We Left our Hearts in San Francisco

Agua, boat, agua, and more boats were all Sophia could talk about on our trip to San Francisco. Her obsession with agua, boats, peces (fish), and sharks may be due to the fact that she would watch Finding Nemo every day if we let her. Not only did Sophia's favorite movie help us make it through the flight to San Francisco, but it also helped her connect with so much of what we saw on our vacation.

While Papi was working away in Socialcast's San Francisco office, Sophia and I explored the grand city of San Francisco. The photo above, along with the one below, was taken at Aquarium on the Bay. This particular excursion was a definite highlight for both of us, as I watched Sophia ooh and aah over all the fish she saw. We even managed to catch a glimpse of a pulpo (an octopus) and I touched a leopard shark. (Even though Sophia LOVES sharks, she had no desire to touch one. She is also currently under the impression that all octopuses are bad because of the pulpo malvado who throws garbage in the sea in one of her Dora books).

We filled most of our days in San Francisco by venturing out to parks near and far. Sophia became quite the little exploradora and often ordered Mamá to "MOVE!" because Sophia could do it alone!

Our little explorer climbed!

She slid!

(Here Sophia is conquering the BIG slides at Golden Gate Park)

She swung!

(This little park was right by Papi's work. Sometimes he got to come out of the office and play too.)

And she climbed some more!

(I snapped this one as fast as I could so that I could get back under her. This little daredevil makes her Mamá a little nervous now and then. And she's not even two yet!!!!!)

For our last full day in San Fransico, Sophia and I spent the afternoon at the San Francisco Zoo with Dana and Ruth Brewer. (Ruth's dad, Josh, woks with Ryan) It was a surprisingly fantastic zoo, with perfect viewing from the comfort of a stroller.

Even so, it's a bit challenging to keep Sophia in the stroller for very long these days. She usually just wants to RUN, RUN, RUN!

(Sophia and Ruth running around like crazy little animals at the zoo.)

As Sophia's smile reveals, we had a wonderful time.

While waiting to board the plane home to Minneapolis, I said my quiet good-byes to a city I've come to love, and Sophia ran around shouting, "Avión, avión!" (which means airplane and is another one of her favorite words).

Next time we visit, we hope to be able to stay for the weekend so that Ryan can do some exploring with us. As for me, I must admit I needed a little vacation from vacation, especially since my dear, sweet daughter took VERY few naps. So, when we got home Saturday night, I helped Ryan and Sophia pack up for another week of vacation. This time we'd be heading up north with Ryan's family and Ryan would actually be able to relax. He and Sophia left Sunday afternoon and I joined them a couple days later, after some much-appreciated me time.

More to come on that vacation in another post...