Travelogue 3

Angela, Susie, and I spent most of Saturday, Oct. 14th in the car. About 10 hours and we didn't even take the long route to San Francisco. We cut across California and avoided the coast. All in all a good drive which was helped by lots of laughter, singing, and listening to Harry Potter on CD. When I have the time I so want to listen to all the HP books this way. It made the time fly by! We got into SF at 6:59pm, it was 63 degrees, and we found our way to the hostel at Fort Mason without too much hassle (one phone call, several trips around the wharf and block).

The hostel was great. We had a private room for the three of us and it was just over 300 bucks for four nights, what a steal! The bathroom was right across the hall, there was a kitchen, free parking, etc. We walked down to Fisherman's Wharf, found Ghiradelli Square and ate sandwiches at Lori's Diner before going to bed. Sleep we did until I woke everyone up at 3:45am when I quickly realized I had either the stomach flu or food poisoning. Needless to say, Sunday was a wash for me.

Monday I felt better and we went to Alcatraz. This was the best part of the SF trip for me. What a cool experience. We took the ferry to the island and spent hours touring the cell house and grounds of the prison. Then Ang and I spent a small fortune on souveiners for our classrooms. Last year I got a class set of the novel "Al Capone Does My Shirts" (so so good, read it even if you aren't still in 7th grade!) which is about a family living on Alcatraz in 1935. I'd been telling my kids about my trip over break and promised to bring back cool things to start our novel with and I didn't let them down. We got convict flashcards complete with mug shots and rap sheets of every prisoner ever housed there. We got books and maps and escape plans. We got posters. We even got a piece of the "rock" - a hunk of cement from the prison for six bucks!

Once we made it back to the mainland we headed for lunch and then back to the hostel as I was feeling worse than Sunday. I rested and then insisted we go out sightseeing again. I made it to the top of Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world) before almost passing out so we went back to the hostel and had soup. Ang and Sus were so great, making sure I was well taken care of!

Tuesday we hit the Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum and then went to Fisherman's Wharf. We took it easy and I was feeling a bit better. We got souveniers and ate at the famous Boudin's Sourdough Bread Co. And we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. We'd intended to walk over but missed the exit (note to travelers, the guidebook is not lying when it says it comes up quickly) and ended up in Sausalito. But it worked out well - as we drove we watched walkers who seemed to be freezing. I was happy to be in the car!

Wednesday we were back in the car by 7:05am and oddly enough, it was 63 degrees, the same temp it had been when we arrived and about the same temp it had stayed all week. I can't say I wasn't glad to be heading back toward Vegas, this trip to SF was fun but it was also a bit tainted by that dumb stomach issue. However, when I go back someday, and I will, I am going to ride a cable car! Mark my words:-)

P.S. - My kids love the Alcatraz stuff. They can't get enough of the prisoner cards and I even had to make a copy of one for a student to take home to show her dad because she swears he looks just like her uncle:-)