This morning we woke up at 5:00 am and left the house at
5:45 am to head over to Vernon and Vicky’s to catch a ride to the airport.
Kieran was kind enough to drive over to our house to hang
out for a few hours so that Andrew didn’t have to be woken up when we
left.
Carson was surprised by the amount of traffic on the road so
early in the day. I was so proud of our packing. We managed to fit a week’s
worth of clothing and toiletries for the five of us in three carry-on bags –
one only partially filled. Our previous international travels have taught us a
few lessons about packing and airport hacks.
We arrived to the airport at 6:30 am and after a quick
check-in we walked over to the Delta terminal #2 for a shorter security line. The
kids did fabulously and had time to spare before boarding the plane.
Our flight arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule giving us a
5:30 hour layover. We took advantage of the time to leave the airport and show
the kids some of the city’s attractions. It was a first for all but me. I was
glad for the fact I’d been to San Francisco a few times and knew my way around
the tourist area.
We took Bay Area Rail Train (BART) from the airport to the
Embarcadero stop nearest to the piers.
From there we walked through China town and ended up at Pier 39. Todd will be traveling to China at the end of the month, so the kids were looking at the shops for souvenir ideas for him to bring back.
We just power walked through Grant Avenue (China town’s main
street). The kids were famished and were not very interested in anything but
food. We kept telling them we were getting close to the pier but we couldn’t
really tell. The air was very hazy. We didn’t see the water until we were right
in front of it. At first, we thought it was air pollution due to smog and
traffic. On our way back to the airport the cab driver informed us us that the
massive fires in Napa valley that have already killed 12 people were the reason
for the poor visibility.
From there we walked through China town and ended up at Pier 39. Todd will be traveling to China at the end of the month, so the kids were looking at the shops for souvenir ideas for him to bring back.
At the Pier we got some tasty fish and chips and snapped
some pictures of beautiful sea lions sun bathing on the pier.
We looked at catching a cable car back to the metro, but there was not much information on how often they departed, so we snapped a few photos and caught a cab back to the airport.
We looked at catching a cable car back to the metro, but there was not much information on how often they departed, so we snapped a few photos and caught a cab back to the airport.
It was a whirlwind day trip, but it was more fun than seeing
the airport.
