Saturday 13 July
Last night was another bad night with Belle 😦 we just do not seem to be able to get her high temps down for very long 😦
We had breakfast in the hotel lobby again, and spent the morning packing bags and readying ourselves for the flight from Dallas Fort Worth to San Francisco. I had received an email to say there may be delays because a runway is still closed due to last week’s tragedy there, but our flight was exactly on time. Seeing as Ross cannot carry bags and walk using crutches, he dropped us at the departure area and went with Tim to return the rental car. Meanwhile, the other kids and I transported all the bags up to check in. I did this in stages because I was too tight to pay for a trolley for the bags at $5. Sam told me if I hadn’t left a tip for the cleaners, I could have afforded a trolley!! From the mouths of babes…
The flight was smooth and uneventful, except for Belle’s distress. We remembered to take her medicine in our carry-on this time, so were able to give her some during the flight. In the periods when that takes effect and she is feeling a bit better, she tends to sing the “Girl On Fire”song, but changes the words to be “my brain is on fire”.
We needed two taxis to take us to our hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf as their maxi taxis take a maximum of 6. By the time we had checked in, Belle was feeling better, so we wandered down to Fisherman’s Wharf for an early dinner (it was 5pm by then, and since the late breakfast we had only had fruit and snacks at the airport). We took the kids to Alioto’s so they could try clam chowder – I think I have eaten at the restaurant for a first meal every single time I have been to San Fran! I loved continuing such a tradition!
We then walked from there down to Pier 39. We had told the kids all about the seals there, but arrived to discover they move south to breed in the summer months and will not return to those posts until July 20. We have just missed them! We then explored Pier 39 a little further and bought some souvenirs from the NFL shop and Mrs Fields cookies for dessert. Ross felt he had done enough hobbling on crutches by then, so we decided to return to the hotel, just a couple of blocks away. By this time, the wind was quite cold. The taxi driver did tell me today the weather was nice and hot at 67 degrees, following some cold days – I told him we had just arrived from Texas where Dallas was 100 degrees today!!
Our hotel has a Denny’s restaurant down on the ground floor, so Abi and I went and ordered some hot chocolates to go for everyone’s supper in the room. Our travel agent requested adjoining rooms when she booked this for us months ago, which is much appreciated now. Everyone is now sleeping peacefully except for Belle, who has been vomiting again late tonight and has high temps again 😦 I am not sure whether I will need to catch up on sleep when I get home because of jet lag or because of all these late nights this week filled with medicine dispensing and cold compresses! I will assess overnight whether I need to find another doctor for her. I hope not for her sake. And San Fran is one of my favourite cities in the world, and the kids are looking forward to exploring it tomorrow. After so many healthy and happy weeks, it is sad to be limping (Ross literally limping…) towards the finish line!