Since having a baby, we’ve taken two road trips. The first was comfortable—an hour and a half
getaway to San Diego. We spent the week
exploring a different part of the city, slowed down by the demands of a napping
and hungry four month old. Ele did
really well, though, so I was emboldened to try something further away. We picked Angels Camp, which ended up being
about an eight hour drive from home. We
broke up the drive by heading to Bakersfield for the night, to pick up my dad,
who was joining us for the week. Since
Ele only naps twice a day, now, there was a lot more flexibility. We spent the week training her to nap when we
were in the car, and I entertained her on the drives when it wasn’t time to
nap. It was a success, and Ele is quite
comfortable in her car seat because of it!
I won a travel blog contest through Wyndham’s Women on Their
Way (Hooray!), and they invited us to stay in a four star hotel in downtown San
Francisco. Who can pass that up? We decided it would be our first flight with
Ele, so we packed our bags—one for us, and one for Ele. It’s amazing how much gear a baby needs, and
we really streamlined things. Since we
had to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel, I played it safe and brought
the car seat, too. The great thing is,
since we flew on a Wednesday and Saturday in May, the flights were not full, so
Ele was able to sit in her car seat in her own seat both ways. I’m not expecting that when we fly across the
country this summer!
The Parc 55 Wyndham was beautiful, and I really enjoyed
meeting some of the other blog contest winners—6 of the 10 of us were
there. I’m honored to be a part of the
group, as the other women are pretty amazing.
The hotel provided a crib and refrigerator, so it was pretty easy for us. We were right by Union Square, so we could
walk along Market Street, down to the Embarcadero and back, without any
hills. On Friday we decided to wander,
so we put Ele in our little backpack carrier and hit the streets.
One of our favorite things to do in a city is to just start
exploring. We headed towards Chinatown,
checking out the stores and people as we ambled. Ele absolutely loved being in a city with
tons of people. She had started to say
hi to people a few weeks earlier, but with a person everywhere we turned, she
adored the attention and responses to her friendliness. We’ve noticed that people are so much more open
and willing to speak to us now that we have a baby.
For lunch we hit our favorite Chinese restaurant, the House
of Nanking. We ended up sharing a table
with a mother and daughter from Tennessee in the city for the first time, and
enjoyed their excitement. Ele especially
liked the sweet potatoes on my plate.
From there we headed a little through North Beach, but then through a
neighborhood I hadn’t checked out before.
There were some charming boutiques and some really nice antique
stores. It’s been awhile since we’d been
to the Embarcadero, and it is so much nicer than it used to be. The stores and restaurants in there are
something we will have to check out again.
We followed the water front and walked to Pier 39. We visited the sea lions, but Ele was far
more interested in grabbing the attention of all the people that were gathered
to see the sea lions. As we waited in
line to catch the cable car, we met a nice couple from Ohio who had driven
across the country in their motor home over the past month. The next day their nephew was getting married
in the Japanese gardens in Golden Gate park.
That must have been a beautiful wedding, as the weather could not have
been more perfect. Ele’s first cable car
experience was trumped again by her interest in entertaining the passengers!
The next day we had a couple of hours before we had to head
to the airport. After a delicious
breakfast at a local restaurant recommended by the hotel concierge, we wandered
down Market Street and discovered Yerba Buena Gardens. It was a really cool area, with museums, a
charming French restaurant, and a live jazz concert in the park. We’ll definitely head back here when Ele is
walking, as there’s a children’s park with a museum, carousel, and
playground. Ele was so excited to have a
chance to crawl in the grass while we enjoyed the live music.
I love San Francisco, but it is quite a different experience
with an infant. Traveling with a baby is
awesome, but we have really had to rethink the way that we travel, the
activities we plan, and the pace that we go.
We’re still trying to figure it out, as we try to plan for taking her
overseas this summer!
All photos taken by Rick McDonough 1) View from our hotel room, Parc 55 2) Chinatown Graffiti 3) Embarcadero neighborhood 4) Ele 5) Chinatown 6) Yerba Buena Gardens 7) Night view from our hotel
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