Full Day of Adventuring

We got one more hike in--as a family and with friends. We did the 3rd Pantoll Quad hike, and this was our favorite so far. So much hiking through redwood forest along side a raging creek. We had postponed this hike from yesterday because of the rain, which ended up coming late and it was still raining when we were in the parking lot. The wet drive over had all of us questioning if this was going to be a miserable hike, but instead, we had a dark, drippy forest, but no actual rain once we started hiking.

The views of the ocean were beautiful.

We found about a dozen different types of mushrooms.

And several banana slugs!

I love the tiny ones.

And any that are red. I didn't take pictures of as many as I would have liked--one of the hazards of hiking with friends. I just save the mushroom hunts for when we're with a smaller group.

The creek was so pretty--so much water!

One of the highlights of this loop was the ladder, for sure. We'd hiked down the Dipsea Trail stairs--hundreds of steps leading down the mountain, and then had to climb back out, but part of the climb was on this ladder.

Then, after eating lunch back at the Pantoll Campground, we said goodbye to our friends who all had to get back for various things, and we drove into the city for a little more adventuring. I wanted to check out a couple of beaches so we could see the big waves that had come with this series of storms.

And see the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach. We usually go to the east side of the bridge, or the overlook on the Marin county side--I don't think I've ever been to Baker Beach before.

We even got a family shot! I need to start collecting these so maybe I'll have some fun ones to use on a Christmas card next year. We always get to November and I realize we don't have any good photos of all 5 of us.

Or maybe these will be our new family photos to document our adventures. I'm kind of loving them.

On the way back from the beach, we passed this bunker and stopped to play for a few minutes.

The kids love taking album cover photos. They actually have named their "band"--Hippies with Shotguns--and have a whole story about their rise to fame and selling out to the man, complete with album names and song titles for each one. It's hilarious.

Found another banana slug on the hill above the beach.

And more cute little mushrooms.

I'm so excited that it is mushroom season. I know that embracing winter in the Bay Area doesn't mean a whole lot since our average highs are still in the 50s, but the fact that winter also brings all the rain, and mushrooms, has made it so easy for me to fall in love with the season. I used to hate fall and the shortening of the daylight because it reminded me that winter was coming, but I think I'm over that now.

Another great view of the bridge, from China Beach. We went looking for a swing, but if it was ever there, it isn't anymore (and I didn't really see where a swing would be hung in the area marked on the map, so who knows.)

And then we drove over to the Fairmont hotel. We got so lucky with a parking space just a couple blocks away, and on the top of the hill so we didn't have to do anymore hills. After all of the hiking (we'd probably done 6-7 miles of mostly hills at this point) , everyone was feeling it and pretty much done with elevation changes.

We'd all brought a change of clothes so we didn't have to tramp through the hotel lobby in muddy hiking boots and pants. I always feel under-dressed as it is in there.

We were mainly there for the gingerbread house. It's always so impressive.

It wasn't designed to walk through this year, but it was huge and even had a room inside with a table where you can have dinner. It's a $500 reservation fee and still has a minimum cost per person.

We went out to the roof top garden, 

and enjoyed the view.

Such a full day. As we drove home, and it got dark, we felt like it was the middle of the night, and then realized it was only 5:30, haha. Busy winter days fly by.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve and all through the house, there were projects aplenty.

These kids spent a chunk of the afternoon building gingerbread houses.

Peanut requested that they try a theme this year, so here is presenting the 3 Little Pigs:

A house of straw, and house of sticks, and a house of bricks.

They turned out so cute!

Peanut was so happy with it all.

he even made furniture in his house.

And the rendition of the house of sticks included a Big Bad Wolf.

He's already made it to this house, haha.

It was a good way to wait for Santa, and all the fun that came with that.

 

The Art of Book Binding

Our charter school arranged what might be my favorite field trip we've done--a class on book printing and binding. The parents were given the option of dropping off for this one and having a couple hours to do what we wanted, but there was no way I wanted to miss this (and most of the other parents stayed, too--we were all looking forward to this!)

The San Francisco Center for the Book was amazing, full of history and hands on opportunities for the kids.

They learned about how books were first created by hand and the first printing presses.

They got to see examples of type and how it would be set.

This beautiful old printing press worked a lot differently than the ones today!

The building is set up a like a little museum, with so many examples of different printing.

But it is also a workshop with functioning tools and machines that the kids were able to see and use. They learned how the pages are sewn together and cut.

And then it was time to create their own little booklet. As a group, they chose their ink color and then the instructor showed them how the ink is worked until it is the right consistency and then applied it to the rollers on the press they would be using.

The kids chose their cover color and were able to print the front of their book.

They all loved getting to use the machine.

The cover turned out beautifully. They were slightly debosssed, and on such heavy, textured cardstock. Good quality materials make all the difference.

Then, the kids were given an awl to punch the wholes for the binding and a needle and heavy, waxed thread and they learned how to sew the pages into the cover. 

(I have to share this sweet moment. Wherever he goes, Bug is always the first to help out when other kids are struggling with the steps of the activity. He walked his tablemate, who didn't have a parent around to help, through the whole process.)

The boys loved this class as much as I did. :)

After the field trip, it was time for some other SF adventures. We figured as long as we were already in the city, it was a good day to knock off one of Bean's Christmas bucket list items, so the boys and I hung out with friends at the Lego store for a chunk of the afternoon while we waited for Daddy-o and Bean to join us after she got out of school.

The kids were happily entertained for a really long time.

And then we walked up to Union Square, which was Bean's request. We visited Macy's to look at all the ornaments and take in a little of the busy shopping season, saw the tree and the ice skaters,

got hot dogs from a street cart for dinner,

and then climbed the hill to the Fairmont. We had a couple friends with us who had been on the field trip and who's parents were staying in the city for the night, so they got to tag along (which I'm not sure they were so excited about, but I think they mostly had fun along with their tired feet.)

We saw the life-sized gingerbread house at the hotel, which is always so impressive.

So much work goes into it each year! It takes them months to make all the gingerbread and then assemble and get the electrical hooked up.

After that, we made one last stop for milkshakes and then called it a night. Such a Christmasy feeling in the city.