Last fall when my mom's 70th birthday was approaching...her birthday is in mid-December... we asked her what she would like to do to celebrate this special milestone. Did she want a party? Did she want a trip of some kind? She most definitely did NOT want a party! But she really liked the idea of a special trip. We discussed all chipping in to send her on a trip with friends or to visit friends. She said that while that sounded fun she would rather do a special trip with her family. We discussed different options, places, and times for the whole family to gather or a girls trip with her daughters but what my mom ultimately wanted was to take her five children...aka "the originals" to one of her very favorite cities...San Francisco. This was something that she had always wanted to do when we were younger and it just never happened. Kids grow up so fast! She did take Kirk and Jordi there when they were still living at home and Kelley had gone to SF on her own once before but Stacey and I had never been and my mom was really excited to show us her favorite city and the surrounding areas.
We had several months to plan and prepare. My mom had so much fun planning this trip! She found us a great beach house to rent in Half Moon Bay and planned a fun itinerary. We all bought plane tickets and made arrangements to be gone for six days in March. My mom was a little concerned about how our spouses and kids were going to feel about being left out of this trip but they were all very supportive! I think it is probably every parent of grown children's secret dream to have some time alone with their original children. It sounds kind of harsh but I think it is true. I already feel it and I only have one kid out of the house. My mom and I were talking on the phone today about how many people have come out of the woodwork to say that they have been inspired and want to take a trip like this with their own children. I have a friend who does this with her parents and siblings every two years and although they usually just meet up for a three day weekend somewhere she says that by keeping the core family strong it strengthens the entire extended family. I don't know that every family could do this especially if you have super sensitive spouses but luckily ours are not! LOL.
Since Stacey, Kelley, Jordin, my mom, and I all live in the same general area we were able to fly together to San Jose to meet my brother Kirk who was flying in from Salt Lake.
On the plane and ready for adventure!
I really like this pic of us at the airport so I am posting it again!
It was so awesome to get off the plane and see my brother waiting there for us!! We were all so excited. He said that was one of his favorite parts of the trip!! We flew into San Jose and rented a car and drove to Palo Alto for lunch at Zareen's. Kirk had been to this great Pakistani restaurant before and he was super excited for us to try it!
It was so good! We ate outside on the patio in the sunshine eating samosas and drinking mango lassis as we waited for our other food to arrive. It was heaven! Let's remember that there was a ton of snow in Spokane. Just being outside for us was amazing!!
After that we drove to our beach house in Half Moon Bay. I cannot believe how gorgeous it was right outside our door!! Our beach house was on Moss Beach.
We were all over that beach!! It was so beautiful.
Later that evening we went to a small market and got some groceries and supplies and then we headed to dinner at Sam's Chowder House and had the most fabulous lobster rolls!! We had such a fun night!
The next morning we were up bright and early and headed to Sausalito! We were out of the house every day by 7:30 am. That was quite a feat! Kirk was awesome to keep us on track and he also kindly drove the entire time! He's the best!
Sausalito was GORGEOUS!
We walked all over, did some shopping, and had breakfast on the water!
Then it was back across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco!
First stop:
We walked all over the place and saw all of the sights down on Fisherman's Wharf. Then we chartered a fishing boat and headed out into the Bay. This was one of my very favorite activities on the trip! I absolutely LOVED it!! We are water people and it was the perfect way to see the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Skyline, and Alcatraz. We got the most amazing tour!
Alcatraz
Then it was time for some fresh seafood and clam chowder:
We did a bunch more sight seeing and then decided that it was time for some drinks and more food! My family is all about the food! We headed over to Boudin's famous for their sourdough bread.
Boudin's also has an awesome restaurant. Kirk and I had some of the best oysters of our lives. We had to have several orders! They were so good! We even got Jordin to not only try one...a feat in itself... but to eat three!! She liked them!! They were incredible.
Then we headed out to see more of the city. The sun was shining and it was absolutely beautiful!! We drove all over and went down Lombard Street. We found the Mrs. Doubtfire house and went to the Full House Painted Ladies Victorian Houses by Alamo Square.
We face-timed with all of our little girls who are HUGE Full House and Fuller House fans!! They were so excited!! Too bad this was also when "Aunt Becky" decided to make some very poor decisions. Why Aunt Becky why??
Who needs an Uncle Jesse when you have an Uncle Kirky!! LOL.
We went to Haight Ashbury and listened to my mom's stories of going there in the 60s with her BYU roommate Cathy. Too funny. Kirk and I jumped out and went into a cool record shop. We went all over and saw all sorts of things. It was a fun day! That evening we headed back to Half Moon Bay and my sisters really wanted to go to this restaurant called the Distillery that overlooks the ocean. By that point I was feeling pretty crappy and wasn't up for a late night so I opted to stay home and Kirk did as well. That was quite the funny night...despite me feeling so awful.
The next day my mom wanted to go on a bit of a road trip and she wanted to see a whole bunch of areas so I took a bunch of cold medicine, drank half a red bull, and we were out the door by 7:30 am. It worked out perfectly too because that was the one rainy day that we had the whole trip.
Our first stop was Monterey:
We went to Cannery Row and walked all over. Stacey and I...book lovers that we are...were super excited to be in John Steinbeck's stomping grounds!! My favorite Steinbeck book is East of Eden and Stacey's is Grapes of Wrath.
We had a great lunch right on the water. I had the most delicious sea scallops! There were the cutest sea otters swimming right by us and eating their seafood lunch too!
We got our fortunes told by Zoltar. Who could resist?! My mom's was freakily accurate!
We did a bunch of shopping and touristy things and then got back into the car and drove to Pebble Beach.
I absolutely LOVED Pebble Beach and the surrounding areas!! The water was the most beautiful color and the sand was so white and soft...once you got past the pebbles of course. The lighting while we were there was absolutely stunning!! It looked so magical.
My mom wanted to build a cairn. So we each stacked a rock on her cairn and left it on the beach.
We did the beautiful 17-Mile Drive and stopped along the way:
We stopped to find out about drinks at sunset with the bag piper at Spanish Bay. That was something that my mom really wanted to do but ended up not being able to. :( We were squeezing in a ton of sights in a short amount of time. We saw the Lone Cypress and loved looking at all of the gorgeous houses overlooking the ocean.
Then it was onto Highway 1 and we headed to Carmel:
I loved Carmel!! I can't wait to return with Tyler. Talk about a romantic and picturesque place. Gorgeous!!
We continued on to Big Sur which literally took my breath away with its INCREDIBLE beauty!!
We stopped to eat at the Big Sur Inn up in the mountains. That area reminded me so much of Oregon. It was so pretty and the Inn was so charming. There was a fire burning in the big stone fire place. So cool!
Then we turned around because we wanted to be back at Point Lobos at low tide so we could check out all of the tide pools. Kirk, Jordin, and I had so much fun doing that! We could have spent hours and hours. You pretty much had to drag me and Kirk off of every beach and it was fun to have Jordin just as into it as we were!!
We were so excited to find starfish and so many other beautiful creatures!
This was also the sight where I was nearly taken out by a rogue wave as Kirk was yelling "RUN!!" and where I had a hilarious fall. Ha ha!!
We had an absolute BLAST!!
On our way back to Half Moon Bay we had to stop in Santa Cruz and get our Lost Boys fix. The time that we got there and the way the light was fading on the amusement park and pier had a very suitable Lost Boys vibe. Kirk and I were facetiming Tyler! (After we all got back home after our trip Kirk called me and told me to watch Chasing Mavericks ASAP. I did and it was so fun to see all of the places that we had been on our trip but that is one seriously sad show!)
After that it was getting late and I wasn't feeling well and Kelley wasn't feeling well. She got the same bug that I had. We got back to our beach house super late and ordered delivery. They had pizza and I had Greek food. Man, I love CA. So many options!!
The next day we planned to have more of a rest day after our super busy mini-highway-1-road trip. Kelley was feeling terrible so she stayed at the beach house for most of the day. Kirk, my mom, Jordin, Stacey, and I went to the tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve which was really close to our beach house.
It was so fun to go out exploring on those fingers of rock at the marine reserve.
Kirk looking like he was walking on water!! LOL.
My mom was having so much fun! Some of the beaches were really hard for her to maneuver and get down to so she was super excited when there were beaches that she could get out at and explore.
Me and my mom
We found more starfish! I love them so much!!
And...some harbor seals. It was also pupping season so part of the reserve was blocked off. We were hoping to see some baby seals but no luck. We learned a lot about the area and the marine life from the ranger there. Her son is a professional surfer and surfs the Mavericks and last summer had a huge shark take a big bite out of his surf board! I now have a much bigger appreciation of that after watching that darn Chasing Mavericks movie!!
After that we went out for breakfast in Half Moon Bay and then headed to the Montara Beach area to explore. It was one of my other favorite places! And...the sight of Kirk's spectacular fall!! LOL.
We stumbled upon this guy! Don't worry...he was alive and just soaking up the sun.
The waves here were CRAZY powerful!! We were jumping them and running into them and getting absolutely battered by them. We got soaking wet and loved EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE.
After huge wave nearly took out my mom she decided to stay further up on the beach. She could've stayed there all day just watching the water. Me too. Stacey was there also but she stayed in the car for some of it. She told my mom that beaches aren't really her thing and that they give her anxiety. I did learned a lot that I didn't previously know about the kind of travelers that each of us are, the things we enjoy and don't enjoy, and the things that make a trip fun and memorable for each of us.They are not always the same things. It was interesting and surprising although I guess it really shouldn't be.We are five very different people with very different interests. Like I said, it was interesting to learn more about each of my siblings.
Later we went back to our beach house to change clothes. Kelley still wasn't feeling well (neither was I but I wasn't going to let it stop me). We dropped off Stacey and Jordin at a winery in Half Moon Bay and Kirk, my mom, and I went to Dad's Luncheonette for lunch. Kirk had been there before and had met the owner. He had been raving about this place for a long time. He was super excited for us to try it and it DID NOT disappoint. It was SO GOOD!
It was busy but the food was so delicious! We got to meet the owner, Scott Clark, who is former three Michelin star chef. He wanted a lifestyle change and opened this place in Half Moon Bay. He is a really nice and cool guy!
We had so much fun!
After that we went into the cute and charming little town of Half Moon Bay and wandered around and went into some of the shops and bakeries. My mom was wanting to get more sourdough bread and some pastries for the morning. I got some delicious macarons. My favorite. But they were second best to the ones in Portland! Those cannot be beat!
Kirk, my mom, and I wanted to do a bit more exploring so we drove up to the mountains to check out the redwoods in the Purisima Creek area. It was so pretty!
It's not easy getting a picture of a giant redwood!!
After that it was back to the beach house where we all crashed and napped for several hours. We had reservations that night for a late dinner at the famous Pasta Moon. By dinner Kelley was feeling better and I was feeling worse but this was the night that we had planned a special dinner for my mom so Kirk dragged me out of my bed and made me get ready. I'm glad he did. Despite feeling really crappy it was a fun night!
Jordi's selfie game was strong!
We also learned a lot about each other's diverse eating habits on this trip. Bread, pasta, pizza, and wine aren't my forte in the food department and not everyone loves seafood. (How can that be?!) Tyler couldn't believe that I ate maybe two bites total of sourdough bread the entire trip. What can I say? I'm not a bread person. And...while I am not a pasta person either...Pasta Moon was pretty amazing! So while I ate a salad... but let me just say that it was the BEST salad that I have ever had in my entire life...my mom and siblings were moaning and groaning in ecstasy over their pasta. I did end up eating quite a bit of Jordin's butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli. It was pretty amazing and that is coming from someone who doesn't like pasta. I would definitely order it if I ate there again. I can also CONFIDENTLY tell you that their desserts are fabulous because desserts ARE my forte!! Even when sick!
That dessert was homemade butterscotch pudding and it was to die for! Very fitting for a special celebration! I would also highly recommend the lemon passion fruit parfait! We got back to the beach house super late that night!
The next day we were planning to head back into San Francisco but Stacey and Kelley decided that they had seen San Francisco and didn't want another day of sight-seeing. They wanted to do their own thing and stay local and relax. So me, Kirk, my mom, and Jordin left them early that morning and headed into the city for breakfast at the famous Tartine!
Kirk had also been there before and had had an hour wait in a line outside the door. We got there early enough that, while busy, we got right in and even managed to snag a table! I cannot describe the amazing smell that hit our senses as we walked down the street toward Tartine. It was the heavenly smell of quiche! I adore quiche. It is one of my very favorite foods and I am very picky about it. The quiche that I had at Tartine was hands down the best I have EVER had!
We explored the mission district.
Then we went back downtown to Fisherman's Wharf to get more bread to bring home. That bag was full and all for Tyler!! My entire carry on was sour dough bread!! That is love!
Kirk's sister-in-law, Kira, lives in the Bay area and he and Meki and the kids usually come to SF for their spring break each year. The end of our trip happened to coincide with Meki and the kids arriving for spring break. We weren't planning to see them but Kirk and Meki's teenage nephew was going to be in a sailing regatta at the St. Francis yacht club. Since we were already downtown there was no way that we weren't going to stop and see them!!
It was such a pretty day down on the water!
And I got to see my cute niece and nephew! My other nephew Kirin was too fast for a picture yet again! That's a three year old for you!
It was great to see Meki and to meet her sister Kira and her brother-in-law and their sons. Meki's mom was also there too.
Kirk was pretty happy to spend some time with his cute family!
The sailing regatta ended up getting cancelled due to water current issues (the kids kept capsizing) and the fact that the bay was full of WHALES!! It was AWESOME to see them so close. We had had some whale sightings...far in the distance...from the deck of the beach house and along Highway 1 but these whales were SO close...literally right in front of us in the bay. It was so cool!!
I wish I had better pictures!! We watched them for a long time! Pretty amazing!
Meki's sister, Kira, took us to Japantown which I LOVED!! It was so fun! Lots of great food and shops.
This picture is a CLASSIC!!
There was a great Japanese ice cream shop and I got the best mochi of my life!! Passion fruit!! Kirk and I were eating all the things in Japantown!! I can't wait to go back.
After Japantown we said goodbye to Meki and family. They met up with us later that night at the beach house. We continued on our way to see more sights but we were thwarted in a lot of the things that we wanted to do thanks to BERNIE SANDERS!! UGH... He was having a rally downtown that same day and I was NOT feeling the BERN! Parking is a nightmare on a good day and this just made parking impossible. So no riding the cable cars for us. No Ghirardelli Square. I was so bummed.
We should have kept our parking place at the yacht club and Lifted or Ubered to where we were going.
We saw Oracle Park where the Giants play.
We drove all over Chinatown trying to find a place to park but no luck. We did see a ton of it though and it was packed and insane! Probably more Bernie supporters. We finally gave up and went to eat some Mexican food before heading back to Half Moon Bay.
On our way home we stopped at a grocery store for steaks and chicken. Our beach house had a nice grill and while on our Highway 1 road trip we had stopped at a roadside stand and had purchased artichokes and strawberries and some other snacks. Kirk and I were wolfing down blood oranges in the parking lot of the fruit stand. They were AMAZING! Anyway...we got stuff to marinate the meat and to cook the artichokes and supplies for strawberry shortcake.
Here's our ghetto marinating job in the parking lot of the grocery store... Italian dressing, ziplock bags, and a ton of handsanitizer. Gross but did the trick. I was on the ground laughing as people stopped and stared.
Jordin pretending that she doesn't know us!! I was wheezy laughing by this point!!
The weather was beautiful when we got back to the beach house. So back out to the beach we went. Kirk and I had been on a hunt all week long for sea glass. We had found some gorgeous pieces. This is my very favorite picture from the trip. Playing on the beach with my brother. We had so much fun together!
When Reilly saw this picture she said, "Aw... I love this picture! I can totally see you guys as little kids".
My mom said that that was the best part of this trip. She kept getting flashes of all of us as little kids and then as adults and just feeling so proud and happy with how we had all turned out and that she had done her job as a parent. When you remove the spouses and grandkids and just got back to the original family it was interesting to step back and look at that dynamic. While this trip wasn't perfect and there were annoyances and irritations it was actually a pretty great trip and strengthened bonds and new memories were made. That can only strengthen our entire family in the long run.
Stacey and Kelley had spent their day going to wineries and hanging out. It was definitely interesting to realize that there are people who are "goers" and "doers" and people who are "relaxers". I am a goer! I want to see all the things, eat all the things, and experience all the things. My family: Ty and the kids are the same way. We can relax at home or at the lake but while traveling we want to see and experience it all. Seeing that not everyone was the same way was interesting to me but despite our travel differences we gave each other space to experience SF in our own ways. I think that made a big difference in the trip and in all of us getting along.
Meki, Kira, and the kids arrived and we were all down on the beach running around and jumping waves. Kaiden found a jelly fish. First one of the trip!
We soaked up the last of that California sun!!
Then Meki and crew headed back to Kira's house and the rest of us stayed up talking late into the night. I feel like we had our most meaningful conversation that last night at the beach house when it was just us which seemed appropriate.
One of my sisters stepped outside and even got a picture of it which I thought was really cool!
We eventually staggered to bed. We had to leave super early the next morning to drive back to San Jose to catch our flights. That morning I was so sick and definitely ready to go home. We said goodbye to Kirk at the airport and waited to catch our flight to Spokane.
When we got off the plane and were headed to baggage claim Tyler and Ramon were waiting for us and they were a sight for sore eyes!! Jordin and I were so happy to see our men!! Ty took me out for lunch and wanted to hear all about the trip. That night Reilly and Hunter came over and I had all of my kids at our house looking at all of my pictures and videos and wanting to hear every detail. That was an extra special bonus... seeing that my kids appreciated how special this trip was to all of us and that they wanted to see the pictures and hear the stories.
My mom really cherished this trip and I don't think that we could have given her a better gift!! A trip with her "originals".
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(That night I went to bed and didn't get up for a week. Seriously. I have never been so sick in my life!)
