Weekend Adventures in San Francisco

Let's jump in, Auntie.

Our apartment is a nice size. It doesn't feel too cramped when it's clean, but who are we kidding? I outsource my laundry and my grocery shopping. My apartment is never clean. So things start feeling a little constricting and add a fussy toddler to the mix and it feels like you're at the narrow end of that crazy fun house hallway in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. We didn't do a lot of outdoor activities or museum visits or out and about stuff when I was a kid -- it was mostly just "go play and don't be too loud" -- so getting out of the house on the weekends with an actual destination or purpose in mind has been really fun for me these past few weeks.

It started with a particularly trying day at home. We had gone to Mass and I was exhausted from baby wrangling all morning. All I really wanted was some downtime while my kid played quietly, but he wanted to be attached to me at all times. And the house was messy. In desperation, I grabbed the three nearest toys, sunscreen, a hat and a blanket and marched the two of us two blocks into the Panhandle and said "go play." We didn't do much and Elliott still wanted to turn me into his personal human jungle gym, but being outside was so much better than being trapped inside. The fog rolled in about 30 minutes after we sat down, but I held on for another 20 minutes before giving up and heading back. But I tell ya, the fresh air did wonders. Since then, we've walked to Stow Lake, visited the re-done Lafayette Park and did more Panhandle sitting. 

My sister was in town two weekends ago and we had a picnic in the Shakespeare Garden and then made a visit to the California Academy of Sciences. Elliott had a blast and I'm considering becoming a member so we can go more often without spending too much. He was a little freaked out by the darkness and loads of people in the aquarium, but he liked Claude and LOVED the sting rays and the open air coral reef. 

Last weekend, it was storming, but we drove down to Campbell to return the breast pump I haven't used in eight months and rewarded ourselves with a late lunch at the newest Delfina Restaurant Group joint in Burlingame. We had a great meal and discovered that Elliott really, truly loves chicken liver mousse and orange blossom gelato. Strangely, he refused all offers of hand-stretched mozzarella. The new space is beautiful and it felt, well, just like the pizzerias back home in the city. 

There are so many things to do any given weekend that it can be overwhelming to a person like me to pick an activity, so I've found some other people to pick them for me. I really like the Red Tricycle newsletter and the Sosh app. They both remind me of things I said I wanted to do six years ago and suggest new places and experiences. Sosh is extra fun because you can make LISTS of places and things to visit and see. I also find really great activities through the Golden Gate Mothers Group forum, which is totally worth the $75 membership fee. I thought it was a load of crap spewed by clueless, privileged transplant mamas (ugh), but the amount of knowledge and resources available through the forums are worth their post counts in gold.

This weekend, I wanted to go see the Frog & Toad exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, but it ended last month. I'm not quite sure that Elliott is ready for a full-on museum experience, so I'll save the deYoung for a Terrific Lady Day. If the weather holds, maybe we'll take a hike in Sutro Forest or the Presidio after a proper brunch. We're raising a city kid and every city kid needs to be a bruncher.