Claire is inching her way up to her Aunt Kee.
The next day was our big trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. After researching and trying to find the best deal, I opted to buy season passes for all of us. So, yeah, we are going to be going back several times this year for sure. It helps that it is only about an hour drive away. Anyway, the day started out much cooler than the day before. We were chilly heading onto our first roller coaster of the day. Between the three adults we were able to hit all of the big coasters while someone sat with the kids; except Chris missed out on one. It was pretty fun! We watched the dolphin show as well as a pretty interesting show with tigers. The kids had a great time!
During the dolphin show the sun came out and we were all pretty hot. Neil really wanted to go on the log flume ride and going against our better judgement we obliged. We didn't just get a little wet. We were drenched! Unfortunately for us, the sun was short lived and we spent the rest of our time shivering and trying to find any spots of sun to warm up in. Note to self...it needs to be much warmer to get that wet.
We were all pretty exhausted after our long day at Six Flags, so the next morning we slept in a bit and then headed off to the Oakland Zoo. It was our first time there and we were impressed. It was a much warmer day and all of the animals were actually out and about. There were several animals including monkeys that weren't even behind any netting. It looked like they could easily escape at any minute. We had a fun time walking around, eating a picnic lunch with the giraffes, and exploring the exhibits. The kids were so happy that Kee was around to hang out with. Grace was very pleased to see her favorite animal. (giraffes) Afterwards we headed back to downtown Livermore for some tasty ice cream and an evening of playing games and resting. We hit up Chili's for dinner.
The next day was another busy adventure. We packed ourselves another picnic lunch and headed off towards San Fransisco. We took the northern approach and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into the city. It was a really pretty drive! We pulled off at the very first exit on the other side and found a perfect place to park. The crowds were pretty light and we had an amazing time walking around and on the bridge. There were several informational murals to learn more about the bridge itself. We didn't cross the bridge all the way on foot since it is almost 2 miles long, but we did walk out to the first big spire. Claire was pretty nervous being so high up and the constant road vibrations. The views were pretty amazing.
After exploring the bridge, we drove about a mile down the road to Baker's Beach. It was my first time there and it turned out really well! It wasn't too crowded, we were able to get parking, the sun was shining, very little wind, the sand was super soft, and there was an amazing view of the bridge in the background. I think I've found my new favorite beach spot around here. We spent loads of time lying on the beach and playing in the sand. Neil spent a long time running through the water. It was so great to be by the ocean again! We even saw dolphins several times pretty near the shore. I love seeing them in the wild like that. It really was a perfect day. Even in our swim suits we were hot.
Eventually it was time to pack up and make the long trek home through SF rush hour traffic. That part was less than ideal, but we made it!
We spent about 8 hours that day driving to Las Vegas. We arrived at Chris's uncle's house around 7pm that evening. We had a quiet evening relaxing and chatting with the family. Chris's parents met us there, so it was fun to see everyone.
The next morning we all got up and went out to breakfast at the Omlet House. Afterwards we explored the Fremont Street area and the kids got fun squishy balls to play with. (only 1 survived the rest of the week). Then we hit up this new Container Park area. All the shops and playground are all made out of shipping containers. It was pretty interesting. The kids liked the big slides and the building materials.
We went back to the house for the afternoon to hang out and play some games. We played Clue a bunch. It had been years since I had played that game. It was better than I remembered. Later that evening we drove across town to see a stingray feeding and a mermaid show at the Silverton Casino. The aquarium that they had was pretty impressive. They had a diver in there with a microphone to answer questions. She talked about the stingrays. The kids really enjoyed that. About a half hour later they had the mermaid get in the tank. She had lots of breathing tubes positioned all over and she would do flips in the water and interact with the kids. Grace and Neil thought it was pretty neato.
Neil and his favorite cousin Jacob. He adores him. It's pretty cute.
We finished that night off at a nice Mexican place in the South Point Casino. It was delish.
The next day started out fairly nice with a chance of rain. We decided to hit up the Wetland Preserve. Who knew Vegas had a wetland? Not me. It was a really cool place! There was a fancy information center with very fun exhibits and interactive displays for kids and adults. After walking around inside for a while, we headed out to explore the area. There are tons of walking paths/trails that are mostly paved and flat. We saw turtles, fish, and lots of birds. Then we walked out to the wash where we really did see running water. We all had fun exploring there.
Afterwards it started raining so we decided to go get lunch at Raising Canes. It is a chicken finger fast food place. Pretty good, but not amazeballs. We also visited the Ethel M chocolate factory. They are the people that make M&M's. They also make amazing peanut brittle. Of course we NEEDED a giant box of it. They have a pretty cool cactus garden there as well. Too bad the rain wouldn't let up for us to walk through it. Oh well. We headed back to the house for more rounds of Clue and other games.
That night, Chris and I went out on the town together while the kids went to Applebees with Grandma and Grandpa. We went to the French Restaurant Bouchon in the Venetian. We had a charcuterie and an amazing cheese plate. By the time my entree came I could barely take another bite. We took our time though and even got dessert. It was these little cream puff things filled with ice cream. Yumm! Afterwards, we headed outside with the intention of walking the strip to burn off our dinner. Unfortunately it was pouring rain. We went back to the car and headed to a movie instead. We saw Eye In the Sky. We both liked it.
The next day was another rainy day. We had attempted to watch some of a local high school softball game, but the rain became too intense. There were all kind of flash flood warnings and some places had feet of water running through the streets. Thankfully we weren't in any danger being up on the hill. We mostly sat around visiting and playing more games. The family had organized a big BBQ for everyone that day. We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa since they had a flight to catch.
That night the kids stayed in watching movies with Aunt Angie while Chris and I went out with his other aunt and two uncles to a fancy place called Glutton. It really did live up to it's name. We ate so much food and it was delicious! It was pretty fun to order a bunch of things and just share everything. I never would have tried most of the things otherwise.
The next day it was time to head home. We took our time stopping a few times along the way. Overall, we had a fantastic week! I just feel like I need to sleep for a few days just to catch up. Thank you to everyone who helped make our vacay so fun! Another spring break in the books.
