Lake Conjola

This past weekend, we decided to head away for a weekend by the beach, given its been so long since our last holiday!  Truthfully, we were invited by a great couple we know from work, and joined another work couple in an amazing beach house in Lake Conjola.

We drove down on Friday night, arriving just after midnight with no idea just how nice the place we were visiting was going to be like... We awoke to this view from the balcony.

After a cooked breakfast of aqua pancakes and a traditional fry up we headed to the beach.

Where we tried to cross to Green Island, which dad remembered visiting many years ago when he was younger.  It turns out the water was a little deeper, and a little faster than we realised!

So we had a swim in the lagoon (crystal clear mind you) before heading back to the house for some lunch.  After lunch, Dad and the girls enjoyed some time on the kayaks.

 And then we left the others to go back to the beach and attempt the crossing to the Island again.  We were amazed to be the only people on the entire beach... We strolled out over the land bridge to the island (where after a short period we were its only inhabitants) and enjoyed a swim in the amazing water.

At night we sat around a fire pit and watched fish jump from the water... before heading back home on Sunday.  Lake Conjola is definitely on the list for a return trip!

Beaver's 95th | San Francisco - Part 2

For our second full day in San Francisco, we thought we'd get a little shopping out of the way first thing in the morning... so headed to Target to see what it was like.  Who would have thought costumes would be the flavour of the day... with dad actually the kids to buy these costumes (the hot dog and donut), as well as a snake skeleton, and piles of lollies!

We then headed out to ride the cable cars (again) and explore a little more of the city in the beautiful weather.

We visited Chinatown (the oldest in the US apparently)... And went to try the fresh made fortune cookies...

And then wondered around to see what we could find... We stumbled across a Wells Fargo museum, which turned out quite good.  We learnt about the the old carriage transport, ticketing, communications and banking.

We made our own money...

And even posed for an automated photo with an old mail wagon (and it turned out to be the best photo of our family for quite some time)...

 Another with just the parents!

The kids even got to have a go at playing the original Pong!

As we were heading back to the hotel (for a soak in the hot tub), we realised there was an airshow happening outside (which we could see from the hotel window)... including watching an F16 fly under the Golden Gate bridge!

After a long soak in the hot tub, we journeyed out to North Beach for dinner..

Our second last day in San Francisco we started out with a visit to Lombard Street (the infamous windy road)...

 Before heading out towards the harbour so dad could watch the Airshow (as part of Fleet Week)

Our last crepes for the holiday!

 We saw a sea lion feeding by one of the fishing boats... and a rather jealous looking sea gull.

We grabbed some seafood and beignets before taking a seat along the waters edge to watch the show.

And some highlights of the show.

After the show, we headed out to Alameda to catch up with old friends from Singapore, Noel & Dulce and their girls Sienna and Jasmine.  The parents went out for dinner at night while the kids played for the night.  In the morning the kids played outside for a while.

Claire channeling Rosie the Riveter... Followed by mum's rendition.

We headed out to Berkley College to see the view of the bay...and a whale.

Before it was time to head off to the airport...

So that's that... the holiday has come to an end and we must return to reality... We're all a little sad that the holiday has ended, but at the same time looking forward to everyday life, at home!  Our take away from the holidays... We can walk a lot further than we thought we could... We can eat more than we realised (eating at least 95 different things)... Claire's maintained an amazing travel journey... And we have a new family mantra... Not the healthiest...but definitely suited to this holiday.

Gobble Gobble till you Wobble!