We decided that our first US based independence day should be spent at a carnival and watching fireworks in San Francisco, so we head up there on Sunday after lunch, so that we could play in the Golden Gate Park, and then make our ay to Pier 39 (near Fisherman’s Wharf for the celebrations.

The first signal of a mistake was that we left Los Gatos in glorious sunshine and 31C temperature.  When we arrived at the park, it was down to 19C and cloudy 🙁 The park was fun in all fairness and both boys (plus daddy) enjoyed tootling around the adventure play park that was there.

So, at 4pm we set out to Pier 39 – Simon reckoned on this being a 6 to 8 mile journey.  When he got to roughly where he thought it was, the decision was made to have the sat nav finish the job off – this was possibly a major mistake that could well be the reason for such a resounding failed day.  The car took us 6 miles in the wrong direction.  It turned out that we were less than 400 yards from where we actually needed to be…..

So, given the sheet volume of traffic making it’s way to the event, we then spend then next 1 hour and 30 minutes trying to get back to the place that we were already at …. 🙁

To top it all off, because we were now quite late, parking was a problem – so we ended up in a parking garage near Fisherman’s Wharf where the trolley bus trams terminate.  It cost $50 to park, yes that’s right 35 UK pounds.  We stayed 3 hours – 45 minutes of which was spend queuing for a toilet….. Grrr..

The place was packed with people, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was now only 14C, it would have been a tremendous experience we think.  There were all sorts of entertainers in the street from magicians to stilt walkers to comedians.

Because we were late, finding a location for our evening meal proved unlikely – there was a queue outside In and Out Burger that stretched 50 yards down the street – Simon laughed.  He was laughing on the other side of his face when they got to the other restaurants – that 50 yards was a leisurely walk in the park in comparison to the other queues…..  The bys were getting cross and Olly was telling us every 5 minutes that his stomach was eating him from the inside and that he needed some quality food very soon.

So, we headed back to the car, leaving the great spot for the fireworks behind, in search of food. IHOP here we come…. 🙂 We had a great meal @ IHOP for a reasonable cost – Olly ate a bit of everyone’s meal and then we parked up near the marina by Golden Gate bridge.

The fireworks began at 9:30pm, and because of the cloudy sky, we were unable to see much, so we decided enough was enough, and it was time to head home.

That was Sunday, so as a treat we decided to head to the beach @ Santa Cruz today.  It had been that cold yesterday, we thought, let’s go have some fun on the beach and burn up in the sun.

OK, so that was the thought…… we left Los Gatos in 29C and as we got through the mountains, we found the clouds were building and when we got to the car park in SC, we were experiencing 15C….. ARSE.

The sun didn’t come out all day in SC, but we did have fun on the beach, and we were amazed at just how busy it was.  The beach was absolutely packed….. It seems that many folks had the same idea, only to be disappointed with the lack of sun.

When we got back to LG tonight, the temperature was at 30C and there was not a cloud in the sky…..

Next year, we will trust the location and stay in LG !!! 🙂