San Francisco Days 8, 9 & 10

After leaving Fairfield (which btw, I've decided is where I want to live someday since it's nestled in the most beautiful green valley you've ever seen and is less than an hour from San Francisco), we headed back to the city to chill.  I believe we left the house only once that day, and only to take Ryan on the Muni to Golden Gate Park (still my favorite).

The next day, we took BART through the underground tunnel across the Bay over to Oakland so we could check out Fairyland.  It's a place that I've previously checked out/Yelped and decided not to go to because it sounded a bit dated and a bit too hippy-dippy, airy-fairy for me.  But when I found a Google Offer (their version of Groupon) for it, I figured it was fate and said why not?

I'll tell you why not- it's too dated, hippy-dippy and airy-fairy for me!

Okay, just kidding.  Sort of.  The park is from the 50s and has maintained its original whimsical charm.  Which is PR speak for- the park is broke and run down.  :-)  However, kids love it. They love the simplicity  (its small, uncrowded and has only four rides), they love the magic show and puppet show (which offers an entirely different experience than the usual high tech 3D & 4D experiences).  Kids don't care that the rides are very basic, or that the paint on the buildings is faded and peeling. So in that respect, I can appreciate the different perspective and experience that Fairyland offered.  That being said, I'm not sure I'd return, but I'm glad we went.  ;-)

I'm not sure what made him decide to strike a pose in this mini chapel, but I'm pretty sure sexy poses are not allowed in churches.  Even mini -ones in Fairyland.

Loving the carousel (four times...)  

Every time we go to San Fran, we have a tradition of Ryan falling asleep in my arms on the train.  I thought this trip he would finally outgrow that...but to my delight- not yet!  Nearly four years old and still going strong!  (This will be harder to get him to do when he's fourteen, but that's what crushed Benadryl tablets and fizzy soft drinks are for.)

Our last day in the city was probably the best one.  We got to spend the whole day with Joey & Marc, first hiking up to the Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field...

And then walking across part of it so Ryan would get to experience that.

On our way back down, Ryan made a new friend on the trail.

An hour later, Joey & Marc took Ryan to the Academy of Science to check out the giant fish (which someone was clearly impressed by), the rain forest, butterflies, the sting rays, and...

The white crocodile (I think its a rare albino)...

And then we capped off the day in beautiful Golden Gate Park and read each other some vows to celebrate fifteen years of marriage.  :-)   The original plan was to do it under the blossoming cherry blossom trees, but we got lost and improvised in this forest instead.

Marc, Joey and Ryan all patiently sat on a log to witness our mini-ceremony and were clearly, all very deeply entranced and moved by our vows.

So all in all, we had a wonderful trip.  We enjoyed perfect, San Francisco weather, played in the snow at Yosemite, slept in a yurt, saw some kids dancing in the park late one night with a disco ball they strung up on the children's swings, renewed our vows in a park at sunset, enjoyed Indian, Egyptian, Mexican and Japanese food...

That's not the say the trip was 100% perfect...there are always few little hiccups. Rich & Ryan got sick, two homeless people yelled at Ryan (he is apparently responsible for the train not being on time, and taking up too much space on the sidewalk), we got stranded downtown one day after a man fell on the tracks and they shut down the muni to do the ahh...body retrieval.  We also witnessed a man...um...expire at Golden Gate Park one evening.  But all in all...nothing outside of the ordinary for zany, freaky, beautiful San Francisco. So thank you City of San Francisco & Handsome Uncle Joey (he has his three nephews call him this...I only wish I were joking) for another amazing adventure. Can't wait until the next one...in two months.  :-)

Just kidding!