little black journal

Shane, Jules, and I had such a good time on our Santa Monica trip last year that we decided to make it an annual tradition – March tends to be the time of year that I start to desperately crave a sun break, anyway.  We asked Jack and La Verne if they’d be up for joining us and they agreed with very little (no) arm-twisting.  We hopped on a plane last Thursday and headed south, happily waving farewell to a particularly gray, rainy sky.

The flight went off without a hitch and by mid-afternoon we were walking through the door of our Marina del Rey rental.  Jules and I dozed while the guys went for a run and at 5:30 we piled into our cars to make the short drive to Venice Beach.  Ahhhh, the California Coast.  My happy place.

I remember being surprised last year by just how much Juliette loved the ocean.  I also remember how exhausting it was, scooping her up as she darted full-speed toward the water time and again!  She has slightly better judgement now, but still couldn’t resist putting her toes in the foamy tide, laughing hysterically as we chased the waves and they chased us right back.

This picture was taken right before a wave set off a chain of toddler dominoes, at which point we wrapped our soaked kids in towels and decided to head home for dinner, bath, and bed.

Our house was just a few blocks from Abbot Kinney, so Intellegentsia coffee seemed like the perfect place to kick-start our Friday.  These two were big fans of the pastry offerings.

Properly carbed and caffeinated, we drove over to Tongva Park for a romp on the playground.  Juliette immediately set up shop in this big metal egg, inviting Shane and me to place an order at her restaurant window (I recommend the imaginary pizza with broccoli and watermelon on top).

Interest in the playground quickly waned when the kids heard the sound of running water.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that they probably ran 80 laps in this shallow pool, like little ducks splish-splashing back and forth, back and forth.

Bird-watching break.

And then a little boogie.

What, now?  A spray park?  This just keeps getting better and better!

I remember taking Juliette down this slide last year – those rollers were a little rough on the rear.  They still are.

Lunch at Tsujita Ramen followed by dessert at Blockhead has apparently also become something of a tradition.

That green tea shaved ice is the stuff of dreams!

Shane, Juliette, and I all piled into bed at naptime – “bed-sharing” with Juliette hasn’t worked well for us in the past, as she prefers to play rather than sleep when we’re around, but water and sun seem to be the magic ticket for a solid crash.  I came to love these afternoon snuggles.

The Chens had a dinner date with some friends Friday night, so we struck out on our own in search of margaritas and tacos.  Happy Hour at Mercado hit the spot – the carnitas tamales with green sauce were amazing.  We left the restaurant at prime sunset time and Juliette and I jogged the couple blocks to the waterfront while Shane paid the bill and got the car.  Made it!  Barely!

But jeez, was it windy!

Juliette and I took a quick walk down the Santa Monica pier and then we called it a day.  A very, very good day.

Saturday and Sunday were also packed with sand and sun – stay tuned!

It felt so good to pull up to Amanda and Josh’s house on Thursday afternoon, unstrap Jules from her carseat, and tell her she was free to wander through the house, to run through the backyard, to go enjoy the luxury of space after several days in a hotel.  Coincidentally, my dad was in town for work through Friday and was able to pop over that evening for a visit.  Juliette ran right into Grandpa’s arms, as if we’d left their house in La Pine just last week.

Juliette and Sadie were fast friends – they woke up Friday morning ready to play hard and get dirty.  So dirty.  (Look at those feet!)

Amanda and I have a ritual of visiting our favorite discount shoe warehouse every time I visit and thought it was time to inaugurate our daughters.  They loved it, pulling shoes off the shelves and strutting down the aisles in sneakers and sandals and bright pink boots.  Girls after our own hearts.

Turns out Juliette has a flair for flashy footwear.

Sadie and Jules were attached at the hip throughout the whole day, saying a very tearful goodbye once their bath was over and it was time for them to settle into their separate beds.

Poor Sadie woke up with the flu on Saturday morning, so Shane and I took Juliette out to Knights Ferry to give her buddy a play break.

We scaled a few rocks and found a perfect little nook down by the water to get our feet wet.

I know, the Central Valley isn’t known for it’s beauty, but it has its gems.  This is one of them.

There’s a beautiful old covered bridge over the river – a perfect RUNway for Juliette.

Sadie perked up in the afternoon, much to Juliette’s delight.  My delight, too, as I was tired of pushing that car around!

This girl really doesn’t like to wear clothes.  My word, though, can’t blame her for wanting to show off that belly.

A few friends came over on Saturday evening for backyard pizza and some quality catching up.

GIRLS.  Old friends and new!

Sunday morning was go-time – Sadie and Juliette squeezed in a few more precious moments of playtime, and then we said our sad good-byes.

Amanda and I remarked over how hard it is to miss watching each other’s daughters grow.  But our girls make these annual visits extra-special, make us feel extra-close as we share in each other’s mothering joys and struggles and anxieties.  Amanda’s so good at getting me, so genuine in her exclamations of, “I know what you mean!”, so wonderful at offering advice without even the slightest twinge of condescension or judgement.  I miss her already.

Sunday was a long day of travel, but we made it back to Seattle without any major hiccups, thankful for a week free of illness or sleepless nights, a week so full of adventure and beauty and time with friends.

After all the excitement of the museum and the pier, Jules and I were ready on Wednesday for an easy-going day closer to our hotel.  I opened up Google Maps and was happy to see there were two large rectangles of green about a mile up California Street, so we grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Flour & Co and set out for some park-hopping.  First stop: Lafayette Park in Pacific Heights.

Winding, wooded paths criss-crossed the block – plenty of trees to climb and flowers to smell.

I resolved not to rush us along and let Juliette move at her own pace.  This meant letting her stop to touch every single sprinkler head along the path.  Twenty minutes later, every fiber of my being was screaming, “LET’S MOVE IT!”, but I held my tongue.

Finally, her urge to run kicked in.

We were stoked to find a great playground at the other side of the park and spent an hour exploring the terrain.

From Lafayette, we walked a few blocks up to Alta Plaza Park – Juliette and I came here last year and I was eager to revisit the super-active playground.  And the view!

Seriously.  That view.

After a picnic bench lunch at the park across the street from our hotel, we settled into our room for quiet time.  By this point, I’d given up on calling it naptime, as Juliette doesn’t want to have anything to do with afternoon sleep anymore.  She was pretty good about entertaining herself with books and coloring for about…12 minutes, at which point I’d succumb and let her watch an episode of Curious George while I took a breather.

We headed out after quiet time to meet up with Shane – Juliette was a champ in the stroller while we were in the city, patiently sitting still while I pushed her up and down Nob Hill several times over.  She loved using her new vocabulary, pointing out motorcycles and flags and green lights.

I needed a boost and we popped into Bread and Cocoa for a short Americano and a tall milk.  Coffee dates with this kid are my new favorite thing.

Seeing Shane at the end of the day was always so thrilling – the way Juliette ran into his arms, you’d think he’d been gone for weeks!

We opted again for an outdoor dinner and grabbed burgers from Super Duper to eat on the lawn at Yerba Buena.  My old friend and college roommate, Brieanne, joined us and we compared notes on motherhood and work and the quest to do it all.

Juliette was fried by the time we returned to the hotel, as was I, so Shane offered to take care of bath and bedtime while I headed down to the hotel lounge for a glass of Prosecco and some cherished time to myself.

Shane had a pretty light conference schedule on Thursday, so the three of us ate breakfast together at The Grove and then bopped around for awhile.

This little plaza off Mission Street contains some of my favorite public art.

I’ve seen this sculpture a couple of times but didn’t realize it was so “interactive” until Juliette pulled us into it for a 15-minute game of peek-a-boo.

Shane headed out around 10:00 to catch his morning session while Juliette and I walked over to Rincon Park for one last stint by the Bay.

And one last visit to the Ferry Building, for a vase from Heath Ceramics and macarons from Miette.

We ate our treats on our favorite bench, snapped one last pic, and then called a wrap, as it was time to head back to the hotel and pack up our things.  And not a moment too soon – Juliette and I had a really, really great time romping through the city together, but shortly after this photo was taken, she took off running in the wrong direction and smacked me in the face when I scooped her up to put her in the stroller, at which point I had to exercise the utmost self-control not to toss her in the bay.  We were both wearing thin after so much go-go-going.  The museum and the carousel and the countless parks had been a blast, but they had left us exhausted.

Case in point:

Thank goodness for a chance to recharge with old friends in mellow Turlock!

Jules and I have been flying solo these past couple of days, as Shane has been busy at his conference.  Chasing a toddler around the city was much easier with a partner, but I’m hanging in there and when I’m not yelling at her to “wait for mama!!!”, we’re having a really great time.

The California Academy of Sciences was at the top of my list of places to take Juliette, so we set out for Golden Gate Park on Monday morning.  First, though, coffee.  I knew I was going to need it.

We got to the park 45 minutes before the museum opened, so we took a walk through the botanical gardens.  The sprinklers were on and hitting our pathway, but I thought we could dart through them, super-quick, and stay relatively dry.  I was wrong – just as I barreled down the path, another sprinkler rotated just-so and drenched us.  Jules was a good sport about it, but my hair was not so forgiving.  Oops.

We headed back toward the museum and found a sunny bench where we could finish drying out, while taking in the view of that beautiful De Young.

Our first stop inside the Academy of Sciences was the rainforest – parrots squawked from tree branches while butterflies fluttered overhead.  A few of the butterflies fluttered a little too close to Juliette’s face and sent her running to my arms, but she eventually loosened up and was taken up in the magic of the place.

From the rainforest, we descended down into the aquarium for some serious fish-gazing.  This was a hit – Juliette has just started to master her colors and loved pointing out the orange fish, the yellow one, the blue one, the purple one…so many fish.

We took a quick spin through Africa after the aquarium, but hit the road just as Juliette was threatening to climb into the zebra exhibit.

We grabbed lunch at a little cafe near the park and then caught the N train back toward our hotel.  Jules was wearing a little thin by the time we rolled up to our stop…

And then this happened, 10 feet from our door.  Can’t.  Walk.  Any.  Further…

We spent a couple of hours recharging in our room and then headed down to Yerba Buena to meet up with Shane for dinner.  Juliette was back on her game by this point, running and running and running.  And running.

We chowed down on Indian takeout at the park and then called it a day and headed back to our hotel.  I love being on Nob Hill – the climb is brutal, but the views are amazing.

We kicked off Tuesday morning with coffee at Blue Bottle and treats from Frog Hollow at the Ferry Building.  Gosh, that Ferry Building – I find something new and delicious every time we go there.

Plus, the wide open hall is perfect for…running!  (Notice a theme here?)

We strolled along the waterfront after breakfast, stopping every 10 piers or so to look at the boats or go for a quick jog or play a game of peek-a-boo behind the lamp posts.

Finally, we made it up to Pier 39 to see what the sea lions were up to.  They were out in full force, active and loud and so fun to watch.

I took Juliette here last year and she just stared at the docks blankly, unimpressed by the action.  But yesterday I could hardly tear her away from them, as she arf-arfed back at them and exclaimed, “look at that one, mama!  splash!”.

Fisherman’s Wharf has always felt like a giant tourist trap to me – it’s not high on Shane’s and my list of San Francisco hot spots.  But dang, the look on her face when she saw those horses.  I couldn’t resist.

Jules was pretty heartbroken when the ride stopped spinning and she was asked to say goodbye to her shiny plastic zebra.  This is where the responsible mom would calmly explain that the ride was over and that whining afterwards can take away the fun.  Or, you could just distract your kid with a trip to the candy store!  I gave Jules a bucket and let her wander down the rows of taffy barrels, telling her she could pick out a few pieces.  She picked out about 50 pieces (and I put 40 of them back when she wasn’t looking – I’m not that much of a pushover!).  We shared a piece on the bench outside the store and then I hid the rest away in the bottom of my backpack.  This girl on a sugar high?  I feared for my sanity.

I strapped Jules back into the stroller and we made our way toward the hotel, stopping at Washington Square Park to eat our lunch and have a go on the swings.  She constantly insists “higher!  faster!  higher!” – this is probably as high as it goes, baby.

We “rested” (I use that term loosely – stubborn kid is on a nap strike!) in our room and then met up with Shane to catch a ride over to the Mission for dinner.  We picked up burritos and took them to Dolores Park to eat on the lawn with all the champagne-sipping, guitar-playing hipsters.

Jules looks a little out of place, doesn’t she?

But the playground there!  Now we’re talkin’!  It’s amazing – tons of places to climb and swing and slide while enjoying a great view of the city.

Jules and I turned in early last night while Shane went out to party with his fellow techies – sun and strolling and swinging had us both beat.  We’re rockin’ this city.

When Shane told me that he’d be going to San Francisco again for his annual VMware conference, there was a moment of pause in deciding whether or Juliette and I should join him.  But it was a brief moment of pause – forget about last year’s trip, with it’s plague of roseola and sleepless nights in the hotel!  I’d be danged if I was going to turn down a chance to spend a few days in one of my favorite cities, even with all the challenges that come with bringing our feisty, unpredictable extra baggage.  Let’s do this!

We left Seattle yesterday morning and landed in SF after an exhausting day of travel.  A two-hour flight should be no big deal, but when you factor in security lines and waiting at the gate and waiting in the plane while other passengers board and runway taxi time at both ends and waiting for baggage and getting from the airport to the hotel and checking into your room, you’re looking at about six hours of desperately trying to keep your toddler quiet and entertained.  Six hours of asking, with increasing levels of panic, “Do you want your new coloring book?  Do you want pretzels?  Do you want to play with mama’s phone?  Do you want dried mangoes?  Do you want to look out the window?  Do you want pretzels?  Please, just EAT SOME PRETZELS AND BE STILL!”.  Ok, I’ve dramatized the journey a little, and Juliette did pretty well, but it wasn’t without a great deal of effort on Shane’s and my part.   We were beat by the time we unlocked the door of our room at the Fairmont.  We unpacked a few things, laid down for about three minutes, and then headed back out, because Juliette was plum full of energy after sitting all day!  Thankfully, we found ourselves a boost in the form of margaritas and carnitas tacos at Tacolicious.

Best-looking kids meal I’ve ever seen.

We took a spin around Washington Square Park after dinner to burn off those last few wiggles.

It worked.

We headed back to our hotel, soaking in that marvelous San Francisco golden hour.

Hotel living can feel extra-tight with a kid in tow, but it has its perks – I can lay in bed while keeping an eye on Jules during bathtime!

Juliette hit the hay hard after just a couple of books.  She conked out around 7:30 and I wasn’t far behind her.

After a solid night’s sleep, we set out this morning in search of breakfast.  We walked down California Street, stopping to enjoy each glimpse of the water, and eventually landed at the Ferry Building.

We spent awhile enjoying the waterfront (and a Blue Bottle Americano) while we waited for Il Cane Rosso to open for the day.

We eventually landed a couple of killer breakfast sandwiches and an outdoor table.  The makings of a perfect Sunday.

After breakfast, we headed across the street to the Sue Bierman playground.  Spin, swing, slide, repeat.

We spent the afternoon at the Giants game – again, there was pause in deciding whether or not Jules would be up for it, but c’mon!  It’s the Giants.  And Juliette ended up being a champ through the whole thing.  We had to vacate our seats a couple of times to let her run laps around the club level, but there were periods when she actually seemed interested in the game, shouting “Hit it, Buster!” as each player stepped up to the plate and gasping with excitement as each foul ball sailed into the stands.  She’s a fan!  And I’m over the moon about it.

Speaking of being over the moon, do you know that on Sundays kids get to go down to the field and run the bases?!  How fortuitous!  Skipped nap be damned, we were doin’ it.  Shane might have been even more thrilled than Jules.  The sight of the two of them, rounding third at AT&T – I’ll remember that forever.

(She was so proud of herself.)

(Crazy proud.)

We snapped a couple last photos and then shouted “Bye bye baseball!”.  What. A. Day.

Shane and I were again pooped by 5 pm, so we kept dinner easy and picked up a pizza and salad to eat at the park across the street from our hotel.  Juliette ran around the playground, a regular Energizer Bunny.  I’m in denial over the fact that she seems not to need an afternoon nap anymore.

One last go on the slide (seven times), and then we headed back to our room.  Juliette went to bed with very little protest, Shane headed out for drinks with some friends, and I made myself a cup of tea, watched a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls on the iPad while going through photos, and put together this post, so thankful for the quiet.  But also thankful for a day full of running and clapping and laughing.  This trip is off to a pretty grand start.

Saturday brought more sun and temps approaching 80 degrees, so we grabbed our beach towel and sunscreen and headed out to grab some rays.  But first, breakfast at M Street Kitchen.

(Please, Mama, can I have pancakes and syrup, light on the pancakes, heavy on the syrup?)

We spent the rest of the morning at Annenberg Beach House, melting into our lounge chairs while Juliette ran wild in the splash park.  Dude, this girl loves water.

I went for a run while Shane put a tuckered-out Jules down for a nap and then hydrated with a bottle of bubbly on our house’s patio.  Perfecto.

Juliette woke up pink-cheeked and crazy-haired and came out to join me.  Those arms!  I’ve missed seeing them these past few months.

We packed up our things and then spent an hour strolling down the 3rd Street promenade, stopping every few minutes to watch the street performers and share a fro-yo.  Since we were so close to Tongva Park, and since Juliette had such a blast there the day before, we popped over for another go at the playground.

Soon it was beach:30, so we made our way to the sand, armed with pail and shovel, and settled in for another sunset.

She makes me so damn happy.  I love to be able to return the favor.

A breeze kicked up as the sun went down and Juliette wanted nothing more than to crawl into papa’s lap and snuggle.  It took about 37 laps up and down the shore, but we had finally worn this girl out!

I sighed as we watched the sun drop behind the horizon, sad to see our final evening in Santa Monica come to a close.  Shane consoled me by volunteering to go pick up burgers and shakes from In-N-Out for dinner while I put Juliette to bed.  Yes, please!  We wolfed down our takeout and then I fell asleep on the couch at 8:00, exhausted in the most satisfying way.

We didn’t need to head to the airport until late morning on Sunday, so we swung by the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market for awhile to eat breakfast and let Jules get her pre-flight wiggles out.  She was a big fan of the folk band that was playing there, knee-slapping and hand-clapping along with the beat.

And then, too soon, it was time to head to LAX and make the trek back to Seattle.  Juliette did alright on the flight, squirming a bit through the first half, but eventually passing out in my arms.  And then, we were home.  Home sweet home, where we don’t have to worry about getting a sunburn or dumping the sand out of our shoes (I’m doing my best to look on the bright side here).

Thanks, Santa Monica, for treating us right!  See you next winter.

March is that time of year in Seattle when I really start getting antsy, when I start itching to shed my coat and my sweater so that I can feel the sun on my shoulders.  It’s the time of year when I’d give anything to just be warm, to wear sandals rather than wool socks and boots.  I remarked last month that this winter was feeling particularly long, with all the sniffles and the stir-craziness, so Shane worked his travel-planning magic and booked us cheap flights and a sweet little cottage in Santa Monica for a long weekend.  Juliette has recently become fascinated by airplanes, pointing to the sky and exclaiming “errrrr-pay!” each time one flies overhead, so she was most certainly up for the adventure.

We set out Thursday morning and made it to the gate with plenty of time to spare – I sipped my coffee while Jules ran circles around us, stopping every couple of minutes to bang on the windows and watch the planes take off.

We had armed ourselves with a bag full of treats and distractions for the plane ride and decided that any ground rules about screen time or snacks are just that – ground rules.  The air is an anything-goes zone, where there’s no shame in letting your toddler load up on sugar or play with your gadgets.  Juliette spent the first half of the flight munching on cookies and cheddar bunnies while pretending to chat on my phone.

We played one round of the Peekaboo-Barn app we’d put on the iPad and then, somewhere around Oregon, she crashed, waking just as we pulled up to the gate.  Whew!

We picked up our rental car without much fuss and made to it Santa Monica in time for a late lunch at True Foods Kitchen.  I bought these silly sunglasses on clearance last fall, and finally!  An excuse to wear them!  Too cool for school, that kid.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the house and then headed to the nearby beach to catch the sunset.  Juliette was a little tentative when I first set her down on the sand, not sure what to make of the way her feet sunk and squished, but once I handed her a shovel and her bucket, she was content to sit and scoop away.

And then I took her down to the water’s edge so that the waves could lap at her toes, expecting her to be a little nervous at her first encounter with the ocean.

Nervous, schmervous!  She went nuts, squealing with joy and chasing after the waves as they receded.  Shane and I spent the next half hour running after her, trying (unsuccessfully) to direct her along the water’s edge rather than straight into it.  She face-planted a couple of times in the cold wet sand, but was up and at it again before we could even brush her off.  We’ve got a beach-baby on our hands!

The beach in Santa Monica is amazing, nearly deserted on a Thursday night and stretching on for miles in either direction.  We stuck around long enough to wave bye-bye to the sun, and then jetted back to the house for bath and bedtime.  Juliette fell asleep about 25 seconds after I turned off her light and Shane and I enjoyed a couple of hours of quiet time, sharing a pizza and a bottle of wine before conking out ourselves.

We were up bright and early on Friday, eager to see what else Santa Monica had up its sleeve.  We started with breakfast at Huckleberry, for mimosas and monster egg sandwiches.

Then we drove over to Abbot Kinney to peek in the windows of the hip restaurants and trendy shops.

Juliette didn’t want anything to do with her stroller that day, so we booked it over to Venice Beach to look for a place to let her loose.

We found a great little playground right on the beach and she went up and down the slide a few times before settling down on the sand with a few other kids to do some more scooping.

I jogged back to the house from Venice and met Shane and Jules there just in time to help get her down for her nap.  Once she woke, we were back out the door, in search of a late lunch.  La Verne had recommended ramen from Tsujita, where we snagged a sidewalk table and slurped our bowls of noodles and rich, flavorful broth.

For dessert, we walked around the corner for green tea shaved ice from Blockheads.  So good.  So, so good.  My only complaint is that I couldn’t keep Juliette away from it – get your spoon away my mochi, kid!

Bellies full, we played for awhile at Tongva Park, climbing on rocks and bumping down the roller slide.

We weren’t far from the beach, so we headed over to stake out a perfect patch of sand near the pier to catch another sunset.  But first, more running!  This video sums it up so clearly – I look away for a mere second, and she’s gone.  Her pants were soaked faster that I could say “STOP!”.

Keeping this girl from getting swept out to sea was exhausting, but oh, her unbridled joy!  Completely worth it.

We finally coaxed her up onto the towel to scoop, pat, dump and demolish.  Sand castles don’t stand a chance with this little one.

One last jog, before heading out…

This might be an appropriate time for me to apologize to Los Angeles – I’d always fiercely claimed that I am not an LA person, that the city is all sprawl and traffic and too-tan women in too-high heels, but I take it back.  That evening, as the waves murmured and the sky blazed orange and Juliette excitedly pointed to the seagulls flying overhead, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

Stay tuned for days 3 and 4!

On Friday morning we picked up our rental car and drove like banshees to Turlock, knowing that Juliette’s back seat nap would only last so long.  I was so, so excited to reconnect with Amanda and baby Sadie, who was only 4 weeks old when I saw her in April of last year.  Amanda and I picked up right where we left off, as we always do, but my goodness, where was that newborn I had cradled in my arms 16 months ago?!

Sadie is the sweetest, kindest toddler I’ve ever met.  She took an immediate liking to Juliette, lavishing her with hugs…

And “helping” to rinse her hair during bathtime.

We spent much of the weekend just hanging out at Amanda and Josh’s – Juliette was thrilled to roam so freely and play with such a variety of toys after five days in a hotel room with a water bottle and a single Hot Wheels car.  But there were a few people on our must-see list, so we scheduled a park date with Steve on Saturday morning…

And then grabbed lunch with Marco and Lisa in the afternoon.

Amanda invited a few of our friends over for dinner on Saturday night.  Shane picked up a heaping load of tacos from his favorite taco truck and we all hung out in the backyard while a tornado of children swirled around us.  I snapped this photo just as C (up front) was giving orders that Shane would play the part of Ursula in their game of The Little Mermaid.  Shane is amazing with kids, but she really had him stumped on this one!

Hams!

These two got along so splendidly…

This was my first time meeting chill baby Kate, who snoozed so peacefully in the midst of all the mayhem.

Hey ladies!

Sunday morning came all too fast and it was time for us to pack up our things and head home.  It’s always hard for me to say good-bye to Amanda, but this farewell felt especially tough, and I know how much we’ll miss watching each other’s daughters grow.

We made it to the airport in record time while Juliette snoozed in the car.  Check-in went smoothly, we boarded on time, and we were Seattle-bound!  Jules was a little squirmy at first, but eventually fell asleep in my arms.  Praise Jesus.

I know, worst family photo ever, but it tells an important story:  traveling with a baby is exhausting!  We look so much worse for the wear after our “time off” than we did before it.

Home sweet home was sweeter than ever – Juliette slept for 13 hours on Sunday night in the comfort of her crib and napped for a solid four hours on Monday.  I’m still trying to kick my dang cold and am happy to have my favorite tea and my coziest blanket at my fingertips.  Am I glad we made the trip?  Absolutely.  But I believe our frequent flyer days are behind us – it might be awhile before we have the energy for another vacation!

Wowwweeeee, what a trip.  The cold and flu fairies really threw us for a loop, but we pressed on and had a great, though exhausting, week in California.

Juliette awoke in a decent mood on Tuesday, so after saying good-bye to Shane we headed over to Mission Street to pick up a Blue Bottle latte and eat breakfast at this cool little plaza, next to a giant, “friendly” monster head.

By 9:00, Jules was fading fast, so we jetted back to the room for naptime.  She woke up feverish and a little cranky, but perked up as I let her romp around the king-sized bed – all those pillows!  And that soft down comforter!  I think she really felt like she was getting the shaft in her little Pack N Play.

Fever be damned, we set out together to grab lunch at Jane on Larkin and then trek through Japantown and up Filmore to Alta Plaza Park.  It was a slog, pushing that stroller up San Francisco’s hilly streets, but man, talk about a playground with a view!  Juliette and I played for awhile and then found ourselves a sunny spot on the grass to sit back and enjoy the lookout.

We took our time winding our way back to the hotel, stopping to window-shop and pick up an iced coffee.  The only up-side to Juliette’s cold-induced lethargy was her willingness to contentedly hang out in the stroller as we walked circles around the city.  She’s usually a bit antsy if she’s buckled in for more than 20 minutes, but last week she quietly chilled out as we logged mile after mile.

And man, I really loved showing San Francisco to her – all the colors and smells, the ornate fire escapes and the canyon-like streets between skyscrapers, the urban buzz that you can’t quite find in Seattle.  I hope she grows up to love the city as much as her dad and I do.

We met up with Shane in the evening to grab a few tacos for dinner and then Jules was ready to call it a night.  Shane had a pretty packed schedule, with sessions all day and then parties “networking events” at night,  but I appreciated him always being around to help with bedtime, to give Jules her bath and read her a bedtime story.  Or the San Francisco Chronicle.  Whatever works.

We got a slow start on Wednesday morning, as Juliette hadn’t slept all that well and still hadn’t kicked that dang fever.  But we eventually made it out the door, in need of fresh air and breakfast (and coffee, for the love of God, coffee!), and found ourselves at Red Door Coffee.  We found a great little table, my latte was perfect, and Jules quietly sat on my lap like an angel baby as she ate her yogurt.  Things were looking up.  Until the manager came over and very politely asked us to leave, as the coffee shop was a 21 and over venue, 24 hours a day.  We quickly packed up our things and walked out, feeling embarrassed and frustrated and a little bit homesick for our beloved Columbia City Bakery.  Thankfully, we found solace in the waterfall and a sunny bench at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Our Park du Jour was Washington Square Park, about a mile north of the hotel.  We ate lunch on the grass there while watching some dogs run around and listening to a couple of guys in construction vests and hard hats play a saxophone and guitar.

We packed up our things after lunch and walked further north to Fisherman’s Wharf.   I really wanted Juliette to see the sea lions, as this was one of my favorite San Francisco sights as a kid.  She was not impressed.

But the carousel!  Now we’re talkin’.  We stood here for awhile and just watched the horses go ’round.  Anything for that girl.

From Pier 39, we took a long walk along the waterfront, as I wanted to go back to the Ferry Building to pick up a vase from Heath Ceramics that I had my eye on.

Again, Jules proved herself to be the perfect walking companion.

So again, I treated us to ice cream!  Jules, hold the cone while I take a picture.  Or…just go ahead and stick the whole thing in your mouth.

We ate dinner that night in the Mission at Pizzeria Delfina – this place has become an SF staple for us.

As we tucked Juliette in that night, I started to feel a little tickle in my throat.  Uh-oh.  By 9:00 I was feeling feverish and achy.  Double uh-oh.  I had a horribly restless night as I struggled to cool down, then warm up, then cool down, praying in the midst of all my tossing and turning that God would please, please, please have mercy on me and make this a quick little bug.  Shane headed out at 6 am to pick up some cold medication and I quickly dosed myself up – we had tickets for a 12:45 Giants game and I was bound and determined not to miss it.  We all headed out for breakfast together once the meds kicked in and then Juliette and I went back to the hotel to grab a nap.  Thankfully, her fever had finally broken once she woke up, and the rash that was appearing on her belly confirmed what the nurse I’d talked to on Tuesday suspected – she’d caught a case of roseola, characterized by several days of fever followed by a non-itchy rash.  My own spirits and symptoms were lifted by Juliette’s upswing and the three of us set out for AT&T park for baby’s first Giants game!

Juliette was amused by the game for the first three innings, sitting quietly on our laps and staring wide-eyed at the people and the ball field and the cotton candy vendors.  She clapped when everyone else clapped and was only minorly alarmed when Shane threw her in the air after Gregor Blanco’s home run.  We’re going to make a baseball fan out of this kid!

Shane had brilliantly bought us club level tickets, so when the game lost its charm, we headed inside for lunch.  Innings 4-7 were spent bouncing back and forth from our seats to the club level, as Jules became increasingly antsy.   Finally he strapped her into the Ergo – one loop around the park was all it took for this girl to be OUT.

She snoozed through the end of the game, but we were thrilled just to have made it to the ninth inning.  And to see a win!  There’s nothing like being swept out onto AT&T plaza in a sea of happy fans in orange and black.

We made it back to the room around 5:00 and called it a day.  Juliette and I were both completely beat – my cold was rearing its ugly head and Juliette was just plain worn out after four days of short naps and restless nights.  We did our best to keep her content until her normal bedtime, but ultimately tucked her in at 6:30.

We said farewell to our room at the Grand Hyatt on Friday morning – we were certainly going to miss this view.  But the close quarters?  Not so much…

I still curse the germs that got us sick, but we were leaving San Francisco with some incredible memories.  Even in the midst of the fevers and the tiredness and the cafe eviction, Juliette and I still had a blast together – as we were sitting along the waterfront on Monday, sharing our ice cream, I was struck by how much I enjoy hanging out with my daughter as she makes the transition from helpless babe to fun-loving companion.  And oh, how I love showing her the world, even when it’s tiring and inconvenient and upsets our schedule.  She won’t remember this trip, but I will, and I’ll tell her how she lit up when I handed her that ice cream cone, how happy she was to sit in the grass overlooking the city, how she clapped with the crowd when Petit struck out batter after batter.  I forgive you, baby, for the nights you woke up at 2:00 and wouldn’t settle until 4:00, popping up over and over while your dad and I tried (and failed) to ignore you from two feet away.  It was all worth it.  I think.

Next stop, Turlock!

There are really only a few things I miss about our pre-kid days – Saturday morning sleep-ins top that list, but travel is a close second.  If we were braver, more easy-going parents we would just jet-set with baby in tow, but the thought of the packing and the plane ride and the early bedtime-imposed curfew has deterred us from venturing any farther than Portland…until now!  On Sunday we boarded a plane bound for San Francisco – Shane had registered for a work-related conference and Jules and I decided to test our travel mojo and tag along.

We left our house at 8 am sharp, proud of ourselves for packing lightly enough that we were able to wrangle everything onto lightrail without much fuss.  We had timed our flight during Juliette’s morning naptime, hoping she would fall asleep during takeoff and snooze for most of the trip, but pssshhhh.  How could she sleep when she had Mom and Dad at her beck and call, ready and willing to pump her full of snacks and read her every one of the three books we had packed 15 times over?  She knew she had us over a barrel and wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to.  But it was fine – we settled for a 20-minute doze and let it go at that, as she was generally pretty happy (and quiet!).

We took a cab to the hotel from the airport and have never been so relieved to hear those four magic words:  “Your room is ready”.  After six hours of being strapped in her stroller and held in our laps, Juliette was on the verge of going bonkers – we walked in the door and set her loose.  She flew around the room like a tornado, tipping over the garbage can, throwing the bedside magazines on the floor, testing out the swivel of the desk chair, and then pausing just for a moment to take in the view from the 24th floor.

After a pretty impressive struggle, she finally crashed for a two-hour nap and woke up ready to take on the town.  The three of us walked through the evening bustle of Chinatown and landed at Tacolicious in North Beach for dinner.  Shane loved the chorizo tacos and I went a little nuts over the churros and chocolate.  Jules might have overdone it on the made-to-order guacamole.

We took our time walking back to the hotel, enjoying the warm glow of the city as the sun set on SF.

We stayed out until 7:45 (!) and then headed back for bathtime, books, and bed.  We’ve still been squeezing Juliette into her blue plastic tub at home, thinking she needed the stability, but it turns out she’s ready to bathe like a big kid!

By 8:15 the baby was asleep and we were officially in for the night.  Thank goodness for a view, at least…

Shane and I climbed under the covers and plugged our headphones into the laptop to watch an episode of West Wing – it was kind of nice, actually, turning in so early.  I guess sleep trumps cocktails these days.

Jules and I walked with Shane over the Moscone Center on Monday morning and said goodbye to him as he headed into his all-day conference.  My stomach flipped just a little as he walked away – baby and I were on our own in a city I really don’t know all that well.  What would we do with ourselves?  Coffee and pastries seemed like a good place to start, so we grabbed a latte, an almond croissant and some yogurt and sat on the patio at La Boulange.

We walked around for awhile and then went back to our room for a mid-morning nap – Juliette had come down with a fever in the middle of the night (this girl’s colds have the WORST timing!) and she desperately needed some rest.  Oh, my poor baby…

She seemed to be on the upswing when she woke up and we were both a little stir-crazy, so I buckled her into her stroller and we set out for Sue Bierman playground, near the waterfront.  I did my best to sanitize both Jules and the swing she sat in and we spent awhile taking part in her favorite pastime.

When she (okay, I) tired of the swings, we staked out a spot on the grass to eat blueberries and watch some kids play soccer.

The Ferry Building was right across the street from the park, so we walked over there to browse the shops offering artisan cheeses and hand-crafted ceramics.  I bought some ice cream at Humphrey Slocombe and the two of us sat on a bench facing the water to watch the ferries go by.  My cayenne cantaloupe sorbet was perfection, paired with a scoop of horchata which Jules was more than happy to help me finish off.

We both took a short afternoon snooze back at the hotel and then met up with Shane for an early dinner during a break between his sessions.  Juliette and I popped into a couple of stores on our way back to the hotel, and then it was time once again to start the bath-books-bed routine.  Shane made it back in time to tuck her in, and I tucked myself in shortly thereafter.  Juliette’s fever had bummed me out a bit, and I was still cursing the slammed hallway door that woke her from her afternoon nap, but hey, we were rolling with the punches.  San Francisco had come through in a clutch with swing sets, ice cream, and sunshine!