1/11/09 Cable Car Sunday

For once, we were good, fun entertaining parents today, rather than overwhelmed workers or frazzled homeowners -- we took the kids to the city for a cable car ride! We happened upon a positively glorious, glowing, gorgeous day to explore what I keep forgetting is such a beautiful and interesting city.

No trip to San Francisco is complete without a drive down Lombard Street. Gabriel was elated, Julian cautious, Katrina in the middle. As usual.


Our main goal was the cable cars, though. We started at the Aquatic Park so we could see the turntable.


Hang on!


Katrina was something between intrigued and intimidated, though as usual she held very very strong opinions about where she should sit, what she should hold on to, or if she should stand.


Even a view of an old prison is fabulous (that's Alcatraz).


We went to the Cable Car Museum, where we saw the huge wheels that turn and wind the actual cables, and rang a genuine historic bell.




A trip back to Fisherman's Wharf, where we got a late, so-so, expensive lunch, and then back home. The excitement took its toll on all three!


I wish we had a better way to explore the city -- really, you need a place to land, a ground zero, and explore it in bits and pieces, wander around neighborhoods, rather than all-day excursions with specific targets. But especially when Katrina gets older, I know we'll be heading north much more often.

1/11/09