Day 13-14 - Friday, April 2, and Saturday, April 3 - San Francisco

We have spent the last two days in San Francisco and seen the weather extremes for which the city is renowned. Yesterday we awoke to wild wind and rain. It was freezing outside.
As Ross was recovering from a severe head cold and the girls were tired of travel we decided to spend the day in the house at Muir Beach. It’s a great place for such a day. We watched the rain showers come across the ocean and the wild waves pound onto the beach. We also watched the birds of prey that circled above the nearby cliffs. The girls enjoyed the day playing with the Wii console in the downstairs kids retreat area.
Today was still cold but delightfully sunny. We firstly went to Sausalito and spent a bit of time wandering around the art galleries and other shops before taking the ferry across to San Francisco. The ferry is a great way to really appreciate the beauty of the city and gave us a great view of the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz prison.
We then walked along the harbour from Pier 1 right up to Pier 41 and Fisherman’s Wharf. We had lunch at one of the establishments along the way - with a rather surly waitress. I had delicious mussels and clams cooked with chilli, garlic and lemon.
The sea lions at Pier 39 were great to see - unbelievable to see them in such an urban environment.
We then took another ferry back to Sausalito and then celebrated the girls’ birthday with dinner at an Italian restaurant there. It was great and the waiters brought out a tiramisu cake and sang Happy Birthday to the girls.
Ross and Sussana gave the girls these lovely handbags Susanna had made for their birthdays. We bought them some things during the day - books for both and a hat and left-handed pen for Ellen. Katherine couldn’t choose anything she wanted - so hopefully we can persuade her to get something in the next few days.
Carlene