BT 4.0: It turns out a lot of people live in Cali.

Someone once asked me how I had time to write these blogs on Big Trip. At the time (after BT 1.0) I couldn't figure out how I couldn't have the time. I spent my days vacationing with a 4 and 2-year-old. Most of the time, that first year, I had composed my blogs in my head hours before I sat down to a computer. We'd put them to bed hours ahead of us and could either fill our evenings with Duck Dynasty or blogging. The choice seemed simple (though, I admit to spending several hours those first few Big Trips completely fixated by that dynasty).

As they grow our parenting has also needed to grow. Gone are the days of the mind-numbing, yet physically exhausting, parenting where I was wiping bottoms, carrying kids all over Timbuktu and "ssshhing" them to sleep. Those days were filled with a lot of think time. I had to be physically present but my mind could wander for miles and I could still change diapers in seconds flat. Parenting now is different. It's a heady proposition. I need to bring my A game for all the questions, spats, promises, prompting, shaping, reflecting, foreshadowing, coaxing, disciplining, questioning, answering, cajoling, encouraging...you get the idea. My mind has no time for wandering, story-telling, crafting or, really, functioning beyond parenting. When Mark and I do finally throw ourselves down for a quiet moment, it's 10pm and all we want to do is compare our sweet, loving, adorable children to carcass-picking vultures. We love them dearly, yes we do.

We hung out in San Francisco for three nights. Our good friend, Gregory S. Fitz was also in town so we ate some tasty vittles with him and then shivered on the beach together. We had a full day of travel yesterday, visiting a few beaches between San Francisco and Fresno. We're staying at a condo in Fresno for a few nights and then we're headed to Vegas. The weather is beautiful. The traffic is miserable.

Nacho-eatin' Milo and Burrito-eatin' Fitz. Mission District, San Francisco.

It was cold. It was windy. We had not bathing suits. Nothing stopped her from enjoying a day at the beach.
Baker Beach, San Francisco

Ninja moves
Baker Beach, San Francisco

We sand-castled.
Baker Beach, San Francisco

The adults stayed dry/

Happy Hour with the Greg-Danielle duo.
The Ferry (Fairy, if you're Odelia and love Tinkerbell) Building

Pier 39.
We came for the sea lions. They were otherwise engaged at an undisclosed location (catch my drift?). This fella was the lone bachelor hanging out at the pier.

No sea lions. Sad faces. Pier 39, San Francisco.

We recovered quickly when we stumbled upon a gigantic candy store filled with TAFFY!

Lunch. Sourdough. Mmmmm.....
Pier 39, San Francisco

We spent an afternoon at the Children's Creativity Museum in San Francisco. Giant tinker toys!

Both kiddos got to make their own claymation cartoons. They started with building characters out of clay.

Then they created their cartoons frame by frame taking stills.

And, masterpieces were made!

Then they "karaoked" to "Let It Go". The poor 23-year-old running the karaoke machine looked like he wanted to off himself. That's a lot of "Let It Go" even for the most zealous fan and his facial piercings and tattoos made me think that maybe he wasn't Elsa's number one fan. I could be wrong.

Filled out a satisfaction survey and got some free tickets for the carousel. You came to the right person, Children's Creativity Museum. Challenge accepted!

We stepped off these elevators and they weren't lying...
There we were. In Chinatown.

Chinatown, San Francisco

I tried to give Milo a tutorial on chopsticks. He diligently watched me and then quickly resumed his original technique.
Chinatown, San Francisco

Look at her chopsticks! Atta girl!

When in Rome, slaughter all rituals and techniques, I guess.

Ano Nuevo State Park, CA
We came for the Elephant Seals but it turns out, they too, need some privacy so we were much farther than 25 feet from them. Over two miles to be exact. We could have hiked to their boudoir but we opted for splashing on the beach instead.