San Francisco

We left Wellington as a party of 9 – the Akers, the Hayes and Mum. The kids were stoked to have their cousins to hang out with to pass the inevitable “hurry up and wait” hours in airports and to “Seat Chat” to on the plane.

Our first stop was San Francisco and we arrived to a beautiful sunshiny day. Brad met us at the airport to take Mum to his home and the Akers/Hayes headed to our accommodation in the city. Brad told us that the weather was set to rain for the remainder of the week so we convinced the kids that walking the Golden Gate Bridge after 24 hours of travel was a good idea – glad already for our resilient, awesome kids! The timing was perfect with sunset glowing over the Bay and the city lights sparkling as the night arrived (which felt so early after leaving daylight savings time in NZ).

On Sunday, Brad, Karen, Eden and Ellie had planned a wonderful family day for us all. The kids quickly reacquainted themselves with their American cousins and were soon laughing and hollering as they played games together around the house. The kids are aged 13, 12, 11, 9, 9 and 8 and whilst all so different, it was lovely to see the ways they are similar too. We headed up to Snoopy’s Home Ice, a beautiful ice skating rink built by Peanuts creator Charles M Shultz. We varied in skill and ability, and Meredith and Sophia skated graceful rings around the rest of us, but it was lovely to spend time together. Back at the house, we were treated to endless delicious food, s’mores featuring real Graham crackers, hot chocolates, Christmas pressies, cuddles with doggy Dash, and the Kiwi kids taught Eden and Ellie some moves with their new poi. It was hard to wrap up the evening (especially as the kids all hid at home time) and even harder to say goodbye…

On the way back to the city, we checked out the houses all beautifully decorated for Christmas. This one even had a snow machine with snow that smelt like candy canes!

Monday was marked as the Akers/Hayes “highlights of the city” day, not letting the rain deter us from seeing the sights. Making the most of our cable car/trolley bus passes and walking for miles, we hit Lombard Street, Chinatown, Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. We bought (small/light) souvenirs, marvelled at the wacky art for sale, and finished the evening at IT’SUGAR with the kids picking the PERFECT pick’n’mix combo for their $5 budget.

We said goodbye to the Hayes and Mum on Tuesday as they headed to Cape Breton for the remainder of their holiday. It’s been a long time since I’ve been away from Julie for an extended time and it never gets easier. Down to a party of 4, we headed to west San Francisco to explore Lands End. As we watched the Pacific roll in, it was funny to think that home was just an ocean away. It was good to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city and we enjoyed learning more about the history of the Golden Gate area and seeing the bridge from a different perspective. In the evening we crossed the beautiful Oakland Bridge (Lucas voted it the cooler SF bridge) to meet with Logan’s friend Wendy and her family for dinner. Wendy and Logan met as exchange students in Peru in 1988 and it’s always a joy to meet up with her again.

Wednesday was our final day in San Francisco so we saw the last of the sights we wanted to see before returning our rental car. We have had a go at using Turo for our rentals and so far it has worked out really well. Turo is a system where private car owners can rent out their older vehicles, essentially like AirBnB for cars – there are all makes and models and it is way more economical. Lucas could hardly believe his eyes when Logan drove up in a white Porsche Cayenne! For those of you who know Lucas’s squeal of delight, you can imagine the scene!

It was an enjoyable few days in San Francisco with some great family memories. From here we head to Alberta, Canada for Christmas, skiing, and fun in the Rockies!