Pier 39

For our second venture into San Francisco, we were headed to Pier 39. After our usual morning routine, we set out. This time, we had packed all the activities for the girls - binders, journal, and magnets. Court lamented that the girls may expect activities every time they get in the car from now on, which might be a hassle. We also checked Waze, but that proved unnecessary. We made the trip in about half the time.

Arriving near Pier 39, we found a parking lot that was $30 for three hours or $40 for all day. Parking the day before, near the Exploratorium had been $25 - it would have been $20 if we'd gotten our Exploratorium tickets in advance. Uncertain how long we were going to stay, we opted for the all day option.

Pier 39 was not as kid friendly as the Exploratorium, which is designed with children in mind, but we still had a good time. The highlight was seeing the sea lions. I got a picture of Court and the girls:

We also stopped to watch a street performer. If you asked Daniella about her favorite part of the day, she would say it was watching the man eat fire. The street performer did eat fire, but I don't think the little one even watched this part of the show. I stood with Kai, who was fascinated by the entire show, while Court chased Daniella in and out of the surrounding shops.

We got lunch on the pier. Court and I got clam chowder in bread bowls, which was our main goal for the day. We wandered into some shops, but we didn't find the perfect souvenirs for the girls.

The girls really wanted to ride the carousel, so we made our way there. It was $5 per person or $10 for three. We tried to get the 3 for $10 deal, but we couldn't make the machine work. So we paid $15. Then, somehow, I ended up on the carousel with the girls. Kai found something to ride and I stood next to Daniella on another moving animal.

Do you know how well I do on spinning rides? I won't even ride the teacups with Kai at Disneyland. The last time we went, I made myself sick just trying to take pictures of Court and Kai on the teacups. So why was I on this carousel? I don't know. I held onto Daniella and hoped for the best. We made it through and I took a few minutes to recover.

We went on to a cookie dough store that Court had read about. I couldn't find ingredients, but I didn't really feel like eating after the carousel anyway. So I skipped on the raw, edible cookie dough. The girls seemed to enjoy it, but it was sugar. From Court's comments, I'm glad I skipped it.