Spokane-Based Party

Perhaps snow is the not most delicious thing made by nature; it might be the most compelling, however. Enormous fun was had by all in the great Western Washingtonian city of Spokane at the Birch/Wilson/de Thomas stop on the great Northwest Tour of '05-'06. Grandma and Grandpa Birch supplied the snow, thank you very much.

PDX Part Four

Continuing on with the visit to the great Northwest, We move back to the beginning of the trip, where a scant hour after stepping off of the plane, we found ourselves looking at Sea Lions (in awe, really) -- because we were in town a good 8 hours before check-in time. Who booked those tickets? Ooops.

Lunch at the delightful (weirdly 80's-flavored) Deco Heathman Hotel where we had one of the best breakfasts in the annals of breakfast, should there be annals for that sort of thing.

Ruth presently is awaiting the arrival of her miniature sibling, cutting more of them big toofs in the back. Drool aplenty. That, and the pink fuzzy jacket has happily (perhaps temporarily) supplanted the black trench seen below.

PDX Part Three

Though Portland was both lovely and inviting, one would be remiss not mentioning the rain. It did come down in many different types. Cats and dogs, misty morning sunshine and slow n' steady. No matter, fun was had by Ruth in the stunningly lush Forest Park, the largest inner-city park in the country. Even if it was coming down, Ruth was ready to rock the "eell-phann."

PDX Part Two

While whiling our time away in the City of Roses, NTTN was hosted by the newlywed Graybill familia at the impressively family-friendly McMenamins' St. John's Theater & Pub. Though sick of all the rain in our three holiday destinations - SF, Spokane and Portland - Ruth held up with aplomb. Ruth will be the next Stan Brackhage, maybe?

PDX part one

One last trip before Ruth needs to buy her own plane ticket and her mother pops like a balloon with her little sister found the family in Portland Oregon at the Jupiter Hotel, the funkiest spot in town to be seen in footsie jams.

More posts to come, but we wanted to alert the masses to this weekend's Family Appreciation Day. On Sunday, you can take the kids for free to museums shows and sights all over town. We will be there, thanks Gavin.

Xmas Shopping in the Rain

With the lovely weather we've been having here in the City by the Bay, it's been hard to keep up with the season at hand. That said, MoR, despite being 13,234 months pregnant, still manages to take Ruth to the Toddler Gym of the Gods in between thunder storms. Ruth, of course, is unpeturbed by mere raindrops. It's not like they're taking her new top. Happy Holidays from FoR and NTTN. We'll send greetings and things to do on the Idaho border before too long.

Clarion Alley

More Alleys with the Ruth to the Truth. This one is next to the beloved Community Thrift, where Ruth picks up much of her much-loved reading material -- Boyton books in particular for some reason get sold a lot, great literature though they are. Not all of the art is as Max-like as Balmy, but the colors and animals are worth the visit, we think.

BALMY ALLEY

There is an alley off of 24th street, south of folsom that fills Ruth with shrieks and giggles. It is, put simply, not just another Mission alley. As seen to my right, Ruth can log time with Max or other wild, storied critters. Overseen by the local, great Precita Eyes (the word eyes, which Ruth pronounces "eeyyeshh" and uses when there are lulls in the conversation is a favorite), purveyors of painting classes for toddlers and tours down the alley. We haven't partaken in the fingerpaint-soaked fun yet, but it is right on the horizon, surely.

In other news, Ruth is learning about Christmas slowly as she still thinks the hullabaloo is for Hallow'een, understandably. The candy was amazing. We will visit the tree downtown tonight, we think.

Alioto Park

We love nepotism as much as the next Mission parent, so we were thrilled to find a mini-park named after the storied Aliotos at the corner of 20th and Capp. The park is tiny and kept meticulously by an elderly White Sox fan, keeping a watchful eye over its four tiny walls. Ruth was thrilled for the respite on the way to Rainbow. In particular, she was enamored of the staircase -- oddly the only one we've found in the city that is her exact size. "up-ah" and "doww." Otherwise, she is learning the ins and outs of "mine" and is a touch insecure in the wake of an unhappy week of -- how shall we say? -- intestinal distress. Rocking now, however.

Randall Museum

While Ruth is still too young to enjoy most of what the Randall Museum has to offer, there was no lack of things for her to see and do. Downstairs houses an immaculate train set complete with mountains, trestle bridges, towns, gas stations and movie marquees. Upstairs there are birds, bees, a chicken with an afro, various frogs and turtles, and fantastic grounds with climb-able sculpture and incredible views. In between are shops for art, pottery and wood working. In the next few months they will be opening an area specific to toddlers, so this place will only get better.

We look forward to the years to come when Ruth desists from saying NO like she has some inane tick, and she can take play-with-clay class.

BAY AREA DISCOVERY MUSEUM

Located at the foot of the Golden Gate in old Fort Baker, the views alone are enough to get you to spend the afternoon here. Ruth conveniently took an early nap in the car which allowed us to park and gaze across the bay, surrounded by giant laurel and gum trees, and eat the pepperoni pizza we brought to picnic on. When she woke up, just as we finished our salads, the fun had just begin.

This is one of the premier kid spots in the entire bay area. Neither commercial nor crass, it has myriad of activities (including an entire tot-land where they can frolic in no less than four distinct play areas, one featuring the ever popular running water with plastic fish). Ruth didn't care about the views, but they are stunning. You must bring a picnic, the place is short on food although they do have a variety of snacks and a $7 grilled cheese. There are picnic benches provided. It is a little pricey if you bring the whole lot of you, $8.50 per adult and $7.50 for kids, but well worth it. We went on a "free" day, surprisingly not crowded given the beautiful weather. (heads up, free day is 1-5 p.m., so don't show up in the morning).

THE NEW DE YOUNG

If you are a city resident of more than five years, then you remember when the old de Young closed. It seemed like five years was far enough away that you may have even doubted that you would still live here, or that you would still be living here and not, by now, be rich. Well, here you are.

Whatever you think about the copper-clad tower and green roof, whether or not you think it looks like a cheap space barn or the perfect architectural representation of a 21st century American depository of treasures, you gotta go see it. Ruth particularly enjoyed the sculpture garden. First Tuesdays are free.

NOE VALLEY HALLOWEEN

This is our second Halloween with Ruth, her "first" that she participated in that she will not remember a shred of but one that her parents will chuckle over for the rest of their lives. The place to be, bar none, is the commercial district of Noe Valley, 24th street between Church and Castro. You can go all day, you can go all night. It is one long stretch of spazzed out toddlers and friendly merchants with buckets of endless candy. For the older kids, go down the hill to Fair Oaks, where they block off the entire street and hold one big party. Everybody decorates their house and haunts their garage. A little scary for those under 5, fantastic for everyone else (including adults, the party extends into the night with music and dancing).

CHINATOWN

First, take a walk down Washington to Ross Alley and hang a right where you'll find the Fortune Cookie Factory. Look at the ladies folding the hot cookies around the fortunes, enjoy the samples, note the sign that requests .50 for photos and oblige with your pay phone money. After all, they just gave you free cookies. Chinatown is like another country, complete with complex labor laws and hidden sweat shops, buckets of chickens and frogs for sale and truly bizarre dried "food," not to mention fantastic shops full of the wonders of mass production. Proceed to Stockton and note the lunch specials, on our visit we saw frog legs featured with green veg for $4.95. Hang a left on Sacramento and plan to spend a good amount of time at the playground across the street from the Y, it is fantastic. Don't forget to go inside the rec center to check out the ping pong players (no smoking, chewing tobacco or spitting sunflower seeds).

GARFIELD PARK

The playground at Garfield (26th and Harrison Streets) is stellar, as you can see. Excellent toddler structure, plenty of trees to climb as well as a bigger jungle gym for the older kids, picnic tables and even bbq grills. There is also a pool, great soccer field, plenty of space to roam and run, but there is also a downside. Immediately next to the playground is a housing project. Thug life hangs out in all its glory within a couple hundred feet of the kiddies which is a big fat drag. Will these pathetic toughies bother you? Of course not, they are interested in their own doings. Will you be worried about thug life spill over (mis-directed beer bottles, stray shots, ugly fighting and shouting)? Depends on your constitutional make-up. We will continue to use this park, but we will also make sure to come in the mornings.

PERFORMANCE ART AND THE TODDLER

Epiphany productions put on their annual Trolley Dances this weekend, which marked Ruth's first adventure in performance art. She was impressed by the cable strapped, yogic statement on sleep, and just a little scared of the drums at Civic Center when the distraction of the piece of cheese she had been gnawing on was gone. She enjoyed the trolley rides, but by the time the F made it to Duboce where we all walked to the back of the Safeway, Ruth called it quits. When somebody lays on the pavement and screams, they really mean it. But enjoying two of four abstract performances on a day that turned out warmer than expected leaving us overdressed in a large crowd riding a packed trolley seems to us like good first timer success rate.

ST. FRANCIS FOUNTAIN

Ruth loves this old-fashioned ice cream parlor and diner for one simple and straightforward reason: she gets to eat as much ice cream as she can. (and it's Mitchel's ice cream at that). Located at 24th and York, they also sell trading cards from the 80's -- Mork and Mindy, Tron, Duran Duran -- and bubble gum cigarettes. The food is very average, and a little expensive for what it is, but who cares. They have ice cream sundaes, malts, and "clowns." And if you find the somewhat hip service reminiscent of something, (hmmm...I've seen that torn teeshirt on that skinny frame somewhere...) the place is owned by the folks at Bugoolos. (which also explains the average food that is a just a little too expensive and despite that fact is strangely crowded). But, we love it anyway.

KALIFLOWER GARDEN

It may not be way up on your list of things to do, but taking Ruth to a commune was the highlight of her afternoon last Saturday. We have noticed this block of high fencing along 23rd Street by Shotwell as it is on our way to Parque Ninos, and one day, lo! we noticed the fence was open.

The garden, which is being opened MWF and Saturday afternoons to the public from 1-3, is maintained by one of the communes of San Francisco's hippie heyday, the Kaliflower Group. They are also associated with The Free Print folks, and have been around since 1967. A visit to the garden doesn't involve any of that creepy, dianetic-esque soliciting. Nobody will ask you to take a personality test, and on Saturday there was incredibly complex, well executed and beautiful music. You wouldn't know it was a commune unless you asked someone or read it here, but now, since you know, as you walk through the gate think to yourself: "A flower will grow out of the ashes of this current age of destruction."

JURY COMMONS

We have been using this tiny walk-through park quite a bit lately, and believe it has undergone a change for the better. It is a couple blocks from the house, is generally very clean with gorgeous flower beds maintained by the friends of Jury Commons. The playground is tiny, only good for tots, not kids. It used to be pretty sketchy, never particularly threatening but sometimes unpleasant with the occasional junkie or creep. Sometimes there still is. Ah, San Francisco.

Big news: Ruth is entirely weaned. The first night, tears. The second night, tears. The third night, no tears. Even with the tears, bedtime each night only took an additional ten minutes. Once again, she has proved that worries about babies are often only in the gulag of her parent's imaginations.

CAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, FREE!

It is free fall days at the California Academy of Sciences . Look up your zip code and save some lunch money while your tot freaks out at the fish. Just for the aquariums alone it is well worth the trip, but upstairs there is also a play area where they can build and smash blocks, take apart puzzles, and, if you are lucky and the Academy has a volunteer that day, they can play in the water. When you have had your fill, go a block down to Yerba Buena gardens, have a picnic, ride the carousel, sit down on the magic bench and watch the skeleton man on top of the world stand and sit for you. You'll know it when you see it.

Big heads up from Ruth: don't sit your precious baby girl on one of the chairs in front of Zeum because the back slats are too high and she will fall right out on her head.