July 2018, California to Georgia, Day 13 and 14

After our last hotel breakfast, we hurry to our first stop o' the day! Time to ride a CABLE CAR! The line was long, but we dutifully took our spot at the end to participate in this uniquely San Fransisco treat! After about 45 minutes of standing, a stretched limo pulled up and offered to take us along the same route for $5 a person (the street car was $7). The children DIED! They BEGGED! They PLEADED! MOOOOM, Please! I've never ridden in a limo before! Please, I've wanted to ride in a limo my whole life (all 8 years of it)! I'll give you $5 if we can ride in the limo!! I almost relented, but the limo was a little sketchy and we came to San Francisco to ride a gall dern cable car and by cracky, that is what we are going to do! We can ride in timeworn limos at home! We don't, but we probably could....

Waiting for things is my favorite.
No instant gratification for you! 

After about 90 minutes, we finally got our shot at the cattle,  CABLE car! They shoved us into an available crevice where we could stand uncomfortably close to people of all nations and hygiene practices. Gone are the images of us freely hanging from the side of the cable car with the wind blowing through our hair. What remains are visions of me smooshed uncomfortably against a big man stranger while trying to keep Thomas from encroaching on the personal space of others whilst he performed his acrobatic hijinks from the leather handles that dangled from the ceiling. We lasted about 5 blocks. By then, this heifer was on to greener pastures. Moo.  

The fun is palpable! 

See those folks with ample body space?
That is not us. 

Through gritted teeth, "I could've ridden in a musty old limo and you are ruining my life"

Who's got one thumb and is faking it?
This girl!

We wanted to make sure that the kids got to take a gander at the  CROOKEDEST STREET IN AMERICA, so we hustled over to Lombard Street. Since we were without transportation (RIP Van), we stood there and watched scads of tourists drive down this crooked little street while feeling really sorry for the people who actually lived along this crooked little street. 

Perhaps Maple Avenue should employ this speed deterrent 

Yep, that is a crooked street. Please take me home. 

In an effort to expose the children to everything uniquely Californian, we stopped by the In and Out Burger for lunch. In and Out has only made it as far east as Houston and all of the world had come to this particular locale at this particular time to dive into one of their delicious burgers! We were so hungry by the time we got our food they could've served us sawdust with their special sauce and we would've been blissfully unaware.  I learned later that there is a secret menu that is much more fun than the 3 options they display on the public menu. Now I have to go back so I can play stump the cashier. 

Errybody loves the In and Out Burger!

We made made another visit to see our favorite new friend, Penny Arcade. But, I won't bore you with those details. 
I'll bore you with these details! We returned to the room to cram and stuff all of the trappings of a two-week road trip back into our tired suitcases. We took one last walk down one last corridor with bulging suitcases in tow. I am so grateful that the all of the children can haul their own luggage this way and that. I am less grateful that Thomas always wants to play "bumper bags" and that it ultimately ends in tears from one of the sisters. 

Goodbye "Selfie Station" in the hotel lobby!

Goodbye, vapor lounge across the street.
I appreciate the Gone with the Wind reference. But, I think that your fine establishment might give Ms. Scarlett the actual vapors. 

Goodbye, Hotel Adagio!

We took the red eye and arrived back home on Monday morning. After a few hours of napping it was time to get back to reality. School starts in two days and we needed backpacks and lunch boxes. And of course, Mae had to celebrate her birthday properly so she could actually be 11.    

See you next summer when we put 4 more states under our belt and DRIVE to North Dakota! It will be our longest driving trip yet and we'll be spending it with two teenish girls and a Thomas. What could possibly go wrong?