After breakfast we headed to the cable cars. I haven't been on a cable car since I was very young and so I think I was more excited than the girls. We had a bit of a wait in line, but the girls were entertained by watching how they turn the cars around. We decided to ride the Powell & Hyde Park line- it gives you a glimpse of curvy Lompard street, goes past Chinatown, and drops you off right next to Ghirardelli Square!
Mommy and the girls rode on the front of the cable car, while Daddy got to hang off the side! Pumpkin loved watching out the window and watching the man work the levers. Sweet Pea thought she wanted to sit by herself, but one street was enough for her!
We made it! Yummy chocolate for everyone! I learned that I haven't been to SF in over ten years, but as soon as we got off the cable car I knew exactly where to go to find chocolate!
We explored the Hyde St. Pier. It had a clipper ship, old tug boats, a paddle wheel boat, and more to explore. The girls liked climbing on this large anchor. This will definitely be on our list to come back to when the girls are older so we can go on the ships and explore them.
After we finished our exploring by the wharf, we rode the cable car back up to Union Square and had lunch. We hopped in the car and got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Pumpkin loved the bridge and was excited to go across it. We then went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. It is designed for kids 0-8 years of age and was PERFECT for our little family.
The view from the parking lot of the Discovery Museum. (Not bad for a picture taken on a timer!)
Our first stop was the Tot Spot. It is for babies and toddlers under 42 inches. Pumpkin isn't a toddler or baby, but is under 42 inches! The loved playing in the ocean room, seeing the water come through the tunnel, laying on the water beds, and making the animals make noise.
Next up was Discovery Hall- perfect for this Biology teacher! The girls got to use some kids versions of science instruments: microscopes, centrifuges, etc. There were healthy cooking stations using recipes, germ demonstrations, and their favorite- using gloves into a sterile environment and trying different techniques. Pumpkin was trying to fill test tubes with the confetti. She quickly discovered that the funnel made it much easier! Fun Fun!
On to Lookout Cove!!! This was a fantastic outdoor area with lots to do. I wish I could post all the pictures! The loved climbing on the spider web, climbing on the boats, going through the willow branch maze, hearing sounds different animals make, and more!
My little pirate! See Sweet Pea running to the next thing. . .that was typical of their time here. So much to do they felt they had to run to everything!
On to Sweet Pea's favorite. . .the Art Studio. She was so excited to be able to go and cut paper. She loves craft projects and would have been happy to stay here all day. Pumpkin stayed busy playing with building shapes that were also magnetic (sorry no picture!).
The Wave Workshop was probably Daddy's favorite. We got to assemble different types of ships out of foam shapes and then send them down this long water table that had a fan. Some ships went faster than others, some fell apart, but we all had fun!
After we had visiting nearly everything, we decided to play these wood xylophones that were outside of one of the buildings. The girls loved it and took turns with the mallets.
On the way out we returned to the Tot Spot so the girls could play in the water feature. They had fun makes the fish swim down the stream and jumping frogs from rock to rock.
Once we left the Discovery Museum we went back over the Golden Gate and to UCSF Medical Center. I visited a friend and her son who is currently inpatient. They were a big reason for our quick trip up to the city. It was good to see them and see his progress. Prayers go out to their family daily.
The girls crashed on the way home and I ALMOST stayed awake the whole time. Good thing Daddy is such a good driver! It was a wonderful weekend and one that we won't soon forget.
