This morning we woke up early to take a ride down to the Alcatraz loading station. It was a bit cold this morning at only 50 or so degrees. Nevertheless, the wharf was spilling with different language different people and that gentle spray of a breeze. It has not rained yet in San Francisco, but every now and then you will be walking along the sidewalk and realize there is a mist that is waking you up and alerting your senses to the world around you. 

We took a ferry ride (quite peaceful) over to Alcatraz and begin our walking and guided tour around the area. Alcatraz is such an interesting part of history. Though it is a prison, the grounds surrounding alcatrez are absolutely beautiful-the island boasting countless species of wildlife from all over the world. Interestingly, there were many children that lived on the island as someone in their family was employed by Alcatraz. It also cost about 90 dollars per month to rent a place in San Francisco and on Alcatraz, that price was only 29 dollars. The walking tour was incredible. With audio, it told you exactly where to go, showed you the library, the dining hall, the inividual cells. In addition, it told of countless "infamous" crooks who had landed in Alcatraz as well as a few escape plans gone wrong. Probably the neatest part of the whole experience was at 10:30, when a park official came in and let you hear "the sounds of the prison." He open the cells and then closed them. That harsh ringing sound still remains with me. 

We took the ferry back to the wharf and decided to examine the Exploratorium. Truly, this was one of the most well-done science center type areas I have seen to date. Everything you see, you can touch. It goes through bacteria, light, sound, magnetism. I thought to myself-my students would learn so much more in our Science Curriculum if we were able to explore and tinker and play with some of the exhibits that were in this very place. Unbelievable. We spent a few hours here and then ventured back out into the wind and walked to the Bourdin Cafe where we walked inside the world of Sourdough bread. You name it, they had it: sourdough turtles, Koalas, Bears, fish, etc. I had my first sourdough bread bowl as we sat outside near a heated lamp and looked out into the water. We then continued walking to Ghiradelli square and shared an ice cream as we watched a very talented Saxophone player playing below the rainbow steps. 

Afterwards, we decided to walk to the famous Lombard Street to see the incredibly sharp turns but also beautiful gardens that snaked all the way down the incredibly steep hill. Soon after, we took an uber and headed back to look at the painted ladies and enjoyed a few minutes of sitting and relaxing before continuing our walking journey into Haight-Ashbury-the birthplace of the counterculture movement in the 1960's. This was probably the neatest neighborhood to walk through. The streets were lined with vintage clothing stores and tattoo parlors. We stepped into what looked like a costume store with hundreds of sparkling skirts and coat jackets and more. There was also a clothing store that was pretty neat as every rack listed a new decade (clothes through the years.) We walked into a pretty nifty sock store, grabbed a soda at a convenience store and continued to admire the Victorian-style houses. It's hard to articulate just exactly what we saw. However, take my word for it, it's a neighborhood that is definitely worth the visit. 

We walked from Haight-Ashbury to then check out the Castro District. I enjoyed walking past countless rainbow flags flapping in the wind as well as the rainbow painted streets. Not only were the people so very friendly, but it was easy to see this was home to some of the tastiest food places as well. Though we did not spend much time looking at the shops (this will be for another day), we did go to a pretty delicious burger place and pick up some food to bring back to our place in Noe Valley. We climbed the largest hill - back up to the top of our place and sorted out our leg crams with some burgers and fries. 

A pretty whimsical second full day in California if I do say so myself. 

Favorite moment not mentioned: Near the Castro District there was an elementary school that caught my attention known as the McKinley School. The playground was open and what immedietely struck my eye was painted rainbow stairs, a mural of some of the great activists of our time and a quote that read: "Reach for the Stars." What was interesting to me was the minimalism presented in this playground. There was one jungle gym looking contraption an a few basketball hoops but the rest of the black top was full of four square spaces, numbers, ladders, hopskotch and other markings that signified new games. I feel like in Pennsylvania, we constantly are boasting of this "new equipment" or "better jungle gym." Perhaps we should take some pointers from this elementary school. This school very clearly is teaching their students that they can make their own fun, that the best games come from simplicity and that no fancy equipment can top a child's imagination. Just food for thought for today.