Holidays galore

Not only was yesterday Valentine's Day, but also Chinese New Year.  We had been planning to spend the day at the California Academy of Sciences, but ended up deciding to postpone until next Saturday. 

Translation: we are cheap.  We realized (almost) too late in the game that it is Heroes Salute at the Academy.  From February 1 – March 15, policemen, teachers, military and other heroes are let in for free.  Suffice it to say, we certainly think Peter fits in their somewhere, but need to double-check before we show up without a ticket.  After all, wasn't he the recipient of the chocolate "My Hero" lollipop for Valentine's Day?  Not sure that will prove anything, so we are contacting them this week, and hopefully a quick check of the creds next Saturday will work.  With all of this in mind, we opted to have a more free-floating day in the city yesterday.

In hindsight, not a bad idea.  I don't know what traffic was like at 9 a.m., but it was downright awful at 12 p.m.  I know we should BART, but the added expense (when we almost always find free/cheap parking) didn't seem to make it worth it.  However, after yesterday's driving debacle, we might opt to park at Walnut Creek next time, and head in from there.  We finally arrived in Chinatown around 1 p.m., and after catching a glimpse of a New Year's celebration at the Cultural Center, opted for lunch at our favorite restaurant.

A co-worker turned Pete onto the place not long after we first arrived.  It's fairly small and nondescript.  Easy enough to walk past without a glance or a thought that you might be passing up some of the best eats in Chinatown.  Make no mistake, if you want excellent food and a selection to meet anyone's needs, the House of Nan-King is your place of choice.  Between the sizzling rice soup, vegetable fried rice and three-tiered baby pea shoot salad, I was in heaven.  Salt & Pepper Shrimp and Crackling Beef were thrown in for good measure, and didn't disappoint.

We ate leisurely (the delivery is somewhat spaced out) and when sated, the girls begged for a trip to Ghirardelli Square.  Sadly, that was not in the cards.  We tried to drive over and traffic was even worse.  No parking to be had anywhere, and Kelsey's sudden urgent need for a restroom had us turn around and head in a different direction.

Peter knew of a park nearby, and a few minutes later (and thank you to the kind lady who gave us 'cuts' in the ladies' room line) we were set for our next adventure.  We were extremely close to Crissy Field, and I have been yearning to get back there ever since our trip last summer.  We parked a few minutes later, and spent the next hour walking down to the pier by The Warming Hut.

  We were lucky, and were able to have not only a gorgeous day for walking, but several seal sightings.  The girls were thrilled to run on the beach, and Nicholas loved the "water go" (that would be the ocean).  No fog until we neared the end of our trek back to the car, and even Peter seemed impressed.  I don't know what it is about that area, but there is something so…neat…(for lack of a better word) about the location of Crissy Field.  You can see the Golden Gate from the beach, yet can feel so far away from civilization…despite being down the street from the million dollar row houses on Marina.  Seriously an area not to be missed.  We are still planning a walking trip over the Golden Gate, and I know that day will also include much frolicking in the surf and sand, as well as a picnic.

After the long, long day we drove home (more traffic, yuck) and the kids enjoyed a movie while we tried to watch a flick of our own…and failed miserably.  The trek across Crissy Field (and back) really did us in, and I fell fast asleep in the middle of the movie. Thank goodness for On Demand and two day movies.  Speaking of which…