Since my cousin was only going to be at Stanford for another few weeks, we decided that this would be the perfect weekend to take her out. The students were barred from leaving campus with other guardians the past 2 weekends so for this weekend, we decided to take her up to SF. Since Alex knows the ins and outs of his hometown, we had no troubles navigating around the city. We took the 280 then the 1 Scenic Route and saw Sunset Beach as we looped around the SF Zoo. We showed her the popular landmarks, like the Clift House and other places we’ve frequented in the past. We even stopped off and took in a fantastic view of the Golden Gate Bridge even though the tips of the bridge were well hidden in the fog. Emily stopped to do some sketches in her sketchbook and Nicholas just eagerly watched as she filled the empty pages with every stroke of the pen. Our enjoyment of the view was cut short by the cold wind gusts so we headed on over to Pier 39 after driving through the military housing complexes along the way. Actually, the car ride was really fun because all 7 of us (Julia & husband, Emily, and us 4) were together in the SUV. We definitely made good use of the optional seats we had installed in the trunk space. Anyways, we admired the view from the end of the pier, had dinner at Bubba Gump’s, and got Emily a little momento of the trip at the Pearl Factory on the Pier where you pick an oyster for them to open. I know, it’s a total tourist trap, but it was still a fun experience for her. She had her pearl made into a ring and she’s been wearing it every day since. The lady even offered a free pearl to Nicholas who was nearby watching so he ended up picking an oyster with a blue-tinted pearl. The lady told him that this color pearl is very rare to find and that he can save it to give to his girlfriend when he is older. Hmm…. I’ll have to share my thoughts on that in another post. I think we worried my aunt and uncle a bit though because we didn’t get prior consent from the facilitators the Wednesday before for this excursion cuz it was pretty much decided last minute, but then again since she’s already 18, I don’t think that’s really going to be enforced. Anyways, we dropped her off safe and sound at her dorm at 11pm. Our kids were already asleep for the night in the car. It was a fun day for us all especially since we haven’t gone into SF in a while.