Around the Bay in a Day

Ryan and I have been busy soaking in some good times with Clayton the last few days.  In addition to seeing an ocean, before we came, Clayton had also requested to ride a boat in the ocean, so on Tuesday we made that happen.  We headed back to the piers in San Francisco and took a bay cruise, something we'd never done before.  The cruise was mainly around the bay, but we did pass under the Golden Gate, so we were technically in the ocean for a few minutes.  Check, check.  Clayton was excited for about the first ten minutes.  Then it was pretty much ho-hum after that, but Ryan and I really enjoyed it.  We had an audio headset that narrated a lot of the history of the area, and we both learned a lot.  Clayton was so enthusiastic, that he fell asleep, which just meant Ryan and I could pay more attention to the narration.  It was a win for everyone.

Clayton was no match for the gentle rocking of the boat.

After our little cruise, we headed up to Muir Woods, again, another first for us.  We'd always driven through a tiny little piece of redwood forest on our Hwy 1 drives, but we'd never actually stopped to hike, and I use the term "hike" loosely.  It was really more of a fully paved path or boardwalk stroll, which was good for Clayton.  His energy is really low, and he really does need a stroller for anything longer than a parking lot.

Again, Clayton was no match for the gentle vibration of riding in a stroller over a boardwalk.

Then we set out for Napa, and, as usual, we underestimated the driving time, so we made it up to V. Sattui just as they were closing.  Ryan was able to secure a couple bottles of wine, just in time. 

The grounds are gorgeous.

Napa is pretty close to our old home of Fairfield, so we drove over to see our old house, the house Clayton came home to from Stanford as a baby.  I loved that house and still miss it.  It was a great little place Ryan and I lucked into renting just before Colin passed away.  We have a lot of memories in that house, both good and sad, and it will always be Clayton's first home. 

After a little bite to eat, we headed back through the east bay to Palo Alto.  It was a busy, busy day, but it has been so great to spend some special one-on-one time with Clayton.