So, I haven't mentioned this yet on the blog but we are moving to San Francisco this coming summer. Lyle is doing a transplant surgery fellowship at UCSF for two years. I still haven't wrapped my head around the idea of living out there. It is going to be such a huge and exciting change!!
This past October, Lyle had a surgery conference in SF so Annabeth and I tagged along and conned my parents into coming with us to help with AB while I check out some schools and houses for us. That was the best idea ever! Lyle was at the conference most of the time and my parents and I traveled around the city together. It was the most fun! I feel so lucky to have spent such a great week with them. Every kid wants their parents undivided attention and Annabeth and I had it for a whole week!! It was truly a trip I will never forget!
Annabeth took her first plane ride and was absolutely perfect both ways! We also found it to be a small miracle that none of our planes were delayed and we didn't have long layovers!
She loved the big bed in our very comfortable hotel room!
Our first full day there was Sunday, so we decided to go to church at St. Brendan's, the Catholic School we are hoping to get the kids into. We took a cab there but rode the subway back. Really funny to have my parents jumping on all the trains with us! They were such troopers! Annabeth was a trooper too. She basically lived in that wrap the whole trip! I would not have survived without that thing. It made getting around the city soooo easy!
We also ate in Chinatown where my dad was determined to use the chopsticks:) Chinatown was fun. My mom and I got to do a little shopping while we were there and picked up these pjs for the girls. Luke also got a Giants hat since the Giants won the World Series while we were there. So cool!
I also made sure my parents got to ride the trolley. We rode it down to Fisherman's Wharf the day we took the tour of Alcatraz.
One afternoon my parents stayed with AB at the hotel and let Lyle and I go for a run in Golden Gate Park. It is near the hospital where Lyle will be working so afterwards we walked around looking at some possible rent houses in the area. We are hoping to get in this area so Lyle can walk back and forth to work.
Our tour of Alcatraz was awesome!! Here are a few pics! It was such a fun day!! I wasn't initially going to do the tour but my mom talked me into it and I am so glad I did. We got the tickets and had about 40 minutes to kill so we grabbed breakfast at a deli next to the pier. Then we boarded the boat to the island which was about a 20 minute ride. We took the headphone tour which was perfect. We each had our own headphones which told stories by prisoners of Alcatraz and guided you around the jail. It was really interesting. The view from the island looking back at SF was amazing. Made me really excited about living here soon.
We were also able to take a whole day driving around wine country in Nappa Valley. We rented a car and just took our time finding some interesting and beautiful wineries. Although dad doesn't like wine, he tried some at every winery. We had really nice weather!
Our hotel was in Union Square next to all the good shopping so my mom and I spent one afternoon shopping while Lyle and dad took peep back to the hotel. We picked up some ice cream shakes and brought them back to the hotel for everyone after we were done. Here is a pick of AB, Lyle and I on our last night out. That night the Giants won the World Series. It was awesome to be in the city then. The streets were packed with people cheering!
It was so nice having my parents with us on this trip. They were a huge help with Annabeth and they are really just a lot of fun to be around. I hope to take many more trips with them in the future!
