Monday, April 09, 2007

Day 2 - Angel Island










With the time change and the busy Saturday, Eva and Eli slept in until 7:15 - a mere record in our home. woo hoo - though I did not sleep through the night it was a luxurious morning.

We met at Penelope's rented apartment on 23rd Street. Noe's Nest did not pass an inspection or something so they could not stay there, when they described their alternate accomodations I knew it must be the home next to our friend Alison. Indeed it was. We were regaled with stories of poor Amie's room up next to the workmen that are renovating who appear to be living in the space. They kept music on until late, were loud and had angry girlfriends visit. I'd been hearing about the crazy renovation of this home that had so many remodels over the years that the layout no longer made sense. The owner had used it as a bed and breakfast for years but tried to convert the space back in to one home with a rental unit below. The house with all it's oddness sold for $2.4 million only to completely leak as if there were no roof during the only rainstorm while the house was in escrow. Needless to say, the house is still under renovations.

Okay back to our day, Bob arrived the prior evening from Oslo. It was nice to have him join forces though his clock was completely turned around. We convoyed to Fisherman's Wharf where we took a jolly stroll to the ferry landing. Amie and I gathered Pete's coffee and a sour dough round from Boudin. The weather was glorious, just a slight breeze, sunny and clear. We rode on the top of the ferry - hoping to calm the stomachs of the landlubbers aboard - Penelope, Art and especially Amie. Our boat arrived, we purchased our tickets for the tram ride and staked out our picnic site. The tram ride is a guided tour of Angel Island's history which is pretty rooted in the military. The children were entertained enough. We had the tour guide drop us off a wee bit early so we could take a walking path back down part of the hill. By this time, it was getting a little hot and the children were hungry and their attention needed to be refocused on food. Once fortified we played in the field with our soccer ball (which Art gallantly rescued from the Bay) did somersaults, and had a nice time. We thought a hike up the hill would be entertaining. It was a bit like herding cats, one child would head up one path, one the other, there were many pee breaks which made our trip long in time and short in distance.

We were ready for the final ferry, so eager that we stood in the wrong line and had to get shuffled back to the dock to wait for the next ferry. We all felt that they could have been a bit more clear in their directions but thought our misguideness provided the crew with some amusement.

The tired and hungry team dined at Emmy's spagetti shack - a tasty bite with adequate wine to send us all home ready for a night's rest.

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