California Dreamin', Part 2

Wednesday was our Alcatraz day.

When I was lamenting to my friend that it was going to rain on us and that maybe we should cancel our trip (yes, I was being an Eeyore), she kindly lent us her ponchos they used on their Florida trip. And it was a good thing we had them because it soaked us as we waited in line to get on the boat. That was ironically the only real rain we had to endure. Once we were on the boat and on the island, the day turned out sunny and clear.
This was inside one of the jail cells.

Looking out a window in the prison toward San Francisco (above) and looking toward San Francisco while outside (below).

Both times I've been, I've found it fascinating and think they have one of the best audio tours ever. Each person got a headset that narrated you through the prison with the narration told from the prisoners' viewpoint.

After returning to the mainland, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for some yummy chowder and garlic fries while Alex and Ash enjoyed chasing the seagulls.

Then on to Pier 39 to check out the sea lions, get lost in the Mirror Maze, and play some tunes on their piano stairs. Seriously! Those stairs actually played music. A musician's dream come true.
On our way out of San Francisco I convinced Tyler to drive until we found Lombard Street. It's one of those iconic San Francisco sites you either have to see or actually drive down. We chose to view it from the bottom as we drove by (this picture was snagged off the WWW since we couldn't find a place to park).

But getting there involved several very steep hills we had to navigate. Cruising down one street, Tyler cautiously approached the top of the hill, stopped when he couldn't see over it, and backed up to try another street. I seriously felt like I was on a roller coaster just as you're hitting the top and ready to plunge over the edge. It freaked me out. It freaked my kids out. And it freaked out our driver. He wasn't taking any chances of lost brakes. Maybe next time we'll be brave and actually experience Lombard Street the way it's meant to be experienced.

Thursday we headed for one last night in Reno, stopping in Sacramento for lunch at a nature place and making one last must-see stop at the Donner-Reed State Park in the Sierras. Despite my diligent weather watching, we still got caught in some snow as we headed over the pass. It only made the whole Donner-Reed story more authentic. The statue they have outside the visitor center is 20 feet tall from the base to bottom of the people which is as much snow as those poor pioneers got caught in that winter.
And our California adventure came to an end Friday. I loved every minute of it. Even the messy van. Next time I'm going to remember to get a picture of what my kids live in as we travel. And actually it's only a couple of them that like to spread their stuff EVERYWHERE despite bringing a bag to contain it all.

Our favorite snacks to eat when we travel: 
apples (cut up and soaked in Sprite -- this keeps them from turning brown)
Sour Patch Kids or licorice
crackers and cheese in a can
bagels and cream cheese

Our favorite entertainment in the car:
Books and books on tape. We didn't quite make it through Peter and the Starcatchers on CD, and I finished Escape, a riveting book about escaping the FLDS faith. That book had my mind reeling for a good week afterwards. Sadly, vacations seem to be the only time I have large chunks of time I can devote to reading, one of my most favorite hobbies.