Four Days of Adventure!

I think I have finally settled down from our four day weekend to sit down and try to tell the tale.  We had so much fun and it is likely our last "big" trip before we head back to Texas.  Michael is getting close to the end and the course work will only become more challenging.  This means giving up weekends to study as well.  I ask that everyone begin to think of him in your prayers and ask that he continues to keep his focus and do well.  Prayer for all of us to have patience with each other also as tension rises.

We had originally planned to take a drive down the famous 17-Mile Drive but we were informed that the PGA Golf Tournament was taking place down that way!  Grrr...we have had to postpone this trip for various reasons over the last nine months...I wonder if we will ever get to see this area!  Silly golf....who cares how far a guy can hit a ball across a green?!?  LOL

Not to let this get us down, our first day of the weekend was spent geocaching...it was a beautiful day to get out and see some sites.  We just chose to drive a road that paralleled the area through the mountains instead of along the ocean.  We actually had some amazing views from on high and still felt like we were seeing the ocean without wondering if we would drive off a cliff!  Not a bad thing if you ask me.  We found fifteen caches that day, which is not a bad geocaching day!

On Saturday, we were absolutely LAZY...Michael studied, I played around with a geocaching map, the children just played!  We did manage to pack a few clothes and set up meals for a road trip for the next two days.

On Sunday, we started out early in order to drive in to San Francisco.  We wanted to go to our favorite West Coast church for Mass.  We will likely not make it back here again before we leave so it was nice to take a small gift (one of my painted dolls of the church patron) for the priest and thank him for his spiritual inspiration.  We also took a gift to the Sisters of the Poor in thanks for allowing us to stay with them for the Walk of Life.

Then we were off to hunt down as many LOVE caches along our route.  Yeah...some women ask for flowers or candy, but I ask for a nice walk in a park or a stop along a road to grab a cache or two (actually five out of the 15 found)!  Call me silly but it sure was a lot healthier for everyone!

The cache to the right was called...In the Name of Love!  And I have really enjoyed finding mushrooms to photo while tromping through the woods for caches...like the one to the left here!  Doesn't it look like a stack of buttered pancakes?  Below Little Miss is still loving the hunt as we cache into the night!  And, this other cache was at a tree "snowing" down petals!

And what was our path leading to for the day?  We were off to Muir Woods National Park!  We had tried to see this park a few months ago but it was SO CROWDED...so we left.  This day was not much better but we were determined, so we found a parking spot (one of the times Michael's disabled veteran status was a plus!) and got past the crowds.  We soon discovered that once you got past the entrance it was really a nice quiet area with paths among the redwoods and springs.  The children were so pleased with the area that they begged us to return soon...like the next day!  Michael and I just smiled and said we would see what the next day brought us.

After leaving the park, we continued our caching adventure that would lead us to our hotel.  We drove through San Ramon and other small towns along the way with more beautiful views.  We ended the day in Oakland and stayed at an OK hotel.  I was glad that the  children were tired...that we could just eat dinner and put them to bed...that it was just a one night stay.  If it was even one notch lower on the comfort zone, we would likely have gone to another location.  However, we knew this going in, so no high expectations and as little time here as possible.  I even brought our own blankets and pillows to make it work.  I guess we just decided to pick our battles and pray for the best.  We survived a bad hotel and lived to tell about it!  LOL

All of that...to save a little...so we could find a place to park the next day at the San Francisco Wharf.  This is one of the most expensive places to park and visit!

We got to walk around Pier 39 and see the sea lions lying around.  We had hoped to take the children for a ride on the double decker carousel but it was toe early in the day.  When we asked a couple to take a family picture, they asked where we were from...this led to a short telling of our West Coast adventure.  They were so glad to hear we were seeing so much of the coast.  Just as we were leaving the lady called out, "Have you been to Sutter Creek and the Gold Country Tour?"  WHAT!?!?  Why have not thought to take the children on a gold tour?  I feel so silly and my mind began to swirl trying to think of how we could fit that in to our few last weeks.  So, do not be surprised if you read about that trip in the near future.  Well, maybe we can fit in to our trip home!  We will just have to wait and see!

Then we grabbed a ferry to visit the infamous Alcatraz!

This is an adventure we have wanted to do from the moment we arrived (before?) in California.  I am so glad we were finally able to do this trip to The Rock.  Now...I will admit we were drawn to this place because of the legendary stories of escapes and the prison.  However, it was not just about seeing the prison.  There is so much more history there and then there are the geological features as well.  We learned that this began as a large rock island with little to no vegetation.  The government decided that it would make a great place for a fort to secure the Bay.  After some time, the fort was moved to a better location further out of along the coast.  The island was then used as a military prison and soon became a federal prison.

Did you know that entire families lived on the island?  Prison employees lived on the island and if married were allowed to bring their families.  Children who lived here were taken on a ferry each day to attend school on the mainland.  The families were not allowed to interact with the prisoners; however, at Christmas the children sang carols to the prisoners in the courtyard.

The island is now a tourist location for various reasons.  One reason is the birding experience here.  While we are on the island the gulls were setting up nesting areas.  I guess we were a little too early to have a full range of bird sightings.  Another reason to go to the island is the unique rock formations found here.  This type of rock (also found on the coast of the mainland) is actually named Alcatraz Terraine, which is unaltered version of graywacke found on other parts of the coast.  Wow!  We really have learned a lot about geology...from geocaching!

We did enjoy the prison history also and had our very first role playing geocache.  It was a lot of fun traveling through the prison to find our escape.  I am so glad none of actually were prisoners here.  However, even in this dismal place, there were signs of the prisoners humanity and desire to live like others.  We were shown the simple comforts sent to them by family and friends, as well as the hobbies that kept the men busy in their cells.  I know most of these men were here because of their terrible crimes, but many of them still had loved ones left behind who they missed.  In fact, I was surprised that this harsh prison actually allowed visitors once a month.

We returned to the main land and walked around the various piers in the search for food.  I know San Francisco is known for their seafood but the children really wanted a hamburger.  I cannot blame them, as the smell of the Bay is quite nauseating and did not really make us hunger for seafood.  Along the way, we found out that an annual tulip festival was just beginning and Pier 39 was covered in the flowers.  Also, we found an antique arcade museum that had amazing games on display.  So funny to think Pacman is considered an antique!

Tired and ready to make our way back to the parking garage, we decided to find one more geocache along the way.  It was at the place where the trolleys are turned around and we found the cache easily.  Then we noticed a trolley sitting at the end of the line and thought it would be a great photo opportunity.  Since this is Sean's senior year (hard to believe!) we have been trying to take his photo at iconic locations throughout the year.  We snapped a shot and then our Little Miss had to have her photo...that is when the trolley crew came up to us.  We thought we were going to be in trouble but they were so cool about it.  They even asked Little Miss to help them push the trolley around.  She refused but Little Man decided he would gladly take her place.  SO much fun!

And that is how our day ended...or is it?

Well, technically we did drive home after this fun, but along the way we geocached.  I had promised a cache owner that I would replace a log for a cache IF they gave us a hint to its location.  SO...we made the stop and I made the grab!  This elusive find, bolstered our resolve to find some of their other fun caches.  We ended up finding five of their caches before finally driving home.  I just love a fun cache that gets us (especially the children) excited about our hobby.

A great weekend but of course that left us with a short school week.  I am glad I finally had a chance to sit down and write about our adventure.  And now I will spend my extra time these next few weeks planning our trip back to Texas knowing we have checked off most of our West Coast bucket list!