Monterey and San Francisco

Lombard Street !

I didn't really get much chance to blog for the rest of our cross-country trip - mostly because I was the only adult and I was a bit preoccupied with driving, eating, bears, snakes, scorpions, etc.  So let me recap a bit at a time.

We left Mt. Shasta pretty early, and for lunch I introduced the kids to In 'n' Out Burger.  YUM!!  We then headed to San Francisco, where we drove up (holy cow) and down (oh my goodness!) Lombard Street!  I had never done it, but we had all heard Bill Cosby's routine on it.  So much funnier now that we've driven
it.  It was, as Megamind says, "exciting!"

We then headed to Monterey, where we lived from July 2000 until April 2001.  On the way I pointed out all the fruits and vegetables growing along the road.  Once in Monterey, we started at the aquarium.  I was so excited to see the kids see everything.  They reacted just as I thought - they were THRILLED!!  Otters, tuna, , jellyfish, penguins...so much fun.

We found the RV park after the aquarium closed and had a pleasant, peaceful night.  Very, very sandy, of course.

The next morning I drove the kids around to the beach, where they enjoyed looking at the tidal pools, searching for shells, and identifying the seaweed they found.  Yes, my kids are weird, I'm aware.

I then drove them up to the monarch sanctuary, and although it was too early for the monarchs, they still enjoyed it.  We saw seals and otters swimming in the bay, too!  We waited until Compango's opened - a little sandwich shop outside DLI, where Tim went to language school fourteen years ago - and introduced the kids to the best sandwiches ever.  I only got to eat half of my sandwich because I made the mistake of letting Peter take a bite.  <sigh>  I will never learn!  The girls split a pastrami, the boys got a club, and I got a #27...breaded chicken, bacon, provolone cheese, and avocado.  Delish.

This last picture is just the kids around a palm tree.  They were a bit enthralled with them the whole time we were in California.  This one they could actually touch!