Woke up early so that I would be ready to leave in time to pick up J & J, swing by Starbucks and get to the school in time for the bus.
First, Brennan was 10 min. late; can deal with that.
Got to J & J's, picked up the two boys and swung through Starbucks but, the line was too long for the time we had available charged on to the school....... NO ONE was there!
Panic started to creep in.
Quickly headed to the main school just in case I had my wires crossed.
NO ONE was there either.
Okay now my stomach is starting to hurt, my heart is starting to race and the panic is really escalating.
Called Alicia, my stoic daughter. She grounded me, calmed me down, told me not to worry, she would call around to find out what had happened.
I headed back to Starbucks. I needed coffee, food and a minute to think.
Alicia found out that there had been a change in the plans. Evidently there had been last minute changes to the schedule to leave a half an hour earlier than originally planned so that the bus would be able to make it to the wharf on time. Everyone was emailed, unfortunately Alicia had not checked her email over the weekend, Jackie did not get the email and I am not on the email list.
The boys ordered, I ordered and then headed back to the car. We were going to San Francisco and would deal with all the other what ifs later.
We boogied on down the road making good time, but not breaking any laws. Just outside Vallejo we passed the Natomas bus. You should have heard the boys!! You would have thought we won the lottery.
Got close to SF and I took the wrong turn off. I was heading for San Jose!!
There goes my stomach again. J called Alicia for Google directions. and through trial and error we got back on track but not before we saw the bus pass us while we were heading in the wrong direction!!
J called Dani repeatedly, but to no avail. J got the final direction to the wharf from Alicia and the final leg went as smooth as silk. Just as we were counting down the Piers J finally got through to Dani. She was ready for us. We parked, parking was 20.00, I quickly slipped a twenty into the machine and grabbed my change, (I found out later I got cheated out of a dollar, there were only four dollars in my pocket, not five). We ran to Pier 33, caught up with everyone and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.
Then we waited and waited and waited.
Dani connected with me and told me she had tried to call me. I had my phone off since J had his on and was doing all the calling around while I was driving. She is amazing, I do not know how she is so calm all the time with all the families she has to juggle and connect with.
They had to count the children and the adults, the count was not jiving so they counted again.
Finally, we boarded the ferry and were off. That was the last time we saw out group, but we had a great time anyway. Do not think I would go again, but I am really glad I went at least one time.
The boys had so much fun and so many questions. We all took lots of pictures. I learned a lot. The most interesting was that Alcatraz was not created as a prison. It was created to be a fort to defend the bay for America during the Gold Rush days.
I also never knew that children lived and grew up there.
So much history! I loaded the best pictures onto Flickr and you can see them all here:
My Alcatraz Slide Show
Here are a few I would like to share.
Ticket and postcards.
The island as we are approaching in our ferry.
The boys taking a break after a long tour through the cell blocks. The park handed out audio tour tapes that we were able to listen to at out leisure while we strolled through the cell blocks. It was narrated by inmates and correctional officers. I found it very interesting. What a piece of history!After we left the island I opted to go to Pier 39. BJ was against it but J & J were for it. I knew it would be a long time before I would be returning so I was glad we stayed a little longer. I took a few more pictures then we stopped Boudin's to eat a bowl of clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, yummmm. I love clam chowder.
BJ is not quite as fond of it so he chose pizza. When he got the pizza his eyes lit up and he became very excited. It was not just a slice, it was a large individual pizza, more than 12" across. He ate the whole thing.
Could not resist a shot in front of the Hard Rock Cafe!All in all it was a good day.
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Today is Orange day.
Tuesday is still the beginning of the week, full of energy and joy.
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow.
Orange embraces enthusiasm, encourages creativity, stimulates fascination, evokes determination, and is associated with success.
How the colour orange affects us mentally and physically:
* Stimulates activity
* Stimulates appetite
* Encourages socialization
Daring Tuesday:
I will be referring to "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and "The Daring Book for Girls".
Both books are filled with fun activities and information that has entertained children for centuries!
To learn more about Colours and Activities of the Day
Kathleen
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