Sightseeing in San Francisco

We took the BART into the city. Our hotel was right across the street from the train station. Riding the BART was the Lambs favorite part of our trip. The night before I warned Lamb 1 that once we were on the BART we wouldn't get off until our stop. He said, "I would never get tired of riding the train! I could ride it all day." We stopped at a stop to get on a cable car. We soon discovered the lines were REALLY long. They said it was about 45 minutes but none of us thought it would be that quick. We took a few photos by the cable car and then started walking. It was a LONG walk. Ram's mom hadn't worn good walking shoes and Lamb 1 and 2 were getting worn out. We decided to take a bus, but it took us a little while to find the bus stop. We finally took a bus that was a streetcar. Our first stop was Boudin sour dough bread.
This picture is for my friend Pam. (Sorry the iced tea is in the way!) We went upstairs to a restaurant away from the crowds. The hostess said it was a little different menu than downstairs where I had eaten before. The difference was a few less soups and double the price! But after all our walking, it was nice to be waited on instead of order at a counter and try to find a seat. Many of us (including me) had clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. We all loved the sour dough bread, especially Lamb 3. Thank you Ram's dad for the treats! We were also able to take a nice restroom break for all of us too.

Then we went shopping downstairs as it was after lunch time and the crowds were gone. Grandma bought Lamb 1 and 2 these keychains that were charms of cable car, sour dough bread, etc. We completely forgot to get Lamb 3 one. In a few years he'll wonder why he didn't get one. I looked at several stores after that without finding one. I'll try online, but I don't know. I realized it after it was too late to go back. I was actually looking for a present for Pam so I was distracted and forgot about Lamb 3. Oh well. Pam-your gift is in the mail.

Next we walked to Ghirardelli Square. Again, it was tourist season and really crowded. The Lambs shared a kiddie sundae. I think they would have preferred a plain hot fudge sundae without sprinkles etc. I had a wonderful hot fudge sundae. Ram's mom had chocolate covered strawberries. Then I was able to shop by myself and buy gifts for Ram's grandma (she loves sweets!) and Angie. I bought chocolate chips for our family as it will last a lot longer to make chocolate chip cookies a few times than a few pieces of chocolate. Angie, your gift is ready to mail-I'll mail it tomorrow.

Lamb 1 didn't want to cooperate for photos after eating. They were starting to get tired.

We were able to take a few photos by the fountain with the promise of giving the Lambs pennies to throw in the fountain afterwards.

Lamb 1 and 2 threw several pennies into the fountain.

I tried to get a photo of Lamb 3 like the nursing mermaid Mama statue, but he wouldn't cooperate. He really wanted to throw pennies like his big brothers.

Grandpa was patient and walked Lamb 3 around many times on the trip when he got restless.

This is the streetcar bus that we rode to and from Fisherman's Wharf from the BART station. After sightseeing, the bus was really crowded as we got near rush hour. Lamb 2 and 3 fell asleep on the bus and then we had to carry them to the BART station.

Riding the BART was easy, but as we were leaving the last time, I didn't make it through the turnstyle. Lamb 2 and 3 were free so we carried them through, but we had lots of other stuff with us by the end (our purchases, jackets, stroller, etc.). You stick your ticket in the turnstyle before and after you get on the train. The last time I had Lamb 2 and he made it through, but I didn't. I didn't know what to do as my ticket was out of money at that point. Lamb 1 hadn't gone through yet so I used his ticket and picked him up and went through together.

We had an enjoyable day, eating our way through San Francisco and also riding the BART. Stay tuned for more about our vacation, tomorrow!