I MIGHT NOT WANT TO LIVE AT ALCATRAZ...

BUT I WILL VISIT OFTEN! What a beautiful place. The backdrop was amazing for some great amateur photos that I am quite pleased with. The weather was gorgeous....a brisk, yet sunny 50 degrees...not too windy...can't complain.


We decided to spend Saturday in San Francisco. Kaia is reading a book in her reading enrichment class right now about Alcatraz and she thought it would be nice if she could actually put a real picture in her head of the places on Alcatraz Island she was reading about. Dave and I obliged and Blake kept up for good measure....he didn't want to miss the mini doughnuts from Pier 39, the "bush" man and the break dancers that are always included with a visit to San Francisco. We imagined it to be.....{key word imagined} a great family day.

In the car, not 20 minutes into the drive, the kids were already fighting over what movie to watch....mommy was trying to play mediator and daddy was completely ready to turn the car around and head back home, which made mommy short-tempered that daddy was already short-tempered to start off with! So it wasn't starting off as the "fairytale family day" we had imagined. We knew though if we could just get to San Francisco all would be copacetic....and it was. Pulling into Pier 29 1/2 to park, the excitement rose, the kids bundled up happily and we strolled hand-in-hand down to Pier 33 to load the ferry for our Alcatraz excursion.


It was a great day. A truly wonderful day spent as a family. Kaia was engrossed with Alcatraz...first finding the Morgue, which she had already read so much about. And, Blake was happy that he was being pushed in a stroller up the 13 story steep walk that was required to get to the cell block as he was sure he "would have never made it if he had to walk". {Which reminds me, I need to find an intermediate stroller/wheelchair for our excursions...he is a little big for an umbrella stroller and it just adds to the unnecessary stress that already comes with trying to have our little guy keep up with this busy family.}


We stayed on the island for 3 hours taking in the beauty. The kids had a fun photo shoot and Dave and I took turns with the camera taking some great "landmark" shots. I hope you enjoy the photos....I tried to pick my very favorites!

PART ONE.....LANDMARK SHOTS

PART TWO...FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT....BECAUSE THE BACKDROP WAS GORGEOUS

We will go back to visit....dressed a little differently....in fact with two outfits each and make a real photo shoot out of it! If you are ever in San Francisco....the Alcatraz Tour is a MUST!