Our morning started early and a little slow. We leisurely got ready and met Jon downstairs for breakfast just before he was to leave for his work conference (the initial reason for flying to San Francisco). He had a full day conference both Monday and Tuesday, leaving the kids and I to our own adventures. Also that morning we decided to ask to switch hotel rooms (would not be the last time...). We weren't pleased with our first room and since we were paying for it, we thought we'd bring the issues up to management and get a new room. This meant however that I was to pack everything up and move rooms with two kids because Jon already left for his conference. Let's call this one room number 2.
It ended up being just 2 doors down, so doing a little shuffling was nothing to worry about. Just making sure I had the right keys and that the kids kept following me was the biggest hurdle! We finally got settled and I figured out what it was going to take to get us downtown. After hemming and hawing a while, I finally decided I was fully capable of making the trip, packed up, and we were on the shuttle back to the airport where we would catch the BART train into the city. The trip took a little under an hour.
There were many reasons that lead me to getting out of our hotel room for the day but the main one was we needed a few gluten-free food items to help supplement the kids on our trip. This meant finding the closest Whole Food store or the like downtown. This was no easy task! I had done some research and found that there were a few stores I could get to by foot and there were parks nearby, added bonus, all it took was walking there! We never found the Whole Foods or, disappointedly, any of the parks I looked up, but we did run into a Trader Joes which was good enough for me.
Brianna was amazing walking the whole way and Carl did great being patient in the stroller. We walked a total of 3.5 miles, many of it being uphill, we were in San Francisco after all! Check the map out - we started and ended where the "C" is. Take the "C" and follow the path right, then up to "B" then back down, then up a little, and back down to "C". Whew! I could tell Brianna was lagging a little bit closer to the end but she made it all herself without help. As we walked up Bush Street, all uphill, Brianna was actually running. She kept saying, "Oh boy, I'm getting SO tired," then kept running. Silly girl, maybe you should walk...
Once we got downtown, it was just before 11 and we were all pretty hungry. I found the closest Chipotle and we settled in for lunch. Half-way through eating Brianna told me she had to go potty. No big deal right? Well... the bathroom was upstairs and I had a mess of two kids downstairs. I tried as quickly as possible to clean their messy hands (mostly Carl's), asked the wait staff not to clean our place, and rushed upstairs. Quite the task with a stroller and two kids, but we managed! On the plus side, a manager was walking around while we were eating, orienting a new employee. He asked us how we were doing then came back with a BOGO coupon. So nice!
We took in the sites as we walked around. They are not short of any visual stimulation in San Francisco. The hardest part was reiterating to Brianna and Carl that we do not stare and we keep walking. They did well. We made it to Trader Joes and had a snack. Another bonus, was that it was right on the California line so we got to watch the cable cars roll by as we ate. Leading up to our trip, we frequently read Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton. It's all about the San Francisco Cable Cars and how the people of the city fought to save them "progress." It was fun to see Brianna relate her story to real life and get so excited for the chance to see them and in the coming days ride them. Leading up to our trip she was telling everyone she was going to see Maybelle. Not too many people knew who she was talking about, but that didn't stop her! Did I mention she was excited!
To say the least, Brianna was tired from all the walking and not getting a normal nap - on top of the 2 hour time difference messing with her head. Carl did end up getting a short nap on the way into the city, so he was ready to go. We had so much fun exploring the city and riding on the train together.
We figured out dinner and hung out in the hotel before bed. As an extra bonus, there was a business parter of Jon's going to the conference who also had their family along (3 kids) for the trip who was also staying at the same hotel. We ran into them after dinner and the oldest boy invited us to play in their room for a little bit before bed. Since Jon wasn't back yet, it was nice to have the added distraction! They ran and played and jumped crazily on the bed together. I love how kids are fast friends!
Well, as you might imagine, it didn't take much to get them to bed. They rarely sleep in the same room at naps or going to bed, so I thought this might be a challenge, but with all the activity and time change, they basically closed their eyes and fell asleep.
I relaxed as well and contemplated what to do on Day 2!
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