One final day in San Francisco, spent mostly asea, and it was finally bright, sunny, AND clear. We took the ferry, with beautiful views of the bridge and city, first to Angel Island, where we took a tram tour, then to Alcatraz, where we took a self guided audio tour. Back on land we headed to Golden Gate Park to meet with friends who moved to San Fran a year ago.
I have always wanted to visit San Francisco, but the impetus for this trip was my cousin's wedding.
On day 3 we spent the better part of our day taking in the traditional San Fran sights: the cable cars, China Town, and Fishermans Warf. After that, we spent the night partying with family, celebrating a marriage. Weddings are possibly my favorite event. Calvin was a regular dancing machine.
We spent day 4 saying goodbye to family, and revisiting some favorite San Francisco haunts (those being the cable car because...Calvin).
You have to really suck it in when passing the opposing cable car...
Hurray for indie book stores
clams and chowder and mussels oh my
dashing
siblings
Thursday afternoon was sunny and warm in California. Apparently September is a summer month for the people of San Francisco, who often experience chilly and foggy weather the rest of the year. September, when the kids are already back in school, would appear to be a great time to visit. We were fortunate to have warm, sunny weather for most of our visit, although even then the bridge was obscured by thick fog for all but our last day in town.
Day 1 for us was mainly travel, a stop by Pier 39 for our first taste of west coast seafood and a peek at the famed sea lions, and a delightful family dinner—a reunion with many far flung members of my family.
Day 2 took us into Napa Valley for some wine tasting.
Michigan football on Saturdays
Family biking on Sunday mornings, followed by doughnuts and cider at the mill.
And, on occasion, wildlife in the neighborhood (although that has nothing to do with it being a weekend...at least not with this kind of wildlife)
bird watching, fall, football, life, wildlife I realize that recently my blogging has become more of a “where have we been” display throughout the summer months. Jon said last night that it looked a bit like Vladimir Putin Action Man: “here is us in Stratford”, “here we are with ice cream”, “and here in front of Mt. Hood”, etc., etc.
The truth is, it was a crazy, whirlwind of a summer. We were gone more weekends than we were home, and even our longer respites in town were filled with various community activities. It wasn’t planned that way; things just kept coming up, and what started as a summer with two trips planned quickly got a tad out of hand. The last few weeks have been our longest stay at home in months, and they've allowed me at least a little time to try and catch up in the garden and the house, but we have one more trip up our sleeves.
In the past we've been year round schoolers, but this year was a little different. When we first started homeschooling we were aiming for a very unschooling environment, and our summers were little different from our falls, winters, and springs, excepting, of course, for the weather. But in the past few years, as our methods have undergone a slow but decided evolution, have found ourselves more on the side of classical schooling. Now, in the fall, winter, and spring, our mornings are often spent at the kitchen table or a like place, studying or creating together. In the summers we continue to start our days with a little dabble of math and Spanish, but the rest of the day is often spent outside doing one thing or another. I guess you could call the cooler months our classical time, and the warmest months our unschooling time.
The truth being, though, that we still live the life of home learners who find "education" in everything we do.
So this fall, with one more trip still waiting in the wings, we are waiting until October to begin our classical learning months, and we are using the first couple of weeks of September to review a bit, and to plan the months ahead. Rather neatly, Calvin is right at the end of several books—Spanish, math, science, and grammar—meaning that when we get home and pick up classical lessons in October, it will be like a fresh start.
But until then, finishing up, reviewing, previewing, and planning ahead.
