Our first visit to San Francisco

On December 23, we went to Peralta Hacienda Historical Park.  It had a house, a small historical exhibit and an even smaller playground.  The house is open limited hours so we did not get to see the exhibit inside.

Then we went on to the Lawrence Hall of Science on the UC Berkeley campus, this time with Dave.  First they made paper airplanes and built Marble Machines.

They also enjoyed creating stop motion stories and building flying machines which they tested in the wind tube and on the hover table.

Dave arranged this Beatles tribute photo outside the museum.

The view is awesome!

On Sunday, Dave took the kids on a hike in Dry Creek Pioneer Park to Tolman Peak.  Cows barred their way, so they did not make it to the top.

Monday, we decided to take advantage of the reduced traffic due to the holiday and tour San Francisco.  We first saw the sea lions on Pier 39.

Then we enjoyed the view at Coit Tower, and drove down Lombard Street (Laura is in the lower left of the photo).

Our last stop was at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park, which offers free admission on Christmas Day.   Unfortunately, free admission is not a well-kept secret, so we had trouble finding parking, and ended up with a spot 1/2 mile from the entrance.

Benjamin points out the dead bamboo along the path and the live bamboo next to it.

Laura had to create more photography masterpieces.

Tuesday, Dave and the kids went to see the new Star Wars movie, and Wednesday, December 27, I went on a bike ride in Quarry Lakes Recreation Area.  It is a great place for bird watching

 and bathrooms are available on the trails (Dave likes to know).