Over the holidays, we went on a family vacation for the first time in years. I began in San Diego with the baby, though that part was work-related. The baby and I then drove to LA so I could meet an old and dear friend for dinner. The funny thing is, that when I went to rent a car, they gave me a Subaru Outback station wagon. It's as if just by asking for a carseat, they decided to give me a whole mom-mobile. I didn't mind too much, we have one at home and I'm used to driving it. I was amused.
From LA, Amelia and I flew to San Francisco, and that's where the fun began. We were met by her dad and her sister, who had arrived an hour before and had already procured the Ford Explorer that would be our home away from home for the next week. I'm not a big SUV lover, honestly, but we did have a fabulous time. We drive small and environmentally-better cars in daily life. My everyday auto's a Honda Civic with not too much room to spread one's legs, so it was a treat, a vacation-on-wheels, to drive a big huge--I guess I can't exactly call it a car--a big, huge, family-moving extravaganza. Of course, once we loaded our duffle bags and the much-needed pack-and-play and the baby backpack and the stroller, we were left wondering how we would ever have managed with a more sensible car.
We tooled around San Francisco for a few days, doing all those touristy things we'd never do while on business trips there, as my husband does often, or when I lived there, as I did as a young and raucous twenty-two-year old. We went to Alcatraz. We rode the cable cars up and down. We went to an exhibit about the Titanic. We dined ala Uncle Vito's, the Italian place across from our hotel, because in this city of such fabulous food and dining, the baby still fell asleep at 6 pm, and Uncle Vito's offered take-out. Samira had a blast, and we did too.
The next part of our trip was to Muir Woods and then to Inverness in West Marin County. We wanted to hike in Pt. Reyes, to take those three hundred steps down to the famed lighthouse (they seem like six hundred with a baby on one's back, and we saw many parents hauling toddlers back up the cliff). We thought we'd see a whale or two on their migration south. Although that didn't happen, we were happy enough to be in what has to be one of the most gorgeous spots on earth. The spiritual beauty of Pt. Reyes calmed all of us, it was very unexpected, and amazing, and profound.
Oops, an interruption I'm off now to catch the baby from her babysitter. I'll be back later with pictures.
From LA, Amelia and I flew to San Francisco, and that's where the fun began. We were met by her dad and her sister, who had arrived an hour before and had already procured the Ford Explorer that would be our home away from home for the next week. I'm not a big SUV lover, honestly, but we did have a fabulous time. We drive small and environmentally-better cars in daily life. My everyday auto's a Honda Civic with not too much room to spread one's legs, so it was a treat, a vacation-on-wheels, to drive a big huge--I guess I can't exactly call it a car--a big, huge, family-moving extravaganza. Of course, once we loaded our duffle bags and the much-needed pack-and-play and the baby backpack and the stroller, we were left wondering how we would ever have managed with a more sensible car.
We tooled around San Francisco for a few days, doing all those touristy things we'd never do while on business trips there, as my husband does often, or when I lived there, as I did as a young and raucous twenty-two-year old. We went to Alcatraz. We rode the cable cars up and down. We went to an exhibit about the Titanic. We dined ala Uncle Vito's, the Italian place across from our hotel, because in this city of such fabulous food and dining, the baby still fell asleep at 6 pm, and Uncle Vito's offered take-out. Samira had a blast, and we did too.
The next part of our trip was to Muir Woods and then to Inverness in West Marin County. We wanted to hike in Pt. Reyes, to take those three hundred steps down to the famed lighthouse (they seem like six hundred with a baby on one's back, and we saw many parents hauling toddlers back up the cliff). We thought we'd see a whale or two on their migration south. Although that didn't happen, we were happy enough to be in what has to be one of the most gorgeous spots on earth. The spiritual beauty of Pt. Reyes calmed all of us, it was very unexpected, and amazing, and profound.
Oops, an interruption I'm off now to catch the baby from her babysitter. I'll be back later with pictures.