To make sure we hit all the checkboxes, we needed a way to get around
San Francisco. What better way than by Trolley? As soon as we got up, we went down to the Market Street connector in the Financial District to purchase
four one day passes. The neat thing was you could ride on any trolley, cable
car, bus or subway.
With tickets in hand, we jumped on the trolley and headed to
Chinatown. Although it was a little after 9am when arrived, most of the shops
and eateries we still closed. I didn’t figure Easter Monday was the cause, but things don’t start moving around here until 10am. We continued to bum
around for a while and then decided to head down to the water and come back
after Chinatown woke up.
Pier 39 is the famous pier where all the sea lions hang out.
It is also the Gatlinburg of piers – shops galore and restaurants by the
handful. The sea lions are definitely the main attraction here and all of us watched, photographed and videoed them for some time.
The idea initially in the morning was to get to Chinatown
and grab something to eat. Since nothing was really open, that never happened.
Everyone was hungry and since some of the restaurants on the pier still hadn’t
opened for lunch, we determined Swiss Zone would be our best bet. It was a
seafood restaurant known for its Dungeness Crabs. Stomachs had been growling for some time, so
we were all ready to order. The kids got some salads, which had an amazing
dressing. Olivia also got a tomato soup – not sure if it was good since she wouldn’t share. I
think it may have been good though, as there was none left. Anna of course got the Dungeness Crabs and I got
the steams mussels. 
Recharged, the kids and I hit the Aquarium. It was a smaller
aquarium, but the exhibits were awesome. On entry, it threw you into a
jellyfish exhibit which had species none of us had ever seen. It also featured
a little tiny fish called a Lumpsucker. It was so cute you wanted to pet the
dang thing. 
The next two sections were tunnel sections which allowed you
to walk under the water and view all the different bay area fishes, rays and
sharks. Leopard sharks, Striped bass, Sturgeon, Halibut, Rockfish and King
Salmon are the primary species in and the surrounding bay area. It is not very
often you get an up close and personal of a Sturgeon, so when you do it is
special. 
We synced back up with Mom after the aquarium and took a
cable car back to Chinatown. The cable car dropped us off a couple of blocks
away from our destination, so we trekked the remaining blocks. Plenty of stores
and gift shops with all kinds of Asian inspired stuff. However, sfter you have been in
one, you’ve pretty much been in all. The girls had a blast and checked out
various unique stores and it wasn’t too much longer and we all decided we could
eat again. Yummy – lunch - #2!! We chose a clean looking place in which we hoping to see plenty of locals eating at.
LT did notice their aquarium sitting
outside was nasty and clogged with algae.
His thought was if the aquarium looks like that, what do you think the
kitchen looks like? Good point! Unfortunately the boys were overruled. Fortunately, lunch ended up to
be pretty good.
Around 3pm we headed back to the hotel to rest, change shoes
and freshen up a bit. Everyone took a break and lolly-gagged for about an hour.
Batteries rejuvenated, the kids headed out to do a little shopping. Olivia saw
some stuff the day prior at Urban Outfitters and was hoping to get it before
she left. Anna and I went out strolling about 15 minutes later and walk around our
area a bit before meeting back up with the kids and helping them acquire their
finds. 
Back on the trolley and to a place we ran across earlier in
the day – The Stinking Rose. Yup, you guessed it – another restaurant! Not but
three hours later and we were eating again! The restaurant is a garlic inspired
place where everything on the menu has garlic in it, on it, around it or with
it. The meal was incredible. Thomas had Garlic Noodles, Olivia had a POG (Potato
Onion Garlic) Soup, Moma had Black squid inked Linguined clams, and I had a
super delicious prime rib.
A little more walking around to let the food digest and we
grabbed the trolley to call it a night. We got back to the hotel a little
before 10pm.
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