Fisherman's Wharf

Everyone had a San Francisco sight that needed to be visited before we could leave. Next stop: touristy Fisherman's Wharf. So many people loathe this spot, and if Tomcat and I were here for a weekend alone, we'd probably skip it. But if you have little kids, Fisherman's Wharf is a great place to be.

Doodle wanted a carriage ride. Done. We were told we could pet Susie, one of the horses, anywhere but the nose. They didn't understand and the driver said, "What if everyone always walked up to you and just kept petting your nose?" They got it after that.

Grandma and I wanted to go to the Musee Mecanique. It houses antique games from carnivals and World's Fair type amusements. Most of the games are in working order, for a mere 25 cents. Who knew the kids would be so enthralled? Grandma took a walk down memory lane and I just enjoyed seeing what used to make people laugh (Laughing Sal). The oldest item was a praxinoscope -- a truly fascinating artifact of human laughs.

Peanut wanted to go to Ripley's. Grandma and I had our doubts about this place, but it turned out to be a wonderful, engaging and highly educational stop.

None of the kids were freaked out, especially Doodle. When she went missing for about 5 minutes, I nearly lost my mind. Not so much that I feared someone had snatched her, but the thought of her being terrified in the life-size kaleidoscope or the simulated earthquake, or any number of bizarre exhibits we'd passed through was more than I could handle. Guess where we found her? Grandma saw her ahead of our group, hunched over on her elbows, staring eye to eye with an African mummified face, teeth and all. She couldn't wait to show me the treasure she'd found, completely oblivious to the heart attack she'd given her mama.

Little Man wanted to run free. So we hired a pedi-cab to take us down the Embarcadero to see the Cupid sculpture. I'd seen in a magazine on the airplane and just had to see it. From there he ran from one sculpture to the next all the way back to the bus stop.

Something we all needed was a stop at the Ghiradelli ice cream shop. Now that we've eaten a scoop of Ghiradelli ice cream, we can officially say we've been to California!