Moab!

Some pictures from my trip this last weekend to Moab. I went with a group of friends from work, we rode Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and had a blast. First ride was Poison Spider Mesa. The trail climbed to the top of a mesa, around the top, and then back down the other side.

Coming down the other side we took a trail called the Portal Trail. It was not for those with a fear of heights, you were basically on the side of a cliff staring at a 200+ foot drop. There were a couple of sections that were impossible to bike. Evidently some people have tried, and failed, so they posted signs on the sketchy parts.

On Saturday we rode Slickrock, which was a blast, and had a much lower risk of death. Still, there were some crashes...

 and sunburns

Sunday we rode Porcupine Rim, which was my favorite ride. It started with a 3 mile uphill, then turned into 11 miles of rocky downhill. We did ride by a rider that had crashed pretty bad, and we got to see the Life Flight helicopter from Grand Junction land and fly him out. We were all a bit more careful after that.

Easters

My parents came down to watch the kids while we were on our trip and we were lucky enough to have them stay for Easter too. They kept saying it was going to be a rainy Sunday but it was really quite pretty. I was a little too worried about rain and rushed the kids out to hunt for eggs. Only after they were done, did I realize I forgot to tell my parents that we were going to do it then. Oops!! At least we got pictures right?

Alcatraz

We figured this part of our trip deserved its own post since it took up a large part of one day and was really interesting. The boat ride over was really beautiful and the island itself was so interesting. They have an audio tour which is just really well done and the island is actually really pretty with beautiful flowers and lots of sea birds. Here are our pics from The Rock:

That is not a real person in the bed, just a paper mache head that a prisoner used to fool guards. If you look at the wall there is the escape hole. The three guys who used this method to escape were never found, but prison officials said that they probably drowned.

Checking out a cell

All that remains of the prison wardens house. Some of the prison guards lived on the island with their families. There was a small school and a rec center for the families. Can't imagine growing up that close to such serious criminals!

This was the recreation yard

Our Trip to San Francisco

On our very first ride on the cable car! We got to stand on the side, at the very front. The cable car was our favorite way of getting around.

Fish and chips at Fisherman's Wharf

This was our hotel, The King George. It was old, the rooms were small, it was right downtown, and we loved it!!! It was the perfect location and was quite cozy.

This is the world's curviest street. Cars line up at the top to drive down.

The coolest thing about public transportation in San Fransisco is all the antique buses and street cars. It feels a bit like riding back in time.

China town was really cool. It was fun wandering into the little shops and looking for souvenirs for the kids. The best part of the day was the restaurant we found. We tried to find one that was authentic Chinese and I think we did pretty good. They only gave us chopsticks and some tea at our table- no water or utensils, which was scary for me since I am no good with chopsticks. The food was so good though, and I figured it out by the end of the meal.

The houses behind us are called the Painted Ladies.  We both remembered them from the opening credits from the show Full House.  I spent so many Friday nights watching that show on TGIF!

We walked down the hippy area of Haight-Ashbury but only took this picture. We figured we already stood out enough without taking pictures of the crazy shops and dreadlocks.

Having a sundae at Ghiradelli square

Christian was brave and looked down at the water. I was way too chicken and stayed about three feet from the edge at all times. I guess I'm scared of heights!