday if I can, as we go, and I will post it when I have Internet access.
The entries will, unfortunately, be 'fast and loose,' i.e. unedited (not even for typos *cringe*) and unpolished, because that is the only way I will be able to do it and actually have it happen. I will be applying the lesson I have been learning from my good friend Fawndear, and keeping the important things first (having a good time on the trip, enjoying it with my kids, being present in the current activity), and letting the not-as-important things go (editing for hours, polishing and publishing to my personal standard of 'perfect'). I am cringing even as I am writing this, but I HAVE to do it, not just for the kids, but for me. *Sigh* I don't always enjoy working on self improvement!

Anyway, here we go...

Wild and Crazy

Okay, so, here we go again, experimenting!

I had this wild idea a while back, of taking a train trip up the California Coast with my kids. I was thinking about the fact that the train is wonderful, and riding it is relaxing, and no where near as stressful as a car trip, or, worse, flying now-a-days. We have family and friends all up and down the coast, who we are certainly overdue to visit, and there are places we want to visit just, Because.
I had this vision of the five of us traveling together over about three weeks, everyone carrying their own belongings in a backpack, and using all public transportation the whole way.
I put the idea out to Amazing Husband, and he agreed that it sounded like a wonderful plan, and was bothered only by the fact that he wouldn't be able to go (we don't have that kind of vacation time for him to spare, unfortunately).
Next, then, we needed to overcome the ever present obstacle of funds. This would not be an extravagant trip by any stretch of the imagination, however, neither would it be cheap to stay in reasonably priced hotels (reasonably priced hotels equaling reasonably clean and safe hotels) and to use all public transportation the entire way. And, of course, we would never want to plan a trip this epic in nature without allotting at least some meager portion of funds to collecting a few mementos along the way.
I won't go into all the wrenchingly dull details of how we are going to make it happen, however, we ARE going to make it happen!