Chinatown

Just outside the gates of Chinatown, we stopped at the sweetest little church where Green got married. They were actually in the middle of a small service so we sat for a minute. (My kids have a new fascination with different churches in different states.) We only lasted about 5 minutes because Little Man got frustrated not knowing when to say, "Lord hear our prayer".


If Peanut called Muir Woods home, Little Man wanted to move into one of the gift shops in Chinatown. Each kid ended up with a fun Chinese outfit souvenir, but none so appreciated as Little Man's warrior hat and sword.

We had to have a big lesson on the history of ivory because the endless Chinese antique stores are full of ivory figurines (mostly in kama sutra sex acts) that most Americans won't buy. Even with the history lesson, Peanut found her prize: a tiny ivory bunny. I let her buy it with her own money.

Peanut and I wanted to check out the galleries. I was on Cloud Nine with the number of originals in this town. I kept telling the kids, "You guys, this is like walking into museums!" Our favorite by far was the Weinstein Gallery. They have more original Miro's than I remember seeing in Barcelona! The kids were intensely interested in discovering new artists (Becker) and discussing their art in a meaningful way.