May 18 - San Francisco - Happy Birthday Olivia!!!

Well, after blogging till the wee hours of this morning and the excitement of seeing the raccoon last night, we were all up and ready to head off for the day by 10 am. We went to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) but the bloke in the booth couldn't sell us tickets (go figure!) instead we' d have to head to some store somewhere a few blocks away to buy our tickets so we decided to just drive into Fisherman's Wharf.  We took some fresh fruit and packets of nuts and muesli bars (or granola bars as they're called here) in to the city with us to feed the homeless folk.  There are so many people wheeling shopping carts around the streets with all their worldly possessions in them, it's tragic to see.  Like yesterday, one bloke today had his dog with him and Claire was upset so we bought two tins of dog food and some food for the bloke. One never knows whether you're being taken for a ride with them, but it's hard to pass them on the street without acknowledging them and giving them something (other than money). I like to at least feed one person a day, today we fed about seven, so we've paid forward a little bit.  

One again Claire wanted to become a Jnr Ranger - San Francisco Maritime - so she signed up for it and started learning all about the shipping in and out of San Francisco at the turn of last century, the early yacht racing that took place in San Francisco, and the various parts of the hulking vessels.  In a building where wooden boats are restored it was fascinating to learn just how the straight timber pieces are curved and clamped to make curved timber on the bow of the boat, for example.

The wording on this picture is so quaint:  "The San Francisco yachtsman does not go in much for the natty sergecoats with brass buttons, or white duck trowsers ... He is likely to wear an old, weather-stained business suit, rubber-soled shoes that once had white uppers, and a head covering that is far from being attractive." (Spelling as is.)

Claire did the interactive pulley pull and learnt a bit more about ratios and fractions and how they're related.

The pulley systems: Ratio 1:1; 2:1; and 4:1

We took a look around the ship "Balclutha", built in 1886 and learnt just how tough the conditions were for the sailors. The ship made regular trips from Scotland to California via the treacherous Cape Horn.  It is one of the few ships of its class still visible as it was later used to haul timber up and down the Californian Coast.

The beautiful "Balclutha"



Learning about the Balclutha - and there was a lot to learn.



Sitting in one of the bunks in the fosicle (spelling?)

It hit 3 pm and the mobile phone alarm hadn't rung ... And it was time to ring Olivia for her 6th birthday .... Where was the phone?  It had fallen out of the backpack so we had to make a mad dash to get off the Balclutha right at the end of Hyde Pier, run up the street for two blocks, then up the hill for one more block. Get out the defibrillators!!!!! We got to the car by 3.10 pm (8.10 am Melbourne time), and rang Liv and sang happy birthday.  She drew a gorgeous picture of a princess for me, wrote on it all by herself and with Mum's help, emailed it to me.  Too sweet for words!

We headed back to Hyde Pier so that Claire could finish her JR program and and after rigorous testing by the Ranger she got sworn in as a San Francisco Maritime Jnr Ranger.

Claire taking her oath.

Just along the street, Capurro's Restaurant had happy hour from 3-6 pm, and its calling was loud - it called us in for a beer and wine and calamari and pizza. (Sorry these blogs are so detailed, but Ebbony and Travis are keen to hear the details of what Claire's day is like.)

Who'd have guessed ... another photo of Claire!

After lunch, we made use of the 'down time' and Claire did some school work on "factorising" with Pa for ~45 minutes.

"Factorising" - a quick tute session after lunch.

It was then time to explore the crab and clam chowder stalls.  Claire is keen to get "the same photo" we took of Travis and Melanie 30+ years ago, and the photo we replicated of Josh four years ago.

This is the best we could do:

Another head tilt - Claire and the famous "Fisherman's Wharf" sign.

This is the "family tradition"!

But it wasn't too bad really.

We headed off to see some of the buskers performing but on the way we saw an Arcade with many of the items inside that have been recovered from San Francisco's original equivalent of Luna Park.

A diorama.

What will your future be - one for the gents, and one for the ladies!

What fun we had!  Whack-a-Mole; a kissing machine that told you how hot you were as kissers!; the laughing lady that either amused or totally terrified young children; pianolas; and the story of how Walt Disney's Disneyland started.  It was fascinating and loads of fun.

Claire was highly amused at Nana's prowess at Whack-a-Mole!

Look at how freaky the original Minnie and Mickey were!

After much frivolity and laughter, we headed over to the cheap and nasty souvenir stores that line Pier 39.  How on earth do they make a living?  The San Fran sea lions were barking at us, so off we went to visit them. The literature says they are, "known for their intelligence, playfulness and noisy barking".  The latter sure is true, they were deafening.

The sea lions calling for some attention.


Shortly after the earthquake hit SF in October, 1989, a few California sea lions began arriving at Pier 39's K-Dock. By January 1990, they started arriving in droves and completely took over K-Dock much to the exasperation of the tenants.  After much debate and research it was decided they could stay.  The bay provides plenty of food and an environment protected from predators. Within a few months, the population grew to over 300 and hit an all-time record in of over 1,700 in November 2009.

Claire loved watching them and their antics of trying to push each other off the decks.

We hit Ghiradelli Square for hot chocolates and a sundae to share - and we still couldn't do it justice. I don't know how anyone can get through these desserts alone.  Claire's verdict? She prefers Max Brenner. But the Ghiradelli chocolates get the thumbs up.

Yummy hot chocolate and a sundae to finish off our Sunday.

We drove 'home' via Twin Peaks and looked at the beautiful sparkling city skyline from on top of the mountains.  Home and an early night, ready to explore some more tomorrow.

 

One year ago my Dad passed away, Vale Dad.