San Francisco with Uncle Noal

Last Sunday we took the Ferry from Alameda to San Francisco to visit Uncle Noal and Auntie Elizabeth.  That's right, people. Gabriela asked if she could call Elizabeth her Auntie.  so sweet.  Anyway, taking the ferry was a summer fun list adventure, so we went for it.  It was perfect.  There is free parking, and it's only a 20 minute ride.  We explored outside on the boat, 

where Gabriela declared it to be too windy.

As long as you catch the last ferry ride home that works with little kids' bedtimes, it's fine.  If your husband makes fun of you for wanting to get there early, and then you don't end up getting there early, or even on time, he might have to drive across the bridge with his brother, bring back the car, and then drive you back home with two sleeping kids. But don't worry, you will still get home an hour before the next available ferry. And you won't have to worry about getting back to the Ferry Building with a sleeping baby and a sleeping 4 year old.  Needless to say, we had more adventure than we planned on. 

So, let's rewind to our arrival.  We got to the Ferry Building in 20 minutes. so quick!  We strolled around outside and Gabriela chased the birds - one of her all time favorite activities, until we met up with Auntie and Uncle.

The Ferry Building has all sorts of enticing aromas and shoppes.  It's also very beautiful.  Gabriela somehow convinced her daddy to buy her a chocolate covered alfajor before lunch. The child is brilliant, I tell you.  This smile may have had something to do with it.

We drooled over and admired hand crafted goods.  Elizabeth and I munched on empanadas. Easton sampled some too, and gave them a thumbs up.

While enjoying the beautiful sunshine along the Embarcadero, we came across this sculpture that we decided we needed to explore.

Gabriela loved all the waterfalls.

Lane took some cool water shots.

And then we walked through Chinatown.  It was a nice relaxing walk, especially since the street was closed to motor vehicles for Sunday Strolls.

We got extra touristy for Gabriela and decided to take a cable car back to Noal and Elizabeth's place. 

Easton slept a lot that day. Gabriela, again, said it was too windy. Welcome to San Francisco, baby.

We enjoyed some wine and a delicious salad and pasta dinner.  Easton immediately found the garden stash of tomatoes and got right down to business sampling them. He bit into about four tomatoes before we finally moved them out of his reach.

Thank you Uncle Noal and Auntie Elizabeth for hosting us again, (and also for driving Lane to Alameda to get our van so he could drive us home).  We always have a wonderful time visiting with you and we can't wait to do it again.