San Fran

We had a blast in San Francisco. Brandon was in classes from 9 to 5 so that left a lot of time for Rocky and me to explore which made for some pretty creative photography.

Of course, we had to take the ferry over to Alcatraz. The Rock is poetic justice at its best. The nightmare of being imprisoned is multiplied by the beauty of the island and the view of the city across the bay.


Rocky was pretty confused and didn't understand why adult men would have to be locked up in cages. She felt that in order to really grasp the concept that she would have to do some hard time herself. Luckily our hotel provided her with a kid-sized cell.


We wandered the streets of Chinatown and found many beautiful parks.

Having a baby around is a lot of work and makes for a lot of pit-stops for snacks and diaper changes, but I was so glad to have my little buddy with me.

As you can see, she loves museums.

Apparently this "Laughing Sal" is as famous as she is scary.

Brandon was able to make some time to show his little girl the sea lions.

We were a little bit concerned when the trolley driver dropped Rocky's stroller off the back mid-trip and started rolling down the hilly street. They had to stop the car and he jumped off to get it. He was huffing and puffing as he ran back and the whole crowd giggled when he got back on and announced, "It's okay folks, the baby wasn't in the stroller.

We stayed at the most amazing hotel right in the middle of Union Square. There couldn't have been a better location. When we pulled up I was concerned because I knew that we had booked the cheapest hotel that I could find and there was no way that this was it. It was in a luxurious old building and really clean and fancy. We had gotten a very low price because we opted for the shared bathrooms. Our room was tiny, and made even smaller when we added the crib, and we had to go across the hall to use the bathroom and shower which kind of gave it a homey feel. I've never been to a hotel that I liked so much. We definitely lucked out.

I had to take Rocky to the SFMOMA -- San Fran Museum of Modern Art -- because I had really funny memories of being there when I was on a high school band trip. I wanted to see it again because I think that when I was a junior I was too immature to really understand the value of modern art.

I found that as a 27-year-old mom, I am still too immature. Maybe I'll have to go back when I'm 80 and see if things change.

Although I don't claim to have any understanding of most of what I saw, I will say that it was a lot of fun. I especially loved the sculpture and spacial art.

This was a bunch of black poodles surrounding a baby doll. I read the plaque next to it and it learned that a black dog symbolizes the devil, but these dogs are unique because they appear to be protecting the baby. I'm not sure what the theme of this piece really represents, but I will admit that it looked pretty awesome.

It is always an adventure to go to a big city and see all kinds of interesting people. Maybe after I sleep for a couple of weeks I'll start to think about traveling again.