4 Wheels 4 Girls

On Tuesday May 17th, we decided to explore San Francisco despite the cold, gross, rainy weather. We parked our RV and set off with our raincoats and umbrellas for Pier 33 to see if we could catch a ferry to Alcatraz, the former island prison. Even on this yucky day, it was packed and the wait wasn’t worth it. We walked down to Pier 39, hoping to see some sea lions and find some good hot chocolate. We walked through the streets until we heard the honk of the sea lions. We turned the corner, and there they were! There were at least 50 of them lounging on wooden rafts about the size of a queen-size bed. We stood and watched them for at least 20 minutes because they were so entertaining.

On the way to get some hot cocoa after the sea lions, we saw a store called Lefty’s. I’m a lefty, so this looked really cool to me. We went inside and Ellie and I each got our own pair of left-handed scissors and I got a left-handed postcard.

Next, we went in a magnet shop. I’m sure this sounds quite boring, but there were a bunch of other cool souvenirs too, like fake doughnuts, hotdogs, and ice cream, and a whole bunch of 3-D t-shirts and stuff. Ellie got a stuffed sea lion named Celia, (read more about this in Ellie’s post) and we got a magnet with the Golden Gate Bridge on it.

Riding the San Francisco Trolley

We got our hot chocolate (finally!), and then we walked down to Fisherman’s Wharf and then to the trolley. The trolley was over 50 years old and super cool. It ran on tracks, and it rattled like crazy. It was scary to go up and down all the hills; as we were going up the hills, all the buildings we were passing looked SEVERELY slanted, as Dad would say. It looked and felt like the world was sideways! We rode the trolley around town to see the sights, and then we rode back on a crowded streetcar and got lunch at a yummy cafe called Boudin’s. There were lots of cool things about this place: one, it had been there since 1849; two, they made their own fresh sourdough bread; and three, they made the best clam chowder I had ever tasted. Well, I don’t have much to compare it to, but it was DELICIOUS. It was nice to get out of the rain and cold and eat some warm food.

After lunch, we spotted a National Park Service building, and we went inside to check it out. Then we rode the trolley to Lombard Street, a long, winding road that reminded us of Walter’s Wiggles at Zion National Park. Remember that post? We walked up it, and then rode the trolley back to Fisherman’s Wharf. On the way back to the RV, we spotted a taffy shop and went inside. We bought many flavors of taffy, twelve pieces for each of us. (Read more about this in Ellie’s post.)

This street is crooked, but it's got nothing on Walter's Wiggles

We finally made it back to our RV in time to drive back over the Bay Bridge to Berkeley. We were meeting Perry, Katy, Owen, and Aida (Hope that’s how you spell your name!) to go get Indian food for dinner. We found a laundromat near the restaurant to do our laundry, and then we walked over to the Indian place. It was some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had in my life. My favorite thing was probably the chicken vindaloo or the chicken tikka masala.

After dinner, we said goodbye to our friends, picked up our dry laundry, and walked back to the RV and went to bed. It was a fun and eventful day! 😉

May 16. This morning we went to go get my mom at the airport. First we went to get our toilet fixed. When we got there we went to tell the people that we were ready for our toilet. They came and put the toilet in the RV. After that we went to a book store. We had sandwiches and then we went inside to get my mom’s book. We went to the kid’s room and read books. Back at the RV, we made mackaroiny and cheese. It was good. After that Daddy read us To Kill A Mockingbird. After that we drove to the airport. We drove up to the place where Mommy was supposed to be but she was not there. We keep driving until we saw Mommy. We all ran to the door and hugged her and then they made us go to bed. I’m glad we have Mommy back with us.

Early Thursday morning, May 12, after a long night spent seemingly in the middle of one of the runways, I crawled out of the RV and hopped on the shuttle to go from the long-term parking lot to departures at the San Francisco airport to catch my flight “home”. I went to Lansing (Iowa) to attend, and help out as much as I could, with a benefit that was being held for my brother and his family on Saturday. Greg was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor several months ago. He’s doing great, and given the effectiveness of the treatments so far and the importance of general good health, hard work, and strong will he will, no doubt, continue to do so for a long, long time. The treatments, though, are rough so it is difficult for him to work and get done all that needs to get done on the beautiful organic apple orchard that Greg and his wife own in Wisconsin. So. . . my siblings, mom, and several friends and coworkers have been meeting regularly for the past few months to plan a day of fun and fundraising to help them out. The benefit was a huge success. And I was really grateful to be there, to work closely with my amazingly organized and hard-working siblings, their spouses, kids, and extended families to do all that had to be done to make the auctions, raffles, and great dinner happen. It was really wonderful to be among so many who know and love Greg, and to experience the extent to which friends and family in that small community work together, to give of their time, talents and financial resources to help out when help is needed.

On our way to the airport, Mom and I took a detour through Viroqua, WI so I could see the house that my sister Barbara has rented and is using for the counseling business that she has just started. It is a gorgeous home, with lots of nice workwork. Though she is still in the process of furnishing it, etc. it already feels warm and comfortable. The requests for appointments are already rolling in so from the looks of it, the new counseling center is going to be a busy one.

May 15th, after the Adventure Playground, my dad’s friend, Perry (who was awesome, by the way), gave us a big surprise.

Well, anyway, here’s the story. So, as we were walking back from the Adventure Playground, us sisters chatted with Perry’s son, Owen. He’s in third grade (like Ellie), he was really cool, and he was really smart, too. He had shown us around his house, which is a boat, by the way, and he introduced me, Ellie, Ana, and Greta to his two cats, and what he called his “evil bunny”. The bunny didn’t seem very evil to me, but whatever. Owen knows much better than me.

So, we walked back to the RV, and chatted with Owen, and along the way, I picked a couple pieces of dill off the bushes and snacked on it. It was good; it tasted like licorice. Yum… So anyway, we made it back to the parking lot. I wasn’t sure what we would have done besides that, but Perry led us to a Coast Guard trailer. He opened it up and rolled out… Coastie!

Coastie's Uncle is a Cutter

Coastie was weird. I could only guess what it was, and I just guessed a little model for Perry’s work, but I was completely off. Coastie rolled around on wheels, and Perry used a remote control thing to make it go places. Greta had headphones with a mouth-piece and whenever she talked, the Coastie thing would say exactly what she was saying, but in a much higher voice. Owen also made Coastie talk, and Coastie told us about himself.

We had a lot of fun with Coastie that day. We’ll have more tomorrow!

On May 15, we went to Adventure Playground, a playground that was built and keeps being rebuilt by kids, in Berkeley. It was very fun. I built a fort with Owen. Greta helped us paint and I got paint all over my winter coat. It’s OK though because Perry said it will wash out. And then we climbed through a spider web thing and I got stuck. And then we left and went down to the beach and built sandcastles. After that we went and had pizza. We had cheese and sausage pizza. It was really good.

In the nets at Adventure Playground

We left the Santa Cruz Boardwalk pretty late on May 14. The girls all climbed into bed and fell fast asleep as I started the drive back up toward Berkeley. I was not expecting the relatively short drive back to the bay area to involve endless construction barriers along a curvy, perilous climb up and down a mountain range in the pitch black night, but that was pretty much the experience. Thankfully there was a stretch-limo taking it very slow, so I locked onto its taillights and focused on staying off the concrete walls. We made it safely to a quiet spot north of San Jose, where I could get some sleep.

With our favorite friends in Berkeley, CA

The next day we met up with friends in Berkeley. It was a delight to reconnect with my childhood friend, Perry, to meet his wonderful family, and to get a glimpse into his world. We were lucky to spend a full day with them, to explore the Berkeley Marina and enjoy its view across the bay, and to get a good taste of Berkeley. But, I will pass the telling of the day’s events along to the young storytellers…

On Saturday, May 14th, we visited the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Remember the big white roller coaster I talked about? Well this was the place where I could ride it! I was super excited. There were a ton of other rides too. I was born a roller coaster girl, so this was totally my cup of tea. We got in line at the ticket booth and purchased all-day passes for the boardwalk. This means we could ride all the rides we wanted all day long. It was SO fabulous.

The Giant Dipper, sixth oldest coaster in the U.S.A.

First, Dad, Stella, and I rode the Giant Dipper, the big white roller coaster that was the biggest ride on the boardwalk. It was also the sixth-oldest roller coaster in the United States, built in 1924. So anyway Stella wanted to be in the middle so we shared a seat somewhat close to the front and Dad sat in front of us. The ride totally earned its name. It was full of sharp turns, big drops, huge hills, and it was totally unpredictable. The only thing it lacked was an upside-down loop. I loved it.

Next, we all rode the merry-go-round. I wanted to spend my time riding the big scary rides, but Dad said we had to be willing to ride all rides, big and small. To my surprise though, the merry-go-round was unique and fun, and it was 100 years old! If you got a seat on one of the outside horses, you could reach your hand out and grab a metal ring as the ride went around and around. You would throw the ring and try to land it in a big clown’s mouth. The first time we rode it only Dad got an outside seat, and he got one in the clown’s mouth! The other times we rode it, I made sure to get an outside seat. I got really close to making it in, but I never did actually get it. It was SO a right-handed game, and guess what I am? A lefty. I normally have pretty good aim. Lucky- right-handed Dad threw it in 3 times! That big stinker. :p

On the best Merry-Go Round ever!

After the carousel Dad and Ana went to ride the little helicopters while Stella, Ellie, and I went to ride the Haunted Castle, but unfortunately the ride was down for some repairs. They said we could come back in 30 minutes, so while we waited for them to finish their helicopter ride, we watched a man draw caricatures of a couple sitting in two chairs. Soon they were back and we were off to our next ride!

Then it was nearing lunchtime, so we did one more ride: the Seaswings. It was the classic swinging-chair ride, but it was great. We all rode them and they were fun. Then we headed back to our camper to have a quick meal of sandwiches. We ate them at lightning speed so we could go right back out to the boardwalk.

We rode the ferris wheel. I thought it was going to be another dinky little ride, but it was scary! Stella, Ellie, and I shared a car and we got stuck at the 3 freakiest places. Also, the car shook, and we screamed our heads off. I bet we sounded like total idiots and I’m sure lots of people looked at us like, “Who in the world are those losers up there?” but we didn’t care. We were all way too terrified that we were going to tip over backwards and fall out of our car. But of course it was fun!

Next, Ellie and Stella and I decided to do the Haunted Castle. While we were in line, I tried to assure Stella and Ellie that it wouldn’t be too scary, but of course… they were still scared. It was their first time on any kind of scary ride though, so I could sort of understand their fear. Sort of. Like I said, I just LOVE any kind of ride that gives you a thrill. By the time we were in our little fright car, they were terrified. The people running the ride wouldn’t let us all ride in one row, so since Stella and Ellie didn’t want to ride by themselves, they rode in the back together while I sat in the front by myself. The ride really wasn’t scary; there was just a bunch of shrieking, things that popped out at you, and evil cackling. Mwah ah ah ah ah! I can do a great evil laugh. There was one big monster thing that made Stella scream her butt off while I just laughed and laughed. I found the whole thing hysterical. At the end of the tour of the haunted castle, we went under a guillotine to be beheaded before the ride was over. We could see the big blade hanging over our heads, and then it dropped! Even I screamed at that one, mostly because I really didn’t expect it to fall. That ride was REALLY entertaining.

We met up with Dad and Ana and then did a little dragon roller coaster. It was Ana’s first one besides Disney World and she loved it! At least I think. She said she liked it but she tends to change her mind quite often.

Then Dad, Stella, Ellie, and I rode a fast blue coaster called the Hurricane. It went sideways and almost upside down! Stella and I loved it, but Ellie hated it. Oh well, she’s just not much of a roller coaster girl. Then the four of us rode the Giant Dipper, and Ellie hated that one too, even more than the Hurricane. Geez, I absolutely cannot relate to that girl when it comes to roller coasters.

Ellie and Ana riding the Seaswings together. Can you spot them?

Then Stella, Dad, and I rode the Giant Dipper 2 more times while Ellie and Ana rode the Seaswings 3 or 4 more times. Then Ellie, Stella, and I rode a really sweet ride called Wipeout. It had 3 disks that spun with 4 cars on each one. Those spun too. The coolest thing about the ride was that all the lights were completely turned off except some flashing colored strobe lights, so you could only see flashes of the room as you were spinning around and around. It was soooooooo cool. We only got to ride it twice since we discovered it too late in the day.

We went to the RV, ate a quick dinner of tortellinis, and went straight back to the boardwalk. Stella and I rode the Hurricane and the Haunted Castle again, then met up with Ellie and rode Wipeout. It was a terrible ride to do right after dinner, but I have an incredibly strong stomach so I didn’t feel sick at all. Then Stella and I rode the Giant Dipper with Dad one more time, and then while Ellie, Dad, and Ana rode the carousel, we rode the Dipper two more times. We got great seats both times, the very front and the very back. The front is fun because you… are in the front. It’s just fun to be able to go over all the hills and bumps first. The back is fun ’cause you get whipped over everything super fast. I of course put my hands up both times. It’s the very best way to ride a roller coaster.

We got lucky and got to ride the merry-go-round two times after the dipper before the boardwalk closed. Then we went back to the RV, got ready for bed, and went to sleep. It was a super duper duper duper duper duper fun day!!!

On May 13th we drove down highway 1 along the ocean. Most of the time we saw the ocean but sometimes we saw hills. At one point we saw that part of the ocean was very light blue. Greta said she thought some one had poured a lot of coolade in the ocean. Daddy told Ana that she worked really hard to get her pictures taken in that strong wind.

We drove until we came to a stop for construction where the road had crumbled away. We waited for a long time. Then we moved about a foot. We just sat there. I went back to Ana’s bed and read a book. I read for a minute and then we started moving. Then we stopped again. We waited for a while and then we finely got on our way.

Along Highway One, near Big Sur

We saw huge rocks in the water. We drove to Big Sur. When we got there we saw huge cliffs. Then we turned around and headed back. We got to Santa Cruz. We drove to our campground. When we got out, Daddy showed us how to hook up the RV. Then we went inside and made dinner. I made Ana’s bed for an early birthday gift. We had these pasta things and had ice cream after that. Then Daddy read some of To Kill a Mockingbird to us. After that we went to bed. At one point a bird woke me up. Then I went back asleep.

On May 13 we drove from the stables to the Monterey town were we hopped out and took a walk.

Our campground in Monterey was next to some horse stables. All the stable doors looked like this.

First we went to a barber shop to get Daddy a hair cut. We read some books and then Daddy’s hair cut finally ended so we could move on. When we got outside it was so cold. We walked to the Cannery Row. We were so hungry. I saw a sight that made me go crazy. Cinnamon buns! Warm, hot, steamy on a cold, freezing day. We could smell them.

On Cannery Row with John Steinbeck, who is wearing a very fancy hat.

We keep on walking and got our pictures taken and then went back to the RV and had lunch. We were having tuna salad and chicken salad. I do not like either. Daddy made me have both. I got real mad. Then he made me a hummus sandwich. After that we left. I had a great time but a cold time.