The heavy reality of heading back to work hit like a ton of bricks this morning as I spent two hours driving a mere 15 miles to work. Nothing like starting a new job the same day the regional transit goes on strike. And as I crawled down the freeway en route to the new gig, it wasn’t the traffic dragging me down. It was the reality that my freedom has officially been boxed in around work, commutes, and deadlines. Sigh. But I lamented this already in last night’s post so time to get over it and move on.
Elise and I spent my last day of summer freedom on friday adventuring together. Jack was at camp so she got to pick all parts of the plan. She chose: Aquarium of the Bay followed by Dim Sum.
I went online to the local library Discover & Go program and downloaded a free pass to the Aquarium, clipped a Ferry coupon out of the Alameda phone book, and planned our route…
Alameda/SF Ferry
We dropped Jack at camp and headed for the ferry terminal to catch a boat over to Pier 41 near our destination, The Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39. We took a couple of pit stops first 1) The Kite Store bubble machine for some dancing, 2) the Sea Lions but only one lone sleeper lay on the platform, the rest we determined were out to sea and 3) The candy store on Pier 39 with barrels of taffy in every flavor. Try passing by that with a four year old without entering.
Aquarium of the Bay/Pier 39
This isn’t the most phenomenal aquarium, and not somewhere you can spend the entire day. It’s a fairly quick walk through with our longest time spent at the touch tanks. They do have a very cool walk through glass tunnel full of large sharks, rays, and fish cruising by above your head. And recently they added an otter exhibit though they were snoozing away while we were there. They have a friendly staff and even if it’s not as grand as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we enjoyed our time there.
City View Dim Sum
We walked from Pier 39 to City View Dim Sum via North Beach. A good way to go because there’s lots to see to keep the walk interesting. Elise was in a stroller so she sat back and enjoyed the ride. I got a little exercise to preempt the calorie explosion about to take place.
When I worked in downtown SF, City View was always my favorite Dim Sum spot to hit up for a Friday lunch with coworkers. I love me some Dim Sum and have been known to overstuff myself on numerous occasions. This time around we kept it under control with 4 items, though admittedly I ate most of it. Elise had her favorite: Baked Pork Buns and declared them the best she’s tried to date. Bonus: We ran into some friends at the next table.
We then walked down through the Financial District to the Ferry Terminal and hopped on a ferry back to Alameda. Another lovely day with my girl, this time luckily without a single temper tantrum.
fumbleweeds 