The past few years we have gone to Tahoe for Labor Day. This year we broke tradition and went to San Fran as we haven’t been in a while. We went on Saturday, and not actually on Labor Day as Marissa had to work, and we thought it would be less crowded too.
We wanted to do something that we haven’t done before there, but still keep it ‘family affordable’. Our first stop was Golden Gate Park where we rode bikes through the huge park. There is so much to see and do inside the park, and it’s so big! Over 1000 acres (3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide it’s bigger than Central Park in New York). We zipped through it in a couple of hours and didn’t stop to see much as we were on a time constraint, but it gave us an idea of what we would want to come back and spend time seeing.
We spotted these two guys practicing some sort of circus act or something. It was cool to watch them.
We liked these weird looking roots and this pretty big waterfall for being inside the park! We rode past two lakes, and you wouldn’t think you’d be on trails and seeing views like these in the middle of a huge city!
After biking, it was time for some lunch and then off to ‘Land’s End’ which is on the north side of the ocean, where the land ends and meets the ocean. The fog was returning, which is typical of summer days in San Fran, but that didn’t stop us!
We hiked along a nice and busy trail and found the unmarked secret stair case that led us down 120 steps to a non-descript small beach and the ‘labyrinth’ where it’s said if you enter the labyrinth with issues on your mind, as you walk it, you leave your troubles in the center. As you walk back out, you open to a new relaxed time with your troubles and problems behind you.
Not sure it worked, but it was fun to see it.
Jacob hid in the bushes to scare others when they walked by.
The fog was hiding the Golden Gate bridge and we wished the sun was out as it would have been so much more beautiful.
We then went to a hotel that we used some nice points to have for us so it was no cost, and it was right next to the mall where we went and walked around. The kids loved swimming in the hotel pool, which is really all they need for a vacation, and we watched tv and had popcorn.
The next day we spent some time at the Oakland Temple which I think has some of the most beautiful landscaping of all the Temples. The photos don’t even come close showing you how pretty it is there. They let you walk along the roof of the Temple which has impressive views of the bay and of San Fran when it’s not foggy.
The visitors center has a very nice reading room with Books of Mormons of all the languages, and look at the view! What a great place to read.
Then it was off to the Oakland Musuem of California, which we had never been to, and it was Free Day for it so we went! It had some very nice exhibits but the ‘art’ section was very uh.. ummmm……weird….strange….
There were things like this huge chalkboards with lawn chairs..that was interesting, and you could rearrange the chairs, but then it just got weirder and stranger from there and it was HUGE.
There was this bead thingie that looks like a shrine of something to all things weird……
And the cuckoo clocks with sickles for weights and no hands on the clock. They did cuckoo though.
And this nice piece of art….
And this pipe thingy…..
And then we found it! The best exhibit of strangeness! It was in the back, in a pretty large room, all dark with surround sound and a screen. We went in and sat down and it started! BLUE… YELLOW… RED…..
And it kept going. And to think probably thousands of dollars was spent on this and it is considered so special and artsy. Turn up your speakers!
Oh there were so many other pieces of weirdness, just can’t put them into words. So if you are ever in Oakland, and it’s the free day, go and take a look for yourself! It’s free once a month!
Then it was time to head home. We had a great time! And all the next day, I have this little ditty playing in my mind….RED YELLOW GREEN GREEN GREEN YELLOW.. AHHHHH! I can’t get it out of my mind!
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