San Francisco!

Over the Fourth of July, we go to spend some time with some of our favorite people-- the Nate, Lydia, and Jakob Fishers of the world. A memory of our past life in Provo and its glory days. I love how Richard is peeking out from behind the couch like a mischevious child. I took this shot myself. I have to say that both Lydia and Nate doubted that it could be done, but they underestimated my talent for self-portraits!

Anna spent most of the vacation blissfully pushing around her "strawberry stroller" which was fortuitously left at our house after a brother and his family visited (thanks Joe, Julia, and girls)

The highlight for Richard was definitely the Golden Gate bridge, which we walked across on the Fourth of July. I think the highlight for me was all the food-- from the pancake breakfast on the Fourth, to the Fisher's "paleo" inspired meals, to the perfect nectarine we shared on the peer. And of course, the junk food that makes its way into all of our vacations.

Richard and Ann listening intently during a turtle demonstration at the Acquarium of the Bay (thanks Lydia for hooking us up).

touching a "real turtle"

touching a starfish! Anna still talks about all the starfish she saw that day.

the San Francisco skyline from the boat out to Alcatraz. We got unusually nice weather during our stay. San Francisco, like Seattle, likes to think that summer is overrated and gives it little to no play. But the sun shone for us!

Anna came back from the Acquarium with a new friend-- Aurora the turtle (shown here peaking her head up in the foreground).

after the boat ride, Anna was so good as to fall asleep...

at Alcatraz. I love the juxtoposition of this photo-- innocent baby, asleep, in front of the main gates at one of the most notorious prisons in history.

Alcatraz was cooler than fiction, and from what I can tell, inspired many fictitional accounts of prison life.

like the 3 prisoners who dug a tunnel from their rooms into these utility hallways and then carved soap heads and left them in their beds to give them a little extra time to get away (Shawshank redemption, anyone?). They were never heard from again. The tour guides explain that they probably died during their swim off the island, and thus, that no one has successfully escaped from Alcatraz.

(Ahem-- if you escape, and no one hears from you, and no body is found-- thats a pretty successful attempt to me!)

they really were some tiny cells....

the view from Alcatraz that most of the prisoners could see from the exercise yard-- including Al Capone (in for tax evasion!)

you can't see it very well, but in the back left corner of the cell, there is a hole where one of the three prisoners escaped. They used spoons they stole from the cafeteria to dig their tunnell.

And of course, the place I absolutely had to go on Peir 39 was the candy shop. The sea lions were great, the view was spectacular, the clam chowder in a soudough breadbowl was a must, but to get pounds and pounds of every variety salt water taffy ever created (Richard compared it to Bertie Botts every flavor beans-- Nate Fisher got at least two duds)? That was where I wanted to see. Lets just say I was like a kid in a candy store!