SF MLK Day

We planned ahead this year and had a fun day planned in San Francisco for Martin Luther King Jr Day. We read some books in the week leading up to the holiday to make the experience more purposeful for the kids.

The Celebration train was busy and had some kids activities to do this time in addition to the beautiful singers. John was also interviewed and in the news.

Ready for the parade. We didn't march with them, but we cheered for everyone as they passed by. Everyone is so friendly and I love the sense of community with all of us joining over the same cause.

After the march we had some lunch.

Perry found Perry street.

Then we went to the Museum of Modern Art where John got us library passes. The living wall was our favorite part.

Scott and Jonah liked the space exhibit.

Then we took them outside to have a little more wiggle room.

The guard still yelled at us to step away from the statue, even though we were at least a foot in front of it (and it's an outdoor sculpture?). We're always very dutiful about not letting our kids touch things or get wild in places like this, but we still were chastised multiple times for them getting near things when I thought they were fine. I'm not sure why they let kids under 18 in for free to "encourage students" and "have fun exploring" if they really don't like younger guests in the same room as their art.

Jonah was afraid of the bridge, but the rest of us thought it was cool.

We switched off taking the boys outside so they could breathe while we looked at some of the other art.

Jane was well behaved. Honestly I thought all the kids were, but the staff made it really uncomfortable for all of us. I'm glad we got in with free passes because we didn't stay long and the kids didn't enjoy it.

We made up for it with Ghirardelli sundaes.

We went to the shop right by the MoMA and it was empty and the employees were very friendly. One guy kept coming over to talk to us and another told us we had such nice kids. It was refreshing after the museum.

We shared two sundaes and it was a little too much, but one wouldn't have been enough. We need Jane to help then it'll be perfect. She's ready and willing.

There was a group outside filming skateboarding tricks at the muni underground ramp entrance and the kids were fixated. We watched until it was time to go.

We walked back to the train with a few minutes to spare only to find that one had been cancelled for the day. No notice in the morning on the way there, no update on their signs or website or anything and no employees around to ask. It was really frustrating and threw our schedule off for the evening. The station was full, probably with everyone else who wanted to take that ride home, so we went to a nearby field. The boys climbed trees and ran around and only one of them slipped and was covered in mud.

The train home was longer than the express one we had hoped to take and it was hard keeping the kids entertained by the end, then we got home late and had to have a quick, rushed dinner. But the kids said the best part of the day was the park and asked when we could go back. Overall we had a very meaningful morning, lots of family time, and a nice day exploring new parts of the city together.