Hello!

Hi there! Welcome to our blog where you can follow our adventures in living in San Francisco! Hope you enjoy your time here, and if you feel like it, you can comment on each post by clicking on the little pencil icon below each entry. I hope to have this updated at least once a week! Feel free to share this link around as it's viewable to anyone and everyone! Thanks for stopping by! Scroll on down to read what's going on. :-)

xoxo

Our Day in Prison! VERY Picture-Heavy Post.

This past weekend saw us spending time with Robert's sister and her family. They were here as a part of their big holiday to Hawaii, SF and Vancouver! On Saturday we (finally) went to Alcatraz! Thankfully, Nicole (Robert's sister) had booked our tickets well in advance because there were a lot of people there and I doubt you can easily get tickets just by showing up. It was a cold day and we drove through a lot of fog on the way, which was interesting as we'd never driven through so much fog here before! Getting a good view wasn't boding well with the amount of fog there was! Despite the weather, though, it was lovely to see Mr 2 with his three older cousins who doted on him so much! It's meant so much to us that the people who matter the most to us have been to visit. 

We had to get a ferry across to the island, and as we did, I was relieved to see the fog starting to lift, but also to see that it was sitting on the city, itself. As we pulled away from the land, we left behind this cloud which made the city look rather ethereal sitting in a land of clouds. We came out into sun and a lovely clear day for a trip to an old prison! 

Alcatraz itself was, well... not as haunted as I was hoping for. LOL. Being an old GAOL, I was assuming it would be dark and there might have been some tales of ghosts or something, which may have given us some entertainment. But it really was nothing but an old prison. LOL. And I think the nicest thing about it was the view of SF from the island itself. Maybe it's just my over-imaginative mind, but I really thought it would be a spookier experience! 

I'm glad we went, though, as it must be one of the penultimate tourist-y things to do here. So I sort of felt like it was something we needed to do! But as usual with this blog, pictures speak 1000 words, especially when I'm half asleep! 

...there was a big of fog!

Fog over SF.

Getting closer to our destination...

...about as spooky as it got...

And if you had any doubt as to SF being a hilly city, here's some proof!

Rows and rows of prison cells.

In other news, I'm a week and a half into my studies, and I feel like it's going well. I'm still getting my head around being organised and making sure I get everything done around caring for a toddler, but it feels great to have a life and (hopefully) a future career to get into when Mr 2 begins school and gets more independent. I just submitted my first Photoshop assignment and I've had to do a few drawing exercises. It's a tough life. LOL. 

...but having said that, I will leave this post here as said toddler will likely wake from his nap soon. Thankyou, as usual, for reading and following. :-)

xoxo

Hiller Aviation Museum

I cannot believe the first week of January has gone. WHERE IS TIME GOING?!?! We've been living here for almost a year! WHAAAAT?!?! It's been an amazing year, though, and as it draws to a close, I'm literally counting down the hours I have left of NOT being a student! My degree begins on Monday and will take me a few years as I'm doing it part-time (it's meant to take two years full-time). The two subjects that I'm starting with are Drawing I and Photoshop I. I like to think I know quite a bit about the basics of drawing and Photoshop, so I'm hoping I do alright in them! That said, I can't believe I'm doing this to myself again. I swore to myself in 2008 when I finished my teaching Masters that I'd never study again, yet here I am. My 20s were a decade of experimentation for me where I tried basically ever career path under the sun (OK, well maybe not that many!). But now as I move closer to my mid-30s (oh God, WHAT?!), I figure it's time I finally make a career for myself and my family. So here goes... wish me luck! LOL.

Meanwhile, the three of us finally got to the Hiller Aviation Museum today. We've driven past the place lots of times on the way south anywhere. I've also seen their events pop up on Facebook and always think we should go because Mr 2 just loves vehicles and has "discovered" planes in the past months. Anyway, we finally made it to one of their somewhat-regular "open cockpit" days where kids can hop into the driver's seat (pilot's?) of various planes and helicopters. Some friends met us there which was awesome as well. The place was basically a big warehouse-ish place filled with planes, plane memorabilia, models and play areas for kids. There was also a simulator area upstairs, but we didn't get that far as Mr 2 was tired and getting to be quite tantrum-y. But he managed to sit in a helicopter and a few planes (please excuse my lack of plane knowledge. I'm sure that each plane had a type, but I really have no idea of these things!) and also played in the play area for a bit. 

If my family had stayed here a bit longer than a week, we would have taken my dad there as he just would have LOVED it. Dad, if you're reading this, we'll go here next time you're here! It's great for plane enthusiasts. But like I said, I am not one, so I have limited things I can say about its details and features...! But despite my sad lack of knowledge in this area, I've been really impressed by museums here. I feel like museums are sort of boring places in Sydney; they're places you go to for school excursions to look at random things and complete worksheets given to you by your teacher before you catch the bus back to school. Museums here are so much more interactive, and many of them run lots of events for kids and families that actually seem fun. They have areas where kids can play and touch things; they're not just places where you look-but-can't-touch. They're still places of learning, but the learning experience is much more enjoyable. They're also smaller which makes them feel a little more accessible for random outings. 

Anyway, here are some pics. Pictures of planes can say a lot more than my words can! LOL.

Cars. Because cars and planes just go together, right?

It has been cold and windy here. Rain has been coming and going and I've had a cold for about the past week. As much as I love Winter, I'm definitely still adjusting to Winter being in January! But I'm certainly not missing Australia's Summer heat!

And if you're on Facebook, you'll be very much aware that I've been acting as Kathy Mata's unofficial graphic designer and photographer. It's been awesome combining things I love in one ongoing project. Anyway, if you're not on Facebook, she posted some photos that I took last month just now here. (Excuse me while I just give my own work a shoutout. LOL.) I am very grateful, though, for the opportunities she's given me to pursue things I enjoy before I've even begun studying! 

Anyway, thank you, again, for reading! I should go and get an early night in the hopes of getting rid of this cold and maybe getting some sleep in my own bed before the toddler wakes and needs me to sleep next to him. Sigh...!

xoxo