Sunday, July 27, 2014

San Fransisco 2013

1) Last year we finally decided it was time to take our first flight with the kids. We have never flown with them EVER! Just the thought of dragging 3 little kids, a double stroller, car seats and all the other gear through an airport gives me chest pain. So we waited until they were older and more mobile. We kept it as simple as possible. Each kid had all their clothes and stuff in their own backpacks. Sandy and I only a brought carry on, so we would not have to deal with luggage issues.  Kudos to Sandy for planning out the logistics of this trip. It worked out perfectly. I took all of the following photos with my Canon 7D and Canon 35mm f1.4 lens.


2) We stuck with public transportation to avoid the hassle of getting a rental car, bringing car seats through the airport, driving and parking in a major city.  We flew into Oakland, took a shuttle to the nearest BART train station, and then took BART directly into the city. From there we just walked to our hotel. The kids loved it. It just added to the grand adventure of visiting a big city.


3) From inside the city, we just took the buses and trolleys to get around. Riding the public bus is an adventure in itself!


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5) Toto, I've a feeling that we are not in Kansas anymore.


6) You can't come to San Fransisco and not ride the Cable cars.


7) Warning. Cheesy tourist photos coming up.


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9) This was our bus driver who took us to the Golden Gate Bridge. He seemed to hate his job. He would constantly bark at the tourist who would ask him if this was the train that goes to the Golden Gate Bridge. He would then mumble about how they messed up his route schedule. I suspect he probably has really high blood pressure.


10) One day we visited the California Academy of Sciences. What a great place to spend the day with the kids. We went the day after a packed holiday weekend so it was quite nice and empty for us.


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12) The sign said, "Don't feed the dinosaurs."


13) It had an amazing state of the art aquarium too.


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16) Sandy was seriously close to killing me. I had to reshoot this shot so many different times. Just couldn't get the right exposure with the tricky lighting. Also I had to time it in between crowds of people passing through the tunnel.


17) Got a nice silhouette shot of the kids in awe of the massive fish tank.


18) Can you find Nemo?


19) Dangerous jelly fish! Beautiful but deadly.


20) Nautilus


21) The California Academy of Sciences also had a live butterfly exhibit. So cool! Ethan LOVES bugs and wants to be an Entomologist when he grows up.


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24) Poisonous frogs. Ribbit!


25) They had this exhibit of live orb weaver spiders. They were HUGE! So creepy...


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28) Some sort of eco-bio-tree-hugging-artsy-fartsy live decoration. 


29) River monster.


30) Cool way of commemorating people who have donated to the museum.
 

31) At night, we would go out to eat and then wander around the city. Can you spot Ethan and Noah in this shot?


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33) All of these shots were done handheld. I hate traveling with tripods.


34) I did bring along a gorilla pod for this shot. We took it at the top of our hotel.


35) The iconic Golden Gate Bridge.


36) I think the concentration of tourists and cameras is highest here in the whole city.


37) I set up this shot with my gorilla pod and remote IR shutter control. Not the greatest shot but it worked.


38) Classic.


39) Smile for the camera!


40) "Not another photo!" cried Noah.


41) Finally.


42) Checking out the crab fisherman.


43) Over enthusiastic breast cancer walker that we met going over the Golden Gate.


44) Inside the tourist shop - A photo of a photo of the bridge held by a bridge photo holder. Got it?


45) Yummmm.


46) Found this collection of locks on a random fence at Fisherman's Warf.


47) Met up with my cousin, Quang and his family for dinner at the Westfield Mall.


48) Is it Christmas yet?


49) Did you know that escalators cause fatalities? Do not try this at home!


50) Check out the Microsoft store. Gotta keep up with Apple I guess.


51) Street photography.


52) A Hipster riding a hipster classic bike in the city. I think he's trying too hard.


53) We bought the boys some hand made beenies from a street vendor. Noah's was Angry birds and Ethan's was a Minion.


54) That's one way to get around town.


55) Urban cityscape.


56) Bike rack at Golden Gate Park.


57) Autumn in the city.


58) Enjoying ice cream on the steps of the amphitheater.


59) One of the few times when they are not fighting. Awww.


60) I told Megan to make a wish. I think she wished that I would stop taking photos of her...


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62) We met up with my cousin Qui for some fancy Thai food one night. Yum!


63) Taking an ice cream break from all the schlepping around town.


64) That's it! Until our next adventure...



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