Monday, June 8, 2009

San Franscisco (30 May - 3 June 09) Part 1

A brief summary of our stay in San Fransciso and pictures.

30 May 09
It was an early flight at 6.45am so by 5.15am, we were already in the airport.

We took leisure strolls around Fisherman Wharf and the Piers. Weather was colder than expected (it's practically cold like winter in Tucson, if not colder!) Cloudy day. (Pictures to come in part 2)

We were all seriously under dressed for the weather, so the little one has to settle for pulling the hood of her sweater over her head, and putting her hands in the pockets (save for that finger to pose for the camera)

First family photo of the trip, with Alcatraz behind us. I'm intrigued by the history behind The Rock.

Pasar Malam

Crabs, before.
Crabs, after.


31 May 09
Bought 3 day Muni passes at $18 each and took streetcars/ buses to Chinatown and Union Square. Saw this in Chinatown. Even worshippers come in hybrid versions now?

Had Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory, Mango Smoothie for me and Tropical Fruit Smoothie for Mr Liow.

The cheesecake was heavenly... *slurp*

Brought the stroller which was more a burden than help. Cold like the day before and cloudy. Drizzled a little.

At Union Square, is the baby 'Lost'?

Uh-oh!

...but found
Taking shower in public

and hair wash

Family shower

Trying to squeeze sights and faces into one pictures

A tower built in memory of...
Met this guy with his mouse, cat and dog. Click to watch him on youtube here
Had dinner at ... (OMGoodness...I forgot where!)

Mr Liow's dinner
and mine, Clam Chowder (which I had everyday but by different chefs)

AN's mini corn dogs which she took only a bite from.


1 June 09
Visited Alcatraz, Aquarium and boarded a 45 min cruise around the bay (the cruise was almost 90mins instead of 45 mins). Colder than the day before and a little cloudier.

Waiting to board the cruise to Alcatraz

Exterior of Alcatraz

Ex prison watch tower

Water tank that supplied water to everyone on that island in those days. Is the water enough to go around?

Where the parade square used to be (I'm not sure what this building is)

What's Alcatraz?

This was after 1962 when the Indians took over the island as a move to have the government return them their share of land.



Apartments of wardens and their family

How the usual cells look like (3 levels)

Rules and regulations for newcomers

Some infamous escapes (or rather, attempts)

I thought this was THE pipe involved. Am wrong. hehe.

The dummy heads

Another one (of the few)

'D' Block was for inmates who just couldn't stop getting into trouble. Besides the prison grills, there is a heavy metal door for each cell that shuts lights out so they lived in darkness for as long as they were supposed to be in there.

"Put you into "D" block for being so naughty"

"Here you go."
(It was tooo cold for me to walk around in 3/4 pants, so pardon me looking a little wierd with leg warmers. hehe)
Kitchen (Knives were marked on wall so that if any went missing, it'd be obvious)

Dining hall
The last meal of Alcatraz

Shower area

Enjoying cold winds on the bay cruise
Aquarium. There seems to be lots of starfishes in this aquarium. It's fun bringing AN to aquariums finally, coz she knows what she sees now and being able to touch some of the aquatic animals make a difference! She got all excited about being able to feel a leopard shark and starfishes and still tells us about her experience now after a week :)




Anchovies

After a while, all fishes looked the same.

One of the 2 highlights of the aquarium were:

I didn't know starfishes eat fish!

Next up, the Halibut!
I didn't know the Halibut is that fish in Nemo with 2 eyes on one side of the body!
Pardon the wrong focus! I couldn't switch macro off coz the touchpad on my k850 wasn't working. When that doesn't work, the phone is basically crippled, like it obviously is in this case.

It was Mr Liow's birthday and we had crab (Crab Chowder for me and Garlic buttered crab for Mr Liow) for dinner. Notice we had bibs on..

...but not the baby. What's the world coming to?

The crab was good, service wasn't

The crab chowder and birthday man

Will work on the next few days' pictures in another post. That's all for now :)

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