The next stop on our California trip was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We parked our RV and took a nice walk along Cannery Row.
This wonderful aquarium offered our family hours of entertainment, as we learned, played, explored, and enjoyed the stunning ocean views. We didn’t take many pictures, but we had a grand time.
Our cousin met up with us and joined us at the aquarium, then we went for a late lunch in the Cannery Row area before getting back in the RV and driving to our next campground for the following two days right on the coast.
This October our first family California trip included camping at Yosemite National Park.
Since camping for us usually involves an RV, we made plans to rent one in San Francisco. We also sent a box to ourselves in advance with many of the things we would need while camping, instead of renting them from the RV rental place (sheets, pillows, blankets and kitchen pots and utensils). So, after a wonderful full day exploring San Francisco, we got up early, took the train and then an Über ride to the RV rental office.
Once we had our RV, we drove to a nearby FedEx office to pick up our box, made stops at Costco and Walmart for food and other necessities and then were finally on our way to Yosemite!
We ended up getting there at night, and started to feel a bit disappointed for not being able to see the park… until we hit a spot on the road where several cars were parked admiring El Capitan in the full moonlight. That was one incredible entrance to Yosemite which we realized we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy if we got there earlier.
The next morning we were up early, had a good breakfast in our camper and were ready to explore!
Our campsite offered this spectacular view:
Our first stop was, well, a bus stop. In the summer, Yosemite offers a free shuttle bus service. This is very convenient as it will get you to the main points of interest where you can then go off on hikes and explore the park without having to take a car everywhere and struggle to find parking. This is a busy park! So off we went to the visitor center to get some information on kid-friendly hikes and to get a game plan for the next couple of days. We also picked up a booklet so our little guy could work on getting his first Junior Ranger badge. Then we got a ride on the El Capitan shuttle to our hiking spot for the day. We got off at the El Capitan Picnic area and enjoyed incredible views of this impressive rock formation.
Our little camera allowed us to spot some climbers hard at work.
We were so happy to be out in nature, and felt so lucky to see all this beauty.
Our four year-old did incredibly well during this hike, we were actually surprised! It’s our goal as parents to teach him to love and respect nature, and some times this involves some tree-hugging…
He finally found one he could hug all the way…
After our day of hiking we went back to our campsite and got a fire going, some dinner ready and then it was time for s’mores!
The next morning we looked through our Junior Ranger booklet, worked on several activities based on what we saw and learned on our hike the previous day, and then we were ready to head back to the Visitor Center for a badge!
After that we were off on our next hike, this time to Mirror Lake, which was relatively close to our campground. Once we got there, our little guy was, as usual, drawn to the water and sand, so off came the shoes and socks (and, soon after, the pants as well) and he played to his heart’s content while we enjoyed spectacular views of Half Dome.
What a wonderful way to spend our second day in Yosemite! Then it was back to the campsite for dinner and a good night’s sleep.
The next day was our last in the park, so we took a final walk around the Visitor Center area before heading out.
We stopped at Tunnel View to see Yosemite Valley and found it very hazy; the effect of the wildfires was really felt here in the air quality as well. Still, it was beautiful and impressive, and a great way to end our visit to Yosemite.
This October we were lucky to go on a trip to California, our first as a family!
Our first stop: San Francisco. We had an entire day to explore the city and kicked it off with a cable cart ride.
We took the Powell-Hyde Line from Market Street to the top of Lombard Street. As we walked down the “crookedest street in the world” we had the opportunity to see a few cars driving down, one particular pick-up truck going a bit fast (must have been a local), which was quite entertaining.
We continued our stroll through the beautiful Russian Hill neighborhood towards Fisherman’s Wharf.
Once there, we walked around and explored a few sights, like the USS Pampanito.
We also visited Pier 39 and saw (and heard) the sea lions.
After that we had a quick snack at Boudin Bakery before heading out on a boat tour of San Francisco Bay. It was glorious to be out on the water and see the sights from that point of view. We went underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, which provided a great opportunity for a closer look, and also saw Alcatraz and San Francisco’s historic waterfront.
We then headed to what was probably the most entertaining part of our day: Musée Mécanique. This antique penny arcade was a real surprise to me, I must admit I didn’t expect to laugh so hard and have such fun! We thoroughly enjoyed trying out the different arcade machines, from old, crazy looking ones, to some that we played with as kids and were excited to introduce our son to. The number one choice for our little guy was, without a doubt, Atari’s Pole Position.
When we were ready for lunch we took a street car to the Ferry Building Marketplace, where we had a delicious meal at The Slanted Door. We explored the stores inside the market, spent more time that we thought we would particularly at The Gardener (so many cool gadgets!) and then grabbed an ice cream and sat outside to enjoy the chocolate and the sunshine.
We decided to end our day at a playground nearby at Sue Bierman Park, where our little guy played happily. Finally, we took a street car back to the Market Street area. It was a busy time of day, and as we squeezed ourselves into the street car, our kid described it best, saying: “there is almost no more room in here!”.
We walked back to our hotel amazed at how much we had done and seen in one day. San Francisco was a wonderful way to start our trip!
Wandering Monshors 