A Repeat of the Busiest Day Ever - This Time With Company

Remember how I told you that I had the busiest day ever a couple of days ago? Well, I got to repeat it today (minus the ferry ride). But this time I wrangled Keira and Juno to join me. First thing this morning, Keira and I, along with Ah-Boo and Coufou, went on a Caltrain ride. This time we remembered to bring a camera so I have some pictures to share with you. Look at all the trains lined up and ready to go.

Keira and I couldn't wait to get on board. As soon as the opened the gates, we raced to the train...

and straight to the upper level. See us waving from the window with Ah-Boo?
I was mesmerized by the rhythmic click-clack of the tracks.

We rode the train to South San Francisco. We were planning on turning right around to take the train back to the city but there was a minor problem - the next train didn't leave for another hour! So, the four of us hopped into a taxi for the quick ride back. Even though I live in New York City, this is my first time in a taxi cab!

After our respective naps, Juno came over and the three of us went for a swim. It was quite a scene with the three of us in the pool. Keira and I jumped right in and started working on our freestyle. But Juno was a little hesitant and didn't want to have anything to do with the water.

After a little while, we convinced her to jump in.

And where was Everett during all of this? He was actually awake (!!) and watching from the sidelines. The water was a little too chilly for him today.

OK, now it's time for bed. I'm beat!

A San Francisco Treat

Yesterday, Ah-Boo had a treat in store for me - a ride on a real cable car! The cable car system in San Francisco is the world's last permanently operational manually-operated cable car system. Here I am waiting for a car on the Powell-Hyde line near Market Street. See the big wooden circle behind me? That's the terminus of the line. The cable car turns around on the wooden circle to head back in the other direction.

The cars on the Powell-Hyde line are single-ended cars that have an open-sided front section, outward-facing seats surrounding the driver (known as the gripman) and his collection of levers and enclosed seats in the rear. Ah-Boo and I got a seat on the outside of the car so that we could watch the car as it traveled along the tracks.

I even got to hang on to the outside of the cable car like they do in the movies!

The Powell-Hyde line runs north and steeply uphill from Powell and Market Streets down to Hyde and Beach Street where the line ends near the San Francisco Maritime Museum. There's even a San Francisco Cable Car Museum where you can learn more about cable cars and it's free!

We then took the car back to where we started. The gripman, was nice enough to pose for a picture with me! I think I like San Francisco. There are so many different kinds of trains to ride on!

Museums and Music

Today was another busy busy day in the Bay Area. In the morning, I got a chance to go to the Exploratorium with Mommy, Coufou and Keira. Located at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Exploratorium is a hands-on museum that mixes science, art and human perception and allows visitors to explore the world around them. I got to experiment with magnets while I built a bridge between two magnetic poles.

Meanwhile, Keira was quietly observing centripetal force and the force of gravity on a rolling ball in the gravity well.

Next, we moved to the exhibits that demonstrate the different properties of sounds. Like the sounds that are created when you place two preschoolers in an enclosed room with various xylophones...

and a little boy in front of a drum set.

Then Keira tried her hand at making giant soap bubbles

before we ran around and chased each other in the distorted room with Coufou.

Then I got to run around in the fog machines and try my hand at making smoke signals.

After my nap, Mommy, Everett and I jumped in the car again. This time, we headed across the Bay to meet Yee-Ma and Juno for music class. As some of you know, I've really gotten into music lately and have been singing up a storm, dancing and playing my "guitar" so I was excited to hone my skills in class. Juno and I were concentrating hard during the instrumental portion of class.

Even Everett enjoyed the music!

Near the end of class, there was a free dance period during which Juno and I got to wiggle wiggle wiggle and show off our dance moves.

Maybe we can put together a band?

Sacramento

Off on another road trip today. This time to Sacramento to visit with Mommy's good friend Dina. Since we were taking the time to drive up to Sacramento, it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about trains and the railroad. You see, back in the 1800s, Sacramento was an important transportation hub. It was the terminus of the Pony Express and America's first transcontinental railroad as well as the commercial center of California's Gold Rush. We visited the California State Railroad Museum located in Old Sacramento. It houses more than 20 restored locomotives and railroad cars and thousands of other artifacts, toy trains, electric trains and, of course, Thomas the Tank Engine.

As you can imagine, I was really excited to be able to see all these big and powerful trains and choo-choo tracks up close. We got to climb abroad Pullman sleeping cars and dining cars to see what it was like to travel by rail and even the types of plates and silverware that were used.

Look how bit these steam engines are! Mommy and Everett look so little standing next to it.

I got a chance to share my love of trains with Everett and tell him all kind of interesting facts.

Afterwards, we drove to Dina's house just outside of Sacramento for lunch. I haven't seen Dina since I was 7 months old! Boy have I grown up since then. We also got to meet the newest member of Dina's family - Sophia who was born in December and only 2 months old. Mommy and Dina had fun catching up while Everett and Sophia got to know each other. Me, I ran around their house like a mad man. I think it was all that pent up excitement from seeing all those big trains in the morning!

Potrero Hill

This week, we are staying in an apartment in Potrero Hill on the east side of San Francisco. Potrero means pasture and it is where Don Francisco de Haro received a land grant in 1835 to graze Mission Dolores' cattle. It's also the neighborhood where O.J. Simpson grew up. It's a quiet and mellow part of the city with pretty cool views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay. And quite hilly. Very hilly.

It's also where Coufou, Couma and Keira moved recently. They were excited to show us around their new neighborhood. Keira couldn't wait to take us around to the playground for some fun. But first, a snack...

Jasper, of course, was eager to get into the sand to play since all the sandboxes in Brooklyn have been covered in snow for a while now.

Juno, Yee-Ma and Keira had a good time playing on the see-saw, laughing and giggling.

As for me, I hung out with Mommy and observed the whole scene. That brother and those cousins of mine sure are a silly bunch!

Then, today, Jasper and I explored a playground at the top of the hill near our apartment. This time, I got to get in on the action. I went on the swings for the first time! It was fun!

Look how big Juno is compared to me.

Juno had fun playing with her Mommy and Ah-Boo. She particularly liked going head first down the slide.

And Jasper? Where was Jasper while we were having fun at the playground? He was discovering a whole other California tradition - In-N-Out Burger! Aside from the regular burger, fries and milkshakes on their menu, they also serve a delicious grilled cheese sandwich - perfect for Jasper! Yum. Maybe I get to try it next time?

Aquarium(s)

Since we already went to the zoo and saw all the big and little animals that live on land, it was time to see all the different kinds of animals that live under the water. On Friday, Keira, Juno, Everett and I visited the California Academy of Sciences. As some of you may remember, we visited the Academy of Sciences right after it opened in October 2008. This time, we got to see some of the exhibits that we missed during that visit like the 4-story rainforest and the living roof.

There's a nice view of the DeYoung Museum across the Concourse from the roof too.

Roar! One of my favorites was the big dinosaur out in the entry hall.

And, of course, we visited with the penguins in the African Hall and the fishies in the aquarium again.

Afterwards, we all headed for dinner at Taylor's at the Ferry Building. Yum. We all patiently waited for our food to arrive.

Then, the next morning, we packed up our belongings in the car and said bye bye to our Rockridge home. We all drove down to Monterey for the weekend to visit an even bigger aquarium - the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We got to see big fish and small fish, sharks, jellyfishes and sea horses and a baby otter pup named Kit! We also got to touch starfishes, hermit crabs and seaweed and witness all the fishes swimming around in the kelp forest.

Although we were expecting rain, the weather held up and we got to hang outside and enjoy our snacks overlooking the bay.

But my favorite part was watching the water splash down on the rocky shore. It's a glass enclosed area where the waves splash down over you. We counted down until the waves came crashing down. It was a thrill each time.

The next day, we started the morning off with a walk down the shore towards Pacific Grove. But, it started raining so we went back to the hotel to kill some time before the Aquarium opened.

I think that the best part of the weekend was having a chance to hang out with my cousins and cause a little raucus. Since we were stuck inside, we all had a little bit of energy pent up. What better way to burn off some energy than to run around the halls of a nice hotel? Keira was running so fast that we couldn't even get a picture of her.

And where was Everett? Well, he was sleeping most of the time we were in Monterey. However, he did get to spend some quality time with Ah-Boo. He was her roommate on our overnight trip.

Now, it's back to San Francisco where we move into our new home for the week. This time, we're staying in Potrero Hill near Coufou, Couma and Keira.