Stupid Technology

Lost last night's recap somehow, so I am going to make this short and sweet.

Rented a car for the day to drive to Muir Woods.  JJ navigated the city like a pro.  The road to Muir Woods was mildly terrifying with the twists and turns and thick fog.  I thought we might fall off the edge of the earth. Boo really struggled with car sickness.

Got there early enough that we were in the second parking lot easily.  By the time we left 3 1/2 hours later, people were parked a mile down the road.  It was a lovely hike.  Very few bugs.  Lots and lots of hills.  Oh, and coastal redwoods.  Did you know that they get 25-50% of their water from the fog?

Oh, wait, I am making this short and sweet.

Had lunch at Fred's Diner in Sausalito.  JJ had their deep fried French toast and millionaire's bacon.  Yeah.  It was pretty darn good.

Tried to walk the Golden Gate Bridge from the north side, but couldn't figure out how to get to it. I'm ok with it.  This photo was worth the dead-end.

So we headed back south and miraculously got a parking space in the second lot on the San Francisco side. We walked about 1/3 of the way across the bridge before the kids had enough.  I won't lie to you, between the crowds, the wind and the rumble of traffic, my knees were a little weak.  Looking down didn't bother me.  Looking up took an act of sheer will, and a wide stance.

After the bridge, we decided to go looking for the Mythbusters studio.  They don't give tours (pouty face) but at least we can say we saw where it is. It is so much smaller than I expected!  Nothing fancy.

We returned the rental car, hopped the California Cable Car line (so much less crowded than the other lines) down to Market Street and then walked back to the hotel.

One more day.  Everyone is a little sad about it.

There's no hills in Illinois

I hope you pronounced the "s" in Illinois, because that's how I meant for it to be read.

We slept in this morning.  We are getting used to the time difference, which will suck when we head back home.

Had breakfast at Sam's.  I think they will start to consider us regulars before the week is out.  It's convenient and the food is great.

Hopped on the F Line trolley to start today's adventure: climbing to Coit Tower.  We weren't exactly sure where the stairs were, but when we came across a sign that read, "Stairs to Coit Tower," we figured we were on the right path.

And stairs, they are.  And they have a name:  The Filbert Steps.  It's something like 397 stairs to the top.  It is beautiful, but holy hell, it's a workout. I stopped several times to catch my bre-, I mean take some photos.  I cannot believe that people live on that hill.  Where do they put out their garbage?  Do they have to drag it up and down those stairs? No garbage truck is getting anywhere near those houses.

We decided not to go up in the tower itself. The line was long and we had another hill to climb, so

we went back down the other side.  It was less scenic, but a workout in itself as we had to put on the brakes.

The next hill we climbed was Lombard Street, as we made our way up to the World's Crookedest Street.  No stairs, just a near 30% grade.  I didn't dare turn around for fear I would topple over backwards.  For reals.  For this photo, I turned the virtual horizon on the make sure I was holding it flat.

The Crooked Street is a sight to behold.  It is beautifully landscaped, but again, people actually LIVE on this thing.  I can't imagine the headache that comes along with the constant stream of tourists driving down your road daily at 5 mph. We climbed to the top, along the convenient stairs, and I took a photo looking back at Coit.  Photos don't do it justice, but it was one hell of a 1-mile walk.

We hopped on a cable car and, much to the kids' dismay, stopped at the free Cable Car Museum.  The cable cars are so awesome.  You can actually see the workings of the cables.  It is amazing.  After we left there, I paid more attention and realized that you can hear the cables running underground.

After the Cable Car Museum, we walked through China Town.  It was one of those things that I wanted to be able to say we did.  We purchased such typical Chinese things as a fan, a bottle of water and a Gatorade.  

We wrapped up the day with some shopping.  JJ needed a hat to cover his poor sunburned head.  KJ took advantage of the buy one, get one half-off to get himself a flat bill Raiders hat.  These two have serious street cred.  Boo and I hit Pandora and an awesome stationery store.  

After four days, I can now distinctly discern the scent of homeless person and pot.  It took me until I was nearly 40 years old to figure the second one out.  Pretty sad, huh?

Time to get a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow's adventure is renting a car and actually driving in the city.  

Here Comes the Sun

In other words, crap, I forgot the sunscreen.

Day three.  Baseball game.  Slept in and tried to go to Dottie's True Blue Diner for breakfast (a "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" selection.). The line was out the door and around the block, so we hiked back and had breakfast at the same place we had dinner last night: Sam's Diner.  It was yum.  

As we walked back, we walked through a fantastic Farmer's Market and what appeared to be a Farmer's Market of sort for the homeless.  It was a lot to take in.  I'm still processing.

After breakfast, we hopped on a MUNI train out to the ballpark.  I am slowly overcoming my fear of public transportation.  I can read the route maps and it only took me a few minutes to figure out that the stop on the map with the picture of a baseball was AT&T Park.  I'm super smart.

The park was beautiful and our seats were fantastic.  

I am so glad that we splurged.  The kids were able to stand right at the edge of the field and watch warm-ups. Their patience totally paid off and they each got a warm-up baseball.  I was so excited for them that I could have cried.

The game was good, the sun was warm and I have to say that San Franciscans are incredibly friendly. We made friends with all of the people around us and the lady in front of me even offered me some sun screen.  That made it easier to get over the fact that her husband was sticking his furry arms into Boo's Coke.

Cubs won and I got to see my favorite pitcher, Big Time Timmy Jim Lincecum.  He had two hits.  It was crazy,

Oh, for a snack, we had garlic fries, which are supposed to be one of those things that you eat at AT&T Park.  They were really good.  Later on, at dinner, we accidentally ended up with another order of garlic fries.  They were strong and not so yummy.  They made my stomach hurt.  

These were the good ones. 

Also, there were several completely adorable little old ladies who were huge Giants fans.  When I am old, I am going to have a hat like this to wear to baseball games.  

On the trolley back home from Pier 39, we talked to an English family.  Later, Boo told me that she felt like she was in Harry Potter, which is exactly what I was thinking but didn't want to say.  I want to start using the word "brilliant" more.

And on that note, I am freaking tired, as usual.

And I smell.

Like garlic.  

Vampires beware.

Ain't no sunshine

Got up just after six to get ready for our trip to Alcatraz.  

Loved it.  Not sure how much I can express just how amazing it was.  It's sure ominous (seriously creepy) from far away, but wasn't nearly so foreboding once we were on the rock.  

We spent FOUR hours there.  We took a walking tour with one of the rangers, during which he explained about the escape attempts.  The self-guided cell block tour was fantastic, except for the fact that if the four of us didn't have our players in sync, it was challenging.  And it was crowded, but that's to be expected.  

We found this one hallway with amazing lighting and colors.  It was only a little creepy.

After Alcatraz, we headed back to Pier 39 for pizza and shopping.  Boo got a new pair of Toms (I decided that I am totally not cool enough for those ugly things.) KJ got a new Raiders t-shirt and is loving the fact that he gets lots of love out here for his Raiders gear.  I got a new sweatshirt since I got crapped on at Alcatraz (it was a big old crap, so no scrubbing it out in the restroom.)

We wandered along Fisherman's Wharf and decided to head to the Cable Car stop.  We knew it would be busy, but had no idea it was going to be a 90 minute wait.  The two Ks weren't exactly excited, but we toughed it out.

And it was freaking awesome.

KJ,JJ and I all got to hang off the sides.  

Boo got to sit, which was for the best because she was freezing.  Holy balls of fire, what a crazy experience with the hills and the cable cars coming at you from the other direction, with just inches to spare.  It was totally worth the 80 minute wait, at least for me.  But then again, I am like a small child, so maybe you shouldn't take my word for it.

I am so glad that I don't smell like homeless man tonight, but I do fear that I smell like bird crap.

And on that note, I am about to crash right here on my iPad.

So. 

Very.  

Tired. 

By the way, two days and no sun.  I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.  But I really hope that I get to see the entire bridge before we leave. 

I forgot the flower in my hair

Day One in San Francisco.

Got up at 5:45 (yay!) and managed to be on the road with McDonald's breakfast at 7:18.  Got to O'Hare, parked in the economy lot after an ill-fated attempt to hang with the taxis and two not-illegal U-turns.  

Had lunch at the food court and got to the gate with plenty of time to spare.  The flight was uneventful, barring the little girl in front of us who was constantly turning around and staring at us and offering us gummi bears.

Landed, got the luggage and hopped on BART to the hotel.  KJ was rather unsure after watching a story about someone being killed by a police officer on a BART train, but we assured him that we would be ok.  

Met Mr. Lee, got some good info on how to travel around the city and took an awesome trolley out to Pier 39.  

Had dinner outside (we midwesterners can handle the cold) with the birds and wandered the Pier. I was fascinated to see the number of people in winter clothes.  It was 59 degrees at dinner time. 

Boo and I were shoe shopping when we heard the sea lions barking.  We went running to go see them.  They are so cute.

The trolley ride home was more interesting.  We were packed to the gills and the kids got their first taste of homelessness and mental illness.  The man on the trolley was harmless and had a great conversation with himself.

It's 12:09 am here, 10:09 PM at home and we are all done. Put a fork in us. Good night. 

Also, I am tired. And I think I smell like homeless man.

Yep, tired. 

And we bought some salt water taffy. We needed the energy. 

Really, I am done. Good night. 

Who is this person?

I have never been a morning person.  According to my mon, when I was a toddler, I would sleep until 11:00.  The summers of my junior high years, I regularly stayed up until 4:00 or 5:00 am and then slept until 11:00 or 12:00 (maybe 1:00) and then rode my bike to the pool, swam all day, played softball in the evenings, and then did it all over again.
What in the world, you may be asking, did a teenager do until 5:00 am in 1987 and 1988, before there were a gazillion cable channels, before the internet, before Playststion, Facebook, Pinterest and Candy Crush Saga?  I read.  Books.  Lots and lots of books.
I still remember the first weekend in our apartment after JJ and I got married.  It was Saturday, glorious, glorious Saturday, the day for sleeping in.  Around 7:30 am, I felt a poke in the arm and could feel someone staring at me.  I opened my eyes just a slit and there was JJ, all smiles.  "When are you going to get up?" 
What?  A 7:30 wake-up poke and ear-to-ear grin is enough to push me into a murderous rage on a Saturday. 
Fast forward a few (17) years and here I am, willingly getting up at 5:45.  To golf. 
That, in and of iteslf, is a joke.  The first time my dad took me to the driving range, I was seventeen years old.  We were there for 45 minutes and I connected with exactly three (THREE!) balls. 
Here's how it went:  Take a practice swing.  Address the ball.  Whiff, whiff, whiff, whiff some more.  I had it in my head, after years of softball, that swinging something down into the ground was a bad idea.  So, I would raise up just a little with every swing so that I wouldn't beat the club head into the ground and then I would miss the ball.  I cried a lot.
So now I am getting up before the sun to play a game that makes me cry.  Well, I don't cry anymore.  I just swear a lot.  It's cathartic.

A Day with my Gram

I have recently decided to face the fact that I am not getting any younger.  Nor are any of my loved ones.  I've also recently started researching my family history and I kick myself for not asking more questions and recording more stories.  With this in mind, I decided that I need to spend some more time with my Grandma. 
We spent a morning exploring The Tiskilwa Historical Society's Museum on Main.  Tiskilwa is a tiny, adorable little town.  My grandma grew up on various farms all around Tiskilwa and is a proud 1943 graduate of Tiskilwa High School (salutatorian, no less.)  She's quite impressed with the collection that her town has put together and we spent a couple of hours looking through it.



This piece holds a special place in my heart as the woman killed in the cyclone was my great-great grandmother, Marie West.  Sometime I will get a good digital copy of the story.  For now, this photo will have to suffice.  My sister wrote a paper about it when she was in the eighth grade.  I wonder if she still has it anywhere.

I thought that these shells were beautiful.  There were decorated by sodiers during WWI as a way to pass the time.   It's amazing that something so beautiful can be created amidst such stress and horror.

Tiskilwa had it's own baseball team?  Who knew?  You should see the pictures of the grandstands.  They were huge!  I am fascinated by how times have changed.

Another special piece to me.  My great-grandfather collected these as he worked the land.  As a child, I loved to look at them and try to imagine what life was like as a Native American.  I am glad that my Gram is loaning them to the museum so others can see them too.

I had to take this photo for the Tiskilwa Volleydoll uniform (the white shirt.)  Tiskilwa always had great volleyball teams and really gave us some tough matches. 

This is the outside of the Museum.  It is the former Methodist Church.

I am dying to get inside of this house.  Besides the fact that it is AWESOME, my great-grandma worked here as a maid before she got married.  My grandma said that the family had a huge water tank on the top floor that they would have to fill.  My great-grandma sometimes had the job of going up and saying "when" so that it didn't get over-filled.  My Gram also told me that her mom and the maids from this house used to get together with the maids from another AWESOME house across the street and hang out on their days off.  My great-grandma has been gone since 1988.  How I'd love to go back and hear more stories.

The steps up to Mt. Bloom Cemetery on the west end of town.  Not a good photo, but it was raining.  These stairs have always creeped me out.  They belong in a horror movie.

 

I always see turkey vultures when I am with Gram.  I am not sure what to make of that.  There were four in this tree, but by the time I pulled out my camera and inched the car forward, three had flown off.

This house stands on the site where my great-great grandmother was killed by the tornado.  It's less than a mile from where Gram lives now.

The Tiskilwa Historical Society has placed these signs, commemorating the 18 school houses that served Tiskilwa.  This is the one my Gram attended.  It was the only two-room school.  All of the others were one-room school houses.

And finally, this rock commemorates Providence Colony and the Providence Community Church, which operated from 1841-1967.  That was the church Gram attended when she was a girl.  It is my understanding that Providence was settled by a group from Providence, RI in 1836 and died out when the railroad bypassed it and went through Princeton instead.  Now, that's my dad's version of the tale.  Someday I'll take the time to research it more.

I am so glad that I spent the day with her.  My only regret?  I didn't take a photo of her.
I'll remember next time.