Our next stop was the KOA in Petaluma, California. It is a beautiful campground. The amenities are to numerous to be listed. The highlights include the heated pool, hot tub, jumping pillow (similar to a huge trampoline), rock wall, etc. Great campground.
On our first night, we headed into Sonoma Wine Country for a mini sightseeing expedition. The square was very picturesque and contained tons of little shops for buying regional wine and cheese. Yummy! Wade and I bought a local blood orange olive oil. It is very good!
After torturing our kids with our trip to Sonoma, we dined at Volpi's an Italian Restaurant in Petaluma that has been operating since the 50's. The food was excellent. Sofie and Emilie were both crazy about the minestrone soup, and ate multiple bowls.
Rylan and Elise loved their food!
On our second day in San Francisco, we checked out Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a chilly morning. So we started the day with a quick visit to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, and then a nice hike to a replicated Indian village.
After leaving the Visitor's Center, we made our way to the seashore. It was amazing! And so cold! Personally, I am a huge beach lover. I know the sand and salt water are a lot to deal with. But, it is a small price to pay for the wonders of the ocean.
However, at 50 degrees the sand is so cold it makes your feet hurt. And the wind, it must have been 40 degrees with windchill... The Crazies were playing in the water! Wade and I allowed them about 30 minutes, but eventually we caved and drug them wet and shivering back to the car for a snack.
On our third day in San Francisco, we took in a tour of Alcatraz. Alcatraz had changed immensely from Wade and I's first tour eight years ago. We were able to tour more of the buildings, and a bookstore and shop had been added on the island.
Wade and I coffee in hand, waiting for the boat.
The kids surprised me with their interest in "The Rock". All of them listened to the tour through their earphones and they even went out of their way to ask us questions about what was being said.
After our Alcatraz tour, we spent some time on Fisherman's Wharf. We ate some seafood at one of the local restaurants. The food was really good, and crazy fast. Rylan met a great street performer after lunch. He wasn't sure man or machine?
We went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park on Fisherman's Wharf.
And then had ice cream at Ghiardelli Square. We love ice cream. And we had a lot of it on vacation...
Daddy had to carry Sofie, because she was sooooo tired.
Then we waited in line for the Cable Cars. The line was over an hour and a half long. Was it worth the wait? Yes and No. The ride on the cable car was amazing. The kids and grownups alike loved it. However, what they don't tell you when you buy your round trip ticket, is that they kick you off at the end and you have to stand in another huge line. And the cars may or may not be leaving the station at the other end. So we stood in line for 45 minutes without a single car leaving the station. Wade and Eric eventually grabbed a cab to retrieve our cars from Fisherman's Wharf.
Our last day in San Francisco, look finally no fog...
The Exploratorium was our final stop in San Fran. It was a hands on Science Museum. The experiments were everywhere. I am sure we missed half of the Exhibits without meaning to. Great place. I would definitely recommend to anyone with children.
Grand Canyon - The End of Our Trip. It was sad to be at our last stop. The only thing to look forward to after the Grand Canyon was a 22 hour trip home. However, it was a great finale to the perfect trip. We had a wonderful time with the Humes family and enjoyed every stop along the way.
The kids favorite part of the Grand Canyon was the mules...
We saw an elk in the Visitor's Center Parking lot.
The Crazies posing in front of the Grand Canyon!
For our stay in Los Angeles, Sarah and I chose Dockweiler a campground on the beach. We were a little nervous. The reviews for the site were mainly positive. It had been rated one of California's top RV parks. However, several reviews complained about the plane noise from LAX, and a few others complained that the beach fires cause a lot of noise at night and made a big mess. So we were completely surprised to find a beautifully perfect beach. We saw no evidence of campfires at all, and loved everything about the park. Even the planes landing and taking off out of LAX couldn't have spoiled staying on the beach.
Our first stop in Los Angeles was Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Graumans was getting ready for the preview of Captain America. Hollywood Blvd. had been blocked. And the red carpet was rolled out. They even had various super heroes out working the crowd.
We started our second day in Los Angeles at the Page Museum (LaBrea Tar Pits). The kids loved seeing all of the pre-historic animal bones. And the story of the tar pits was completely fascinating. We are still discussing it...
After the Page Museum, we ate lunch at the birthplace of the french dip. The sandwiches were really good. If you are in LA, give it a try. YUM!
We spent our afternoon at The Griffith Observatory. It is in Griffith Park, home of the Hollywood Sign. Beautiful building and the views were amazing. The exhibits were really pretty cool too. We even watched an interesting talk about the formation of comets.
Elsie and Sofie were dressed the same. It made keeping track of these two a little harder. Their heights are similar, and they have the same color hair, so from the back, we were counting the wrong kid. Luckily, they were buddies this trip, and we usually found them together.
Our second day in LA, we visited The Getty. A large art museum, which is a sculpture in itself. It sits on a huge hill, so more amazing views. The art was beautiful. The kids were pretty tolerant of the museum, and they loved the family exhibit. 
Noah drawing bugs and butterflies in the family exhibit.
We ate a quick picnic lunch at Santa Monica Beach. And then walked up on the Pier. (I don't know where they shot the opening scene from Lost Boys, but the Santa Monica Pier always reminds me of that movie!)
Sofie was cold!
We also visited The Santa Monica Aquarium. It's pretty small, but it is mainly touch tanks for the kiddos to pet a lot of different sea life. I loved the Sea Hare. So soft. 
That night Rylan lost his first tooth!
After returning to Dockweiler, we let the kids swim. It was 67 degrees outside and there were plenty of other people swimming. That's like swimming in March. Brrrr...
Hearst Castle in San Simeon was a destination spot for Wade and I on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, through a bunch of non-planning on our part, the tours for the day were completed by the time we arrived. Sarah and I were more on top of things for this trip, and we purchased our tickets in May. 
The gardens are very lush. Plants that grow well in St. Louis produce huge blossoms in California, and live long enough to develop into real bushes with tree-like trucks. Combined with the priceless marble sculptures that are everywhere, it makes for a very beautiful garden.
The kids and I loved the pools. Amazing!
After torturing our kids with our trip to Sonoma, we dined at Volpi's an Italian Restaurant in Petaluma that has been operating since the 50's. The food was excellent. Sofie and Emilie were both crazy about the minestrone soup, and ate multiple bowls. 
Rylan and Elise loved their food!
On our second day in San Francisco, we checked out Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a chilly morning. So we started the day with a quick visit to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, and then a nice hike to a replicated Indian village. 
After leaving the Visitor's Center, we made our way to the seashore. It was amazing! And so cold! Personally, I am a huge beach lover. I know the sand and salt water are a lot to deal with. But, it is a small price to pay for the wonders of the ocean. 
On our third day in San Francisco, we took in a tour of Alcatraz. Alcatraz had changed immensely from Wade and I's first tour eight years ago. We were able to tour more of the buildings, and a bookstore and shop had been added on the island. 
The kids surprised me with their interest in "The Rock". All of them listened to the tour through their earphones and they even went out of their way to ask us questions about what was being said. 
After our Alcatraz tour, we spent some time on Fisherman's Wharf. We ate some seafood at one of the local restaurants. The food was really good, and crazy fast. Rylan met a great street performer after lunch. He wasn't sure man or machine?
We went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park on Fisherman's Wharf. 
And then had ice cream at Ghiardelli Square. We love ice cream. And we had a lot of it on vacation...
Daddy had to carry Sofie, because she was sooooo tired.
Then we waited in line for the Cable Cars. The line was over an hour and a half long. Was it worth the wait? Yes and No. The ride on the cable car was amazing. The kids and grownups alike loved it. However, what they don't tell you when you buy your round trip ticket, is that they kick you off at the end and you have to stand in another huge line. And the cars may or may not be leaving the station at the other end. So we stood in line for 45 minutes without a single car leaving the station. Wade and Eric eventually grabbed a cab to retrieve our cars from Fisherman's Wharf.
Our last day in San Francisco, look finally no fog...
The Exploratorium was our final stop in San Fran. It was a hands on Science Museum. The experiments were everywhere. I am sure we missed half of the Exhibits without meaning to. Great place. I would definitely recommend to anyone with children.
