Miss Independence pronounced San Francisco as San Fransicko. Pretty cute huh? Well she took it to heart while we were there. MI developed a fever, runny nose, a cough and goopy eyes. It all came together when she tossed up her lunch from "the transportation day" all over the hotel bed.
Passionfruit and I debated whether we should take her immediately to the doctor or wait for tomorrow. I wanted to wait. Since Passionfruit was still dressed I told him if he wanted to go he could. I wrote down all her symptoms and sent him and MI on their merry little way.
Two hundred dollars later Passionfruit comes in with MI. He doses her up and puts her to bed. Might, I add that this is a bed where Passionfruit and I were sharing with MI. When she tossed her cookies, we lost one of the pillows. I spent the night trying to share two pillows with two other individuals. I was left in the crack quite literally.
In the morning my cousin who lives somewhere in South San Francisco caught up with us. We had plans to go down to Fisherman's Wharf. Getting there turned into an adventure because MI threw a huge temper tantrum. It was pretty bad. MI threw herself on the sidewalk and cried and screamed. A group of Japanese people came along. They were so concerned for her and were ready to send out a search party for the parents. The neat part of this was everyone of them were dressed in Kimonos! I let them know that the mommy was near by.
Finally we get down to Fisherman's Wharf. It was down at the wharf where the girls really got to see the interesting people of San Francisco. There were people dressed up and painted in silver. I gave what few coins that I had to DQ to put in the cup of one man acting like a robot. Once she dropped the coins in the "robot" checked out what was put in and he made a tsk tsk noise and shook the cup. I don't think DQ knew what to make of this character. The man dressed in silver won't let people take pictures of him unless you gave him money.
We decided to go to the aquarium and do a cruise of the bay. To quote DQ, "Let me tell ya! The Oklahoma aquarium is far nicer than the one on pier 39." Still I think the girls enjoyed running around and looking at the animals.
Then we were off to the boat for the cruise around the bay. The wind was really cold so the girls cuddled up close and listened to the cheesy narrative. It was fun. DQ perked up when we were passing by Alcatraz. She had lots of questions about what a prison was and how did one end up in prison. DQ also asked questions about the Native American take over of the island. I was really surprised by her question.
While we had wandered around the pier 39 Storyteller saw a bungee jumb swing. She begged me to let her go on it. I was done spending money for the day so I told them that she would have to use her own money. She agreed and the next thing I know she is bouncing up and down and spinning around. DQ surprised me to death when she wanted to do it. She did it. DQ did try the spin/turn and she didn't like it. But she seemed okay with the bouncing up and down. I was so proud of her. Normally she is so timid about things like that. MI wanted to do it too. She was amazing. Her feet went passed the frame of the rigging. MI drew a big crowd. People were amazed that she was doing it and having so much fun.
We ended this outing with lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. The girls loved it and I enjoyed it, too. I had a drink there. It was called a Margarilla. Orange sherbet and tequila. I wasn't sure about it at first but it was pretty good.
I will continue the saga of San Francisco because I have to tell ya all about our date night.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
A San Francisco Saga-- Part 1
Our first day in San Francisco(or would that be 1/2 day) was spent walking around getting a sense for the neighborhood. Our hotel, the Maxwell, was very close to the Hilton where the geography conference was held. The Hilton was about a block down and a block over from our hotel. The cable car line was at the end of the block.
We walked up a steep hill and turned. We went to China Town. Passionfruit took pictures of the girls on the lions where the gate marks the beginning of China Town. I saw something that I hadn't noticed the first time to China Town. There is real jade carvings on the roof of the gate. I was amazed that these pieces hadn't been stolen. They must be worth a mint or two.
By the time we got back to our hotel I just wanted to lay down and sleep. I had been up for over 11 hours by that time. The kids were still raring to go. So Passionfruit took them out for some more sightseeing and dinner. They went to the Yerba Bueno gardens and playscape. After that Passionfruit took them back to the hotel for dinner. Miss Independence fell asleep in her seat at the restaurant. Storyteller quickly followed suit. The only one still wide awake was DQ. Passionfruit had a dielemma. He couldn't carry two children and DQ was still eating her dinner.
Well some nice ladies at the next table told Passionfruit they would watch two of them while he took one upstairs to the room. Once depositing MI with me. Passionfruit returned to pick-up the other two. It became a running joke at the hotel restuarant that the food puts our children to sleep because the same thing happened to me the next day when I took the girls to dinner. Luckily Passionfruit was expected to join us there at the restaurant so a sleeping child wasn't such a burden.
I wanted this trip to be a learning experience for our girls. So the second full day in SF I took the girls for a relatively long walk. My idea was to hook up with a bus; however, the bus was a lot cheaper than I expected it to be. I didn't have exact change... only a $5 bill. So we continued to walk until we got back into another business area. This made it an extremely long walk. We finally made it to a restaurant where we had lunch and recopirated from the forced march. MI fell asleep in my arms. DQ and ST needed to go to the bathroom. I had to send the waitress in to look for them because they took forever. I think they were in there for 20 minutes.
We then walked a half a block to the bus stop. I had made change at the restaurant so I could pay the fare. I didn't realize that the bus was announcing the next stop. I thought it was telling us where it was going. Anyway it wouldn't have mattered because a school group got on and I don't think anyone got off. They couldn't because you couldn't battle a group of 50 to 60 kids getting on the bus. I thought we could get off on the opposite side of the road when it looped around in the parking lot of the Golden Gate bridge. Boy was I wrong!! As I sat there trying to figure out where we were going and where we could get off to get near the Exploratorium I finally realized that we weren't ever going to be able to do this because 1) we would have to battle the school group just to get near the door 2) the bus wasn't going anywhere near the Exploratorium. We finally got off somewhere in South San Fransisco.(We were almost into Daly City) Getting back to down town was quite an experience too! The ticket machine was kind of broken. It could except dollar bills but that part was broken so I could only purchase tickets with quarters! We had to recross the freeway and go into one of the stores in the shopping mall. Then we had to recross the freeway for the third time. We got the tickets and waited for the the next tram to take us back to downtown. I met a nice guy on the tram who helped me figure out where I needed to get off.
We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel so we ate at the hotel restuarant. I made everyone stay awake. We quickly ate dinner and went to bed. Which is what I think I need to do with this post. So I would have to say that I taught my girls about public transportation that day. We walked, rode a bus, rode a tram and rode a cable car (back to the hotel).
We walked up a steep hill and turned. We went to China Town. Passionfruit took pictures of the girls on the lions where the gate marks the beginning of China Town. I saw something that I hadn't noticed the first time to China Town. There is real jade carvings on the roof of the gate. I was amazed that these pieces hadn't been stolen. They must be worth a mint or two.
By the time we got back to our hotel I just wanted to lay down and sleep. I had been up for over 11 hours by that time. The kids were still raring to go. So Passionfruit took them out for some more sightseeing and dinner. They went to the Yerba Bueno gardens and playscape. After that Passionfruit took them back to the hotel for dinner. Miss Independence fell asleep in her seat at the restaurant. Storyteller quickly followed suit. The only one still wide awake was DQ. Passionfruit had a dielemma. He couldn't carry two children and DQ was still eating her dinner.
Well some nice ladies at the next table told Passionfruit they would watch two of them while he took one upstairs to the room. Once depositing MI with me. Passionfruit returned to pick-up the other two. It became a running joke at the hotel restuarant that the food puts our children to sleep because the same thing happened to me the next day when I took the girls to dinner. Luckily Passionfruit was expected to join us there at the restaurant so a sleeping child wasn't such a burden.
I wanted this trip to be a learning experience for our girls. So the second full day in SF I took the girls for a relatively long walk. My idea was to hook up with a bus; however, the bus was a lot cheaper than I expected it to be. I didn't have exact change... only a $5 bill. So we continued to walk until we got back into another business area. This made it an extremely long walk. We finally made it to a restaurant where we had lunch and recopirated from the forced march. MI fell asleep in my arms. DQ and ST needed to go to the bathroom. I had to send the waitress in to look for them because they took forever. I think they were in there for 20 minutes.
We then walked a half a block to the bus stop. I had made change at the restaurant so I could pay the fare. I didn't realize that the bus was announcing the next stop. I thought it was telling us where it was going. Anyway it wouldn't have mattered because a school group got on and I don't think anyone got off. They couldn't because you couldn't battle a group of 50 to 60 kids getting on the bus. I thought we could get off on the opposite side of the road when it looped around in the parking lot of the Golden Gate bridge. Boy was I wrong!! As I sat there trying to figure out where we were going and where we could get off to get near the Exploratorium I finally realized that we weren't ever going to be able to do this because 1) we would have to battle the school group just to get near the door 2) the bus wasn't going anywhere near the Exploratorium. We finally got off somewhere in South San Fransisco.(We were almost into Daly City) Getting back to down town was quite an experience too! The ticket machine was kind of broken. It could except dollar bills but that part was broken so I could only purchase tickets with quarters! We had to recross the freeway and go into one of the stores in the shopping mall. Then we had to recross the freeway for the third time. We got the tickets and waited for the the next tram to take us back to downtown. I met a nice guy on the tram who helped me figure out where I needed to get off.
We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel so we ate at the hotel restuarant. I made everyone stay awake. We quickly ate dinner and went to bed. Which is what I think I need to do with this post. So I would have to say that I taught my girls about public transportation that day. We walked, rode a bus, rode a tram and rode a cable car (back to the hotel).
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Whaddya do with three very disappointed girls?
I meant to write this blog about a week ago but the main problem was trying to keep three very disappointed girls. We tried to catch our flights to San Fransisco, April 14th. We waited in line for 3 hours. We waited at the ticket agent's desk for 30 minutes only to find out that we won't be leaving for San Fransisco until Tuesday. The flights were all messed up from the tornado down in the Dallas area.
So we arrive home all packed with no where to go. So we went to breakfast. Then we tried to find something fun to do on a horribly cold, damp day. We found ourselves at the local mall. Okay. Saturday finished.
Now Sunday. What to do. We go to Mass and participate in the the Easter egg hunt and the pancake breakfast. I ended up going home with two extra little girls. Guess that will become a ritual for us. Invite the family of the two extra girls to an impromtu dinner with us. They bring the pizza and I provived the salad and dessert. Did I mention this family is a rather large family? 11 kids and 2 parents. Luckily the older kids are pretty much on their own these days and don't hang with the family that much. At one point I walked through my living room where 8 children were playing in small groups. I have to say I really enjoyed watching them. I wonder if my mother ever felt that way about us. There were 5 of us.
Monday drags around. What to do!~ Kids are beginning to melt down. I don't send them to school because I figure that would mess the school up. I had already told the school the girls would be gone a week. We played outside. I planted a gallon of Maiden grass. The girls rode bikes during the day and played outside. Finally I resorted to the television. We had a Scooby Doo marathon and ate dinner while watching the shows.
Finally Tuesday rolls around. We are up long before the dawn cracks. The only thing that makes this worthwhile is that we are flying First Class all the way to San Fransisco. I've never flown 1st class before but there is a difference. I was amazed how the hot, moist towel can really refreshen you. The food was amazing. It was great.
So we arrive home all packed with no where to go. So we went to breakfast. Then we tried to find something fun to do on a horribly cold, damp day. We found ourselves at the local mall. Okay. Saturday finished.
Now Sunday. What to do. We go to Mass and participate in the the Easter egg hunt and the pancake breakfast. I ended up going home with two extra little girls. Guess that will become a ritual for us. Invite the family of the two extra girls to an impromtu dinner with us. They bring the pizza and I provived the salad and dessert. Did I mention this family is a rather large family? 11 kids and 2 parents. Luckily the older kids are pretty much on their own these days and don't hang with the family that much. At one point I walked through my living room where 8 children were playing in small groups. I have to say I really enjoyed watching them. I wonder if my mother ever felt that way about us. There were 5 of us.
Monday drags around. What to do!~ Kids are beginning to melt down. I don't send them to school because I figure that would mess the school up. I had already told the school the girls would be gone a week. We played outside. I planted a gallon of Maiden grass. The girls rode bikes during the day and played outside. Finally I resorted to the television. We had a Scooby Doo marathon and ate dinner while watching the shows.
Finally Tuesday rolls around. We are up long before the dawn cracks. The only thing that makes this worthwhile is that we are flying First Class all the way to San Fransisco. I've never flown 1st class before but there is a difference. I was amazed how the hot, moist towel can really refreshen you. The food was amazing. It was great.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
When a professional meeting turns into a circus
I attended the OLA conference. I attended both days. I had to. I was elected as secretary to one of the roundtables and that roundtable always has a meeting at the conference.
Our new chair is an interesting fellow. I happen to know that on his first day of work he had an anxiety attack that sent him to the local medical clinic with an assumed heart attack. He impressed me today because he got up in front of 300 some folks and sang a song, and he did a nice job, too.
On the other hand, the business meeting was a different story. The chair brought comfort items (stuffed animals & puppets) for folks should they so desire/need such items. There was a cougar, a bobcat, a hairy spider, a wizard owl, and Mr. & Mrs. Owl in attendance. The Chair created a ritual of passing the cougar, named Cutter, from the out-going chair to the in-coming chair. The chair-elect was not to be forgotten... He got to hold the bobcat, named Sanborn. I can only say that I'm grateful that The Chair wanted this moment preserved in the minutes; thus leaving the secretary silently grateful for the pen and pad of paper in her hands.
As the day progressed more and more people got into the spirit. At the conference ball small groups of performers got up and entertained those of us less ambitious folks. We do have several talented folks in the group but more importantly we have more hams, too. This was a great conference.
Our new chair is an interesting fellow. I happen to know that on his first day of work he had an anxiety attack that sent him to the local medical clinic with an assumed heart attack. He impressed me today because he got up in front of 300 some folks and sang a song, and he did a nice job, too.
On the other hand, the business meeting was a different story. The chair brought comfort items (stuffed animals & puppets) for folks should they so desire/need such items. There was a cougar, a bobcat, a hairy spider, a wizard owl, and Mr. & Mrs. Owl in attendance. The Chair created a ritual of passing the cougar, named Cutter, from the out-going chair to the in-coming chair. The chair-elect was not to be forgotten... He got to hold the bobcat, named Sanborn. I can only say that I'm grateful that The Chair wanted this moment preserved in the minutes; thus leaving the secretary silently grateful for the pen and pad of paper in her hands.
As the day progressed more and more people got into the spirit. At the conference ball small groups of performers got up and entertained those of us less ambitious folks. We do have several talented folks in the group but more importantly we have more hams, too. This was a great conference.
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