In Cali with my kids...

We have been on the road for a minute now- took the train from home to Cali to visit friends and family in California.We stayed with my dad's cousins outside of SF fo a few days, which was amazing to get to spend time. "G" is an emmy award winning videographer, and "R" used to work for NBC back in NY when I was little and now she has been focused on family, but she plays tennis, goes to the gym regular and looks so fabulous. They are such an inspiring couple, they have been together 30 years and I only know a few married couples with that kind of longevity and happiness. Back in the day when I was at San Francisco State, (pre kids) I used to go visit them and babysit their sons, who are now grown. One was gone to college orientation while we were in town, and the other has already graduated from Howard. I am so proud of them- their whole family. They are beautiful inside and out, and it is such a blessing to have family that you love and appreciate and are glad to spend time with, by choice.

I have been on a bit of a mission to take the kids to various sights that I felt would be cool things to do while in the Bay. So we met up with another cousin, my mom's youngest sister's only son "A" and he drove us out to Muir Woods where we walked through the redwoods. This was on my list because I used to go there with my ex-husband and it was one of teh spots that we had taken my son Eli when he was under two. He might have even been freshly walking then, now that I think of it, cause I remember holding his hand andhelping him along. So I really wanted to take the kids there to sort of walk down positive aspects of memory lane and also to be inspired by teh beauty and phenomena of the forest. It is so humbling to stand among giants. Then we stopped in Sausalito and walked along the boat docks checking out the view from teh other side of the Golden Gate.

Yesterday we trekked for about forever on the BART to go out to Concord, why you ask? WATERWORLD! No I am not talking about the crappy Kevin Costner vehicle of disaster... but this really cool water park! The kids said they really wanted to go to one, and there happened to be a brochure for this spot in teh train station so I figured what the heck! Talk about fun! What a great way to spend the day, sun water, rides... we laughed, we screamed, we swallowed chorinated water, we lounged, and we went the farthest I have ever travelled on a BART. Granted, when I lived in teh Bay, the BART did not go nearly as many stops as it does now... but it was definitely a trek.

Once we got back we headed to our hotel. Initially, I didn't think that we would be doing any hotel time... but sometimes unplanned things that come up can be happy accidents. Turns out R & G had to head to LA, and my sister in law in Oakland went out of town to Jamaica, so we were kinda stuck wothout a place to stay, my cousin "A" generously offered to house us, but I had already decided to do the hotel thang. Turns out to be one of the best things actually, cause now we are downtown SF in a Marriott branch hotel that is like 4 stars and easily accessible to all my field trips! There is an indoor pool, a fitness center (we all worked out last night at like 10) and a restaurant/bar (just had a couple of Car bombs during happy hour) and a fabulous view of the city below from teh 11th floor!

Today we did a whirlwind tourist adventure. We got a city pass that coers transportation on public buses, entrance into a bunch of museums and other attractions- so today we went to the SF Museum of Modern Art (I really don't get modern art in most cases. Some of that stuff was seriously just a line on a canvas, or some circles in differetn colors!) they were doing a special exhibit of Frida Kahlo though which was fricken amazing! I love her work, her story, her everything. It truly speaks to me. I hope that the visit will inspire the kids to pursue their art, cause Eli's photos are way better than some of the stuff they had in there, and EK can't paint the hell out of a canvas.

Our next stop was the Aquarium... I will just say that I grew up in Monterey which has one of the most amazing aquariums in teh world, so I wasn't super impressed- altho I did appreciate travelling through the tunnels and being more the center for the sealife to watch us. Then, we went on a one hour tour of the bay. Under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz. I was glad that they mentioned the history of the Chinese in America and how they were basically interned and interrogated before they were let through or returned, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. They also talked about how Native Americans took over Alcatraz for a period of time. Most of the tour audio was wack- but those two points were the most interesting and relevant to me. Let's not forget that white folks stole this land and then had the nerve to try to decide who could and couldn't immigrate here.

Tomorrow we will head to the Asian art museum and maybe another art museum in Golden Gate Park (probaly only EK will stay tough and do both, Eli is kind of tired of my intensity. But I am glad that we are getting to see a lot of the city, and I also realize that they are getting to that age, where maybe next year they aren't gonna want to hang out with me at all on this degree of an excursion. SO I give thanks for our blessings and for the goal of quality time with my children. I am seeing SF in a way that I never explored when I lived here.

And did I mention all the beautiful brown people? I have seen so many incredible Asian folks, Natgive American bothers and sisters, international peoples from all over the world aswell as Black folks and it reminds me of all the things I miss about the Bay and why I loved being here. Soon I will have to return home,but this has reminded me of the world outside of my current home and my desire to move on and ou of teh Northwest once the kids go to college. I think taht it is also opening their eyes to the possibility of moving outside of their hom comfort zone to explore the world too. YAY! My daughter says she wants to go to Stanford. My son has been insired to get his grades up so he can maybe get out and see soem new things to through college. So it is worth every penny, every sibling argument, and what not.

Until next time, Signing off...