San Fran Day 2

I know.  I know.  I've really slacked in my blogging from San Francisco!  Obviously we have been a little busy over here in the big CA.  After our first day of travel and sightseeing, it was time to get serious and explore San Fran.

We started our Sunday off with a church Jimmy and Roan have visited before.  After church, we changed clothes and headed out.  Our first stop (before lunch at Burger King) was an old Dutch windmill.  The flowers were beautiful, and we just had to explore the history and...yes...take pictures!

The windmill

The whole crew in the yard around the windmill

After lunch, we headed to a sandy beach.  The kids loved putting their feet in the ice cold water, and the adults just wrapped up and watched.  It was very pretty.  The sand here looks very different from typical beaches.  But, it is very nice...and WARM!  I guess the sun had warmed it up.

The kids loved going to the beaches

Quite different from our typical beachy Christmas card!  Ha!

Once the kids got plenty wet, and Sam was sandy from head to toe...we headed over to the Sutro Bath ruins.  If you don't know anything about the Sutro Baths, you should look it up.  It is interesting.  These ruins once housed a massive swimming park, basically.  They are found just along the ocean shore, so the view is fabulous.  The kids (and Russ) enjoyed walking the wall between the ruins and the ocean to get to the rocky mountain and climb.  Roan and I stuck around with the younger kids so they could climb on rocks that were a more appropriate size for a 3 and 5 year old!  Ha!

Roan, Russ, and me - can you see us shivering?

Jimmy and Russ getting ready to head over to the other side

On the other side of the baths

There were also trails around the area, so we decided to explore more.  We all started up the trail to see the beautiful sights of nature, the ocean, and beaches.  Toward the end of our hike, the trail began to get much more narrow and very HIGH!  Remember, I am scared of heights.  Jimmy and the kids went down one detour to a rocky beach.  Russ had other plans...finding a tree!

I thought I would surprise him by taking a pic to remember this occasion!  As you can see, he is not very amused!

After the amazing view at the top of the trail...and the amazingly LARGE poop that grazed my head and landed at my feet - some splashing onto my shoe...we drove on to a playground Russ had read about in one of his books. Although it wasn't quite what he had thought, we had a great time playing and running around for a while.  This gave Jimmy time to plan our next move.

You can never be too old for the swings!

Even the kids thought it'd be funny to test my fear of heights!

Our supper stop was Fisherman's Wharf.  We walked along the row of vendors in search of San Francisco cuisine.  Most normal people would order seafood or clam chowder.  However, my menu selections have become quite an event on this trip.  Suddenly, I find my family completely interested in what I choose.  So, I'll tell you what I chose on this day.  A corn dog!  Yes, I chose a corn dog.  Is that a crime?  Haha!  Truly, I have never been a seafood person.  Popcorn shrimp is usually as far as I go...and I don't think that counts!  Ha!  So, when I order chicken, corn dogs, or pizza it's quite the entertainment!

My San Francisco corn dog!

The Johnson crew at Fisherman's Wharf

What better to follow San Fran cuisine than Ghirardelli ice cream from Ghirardelli Square?  Yummy!

Peanut butter and hot fudge sundae

The fam documenting our visit to the Ghirardelli Square