Hier et avant-hier, le daycare était fermé pour préparer les salles de classe pour la nouvelle année. J'ai décidé de poursuivre la tradition et d'en profiter pour nous faire une escapade en famille. Cette fois-ci, on est allé passer 2 nuits à Angel Island, dans la baie de San Francisco.
D'abord, direction Tiburon pour prendre le ferry.
Arrivés sur l'île vers 15h, nous avons vu repartir tous les touristes du jour avec le dernier ferry.
Et presqu'aussitôt après, le comité d'accueil a fait son apparition, devant le centre d'information touristique.
Carte empruntée ici, où on trouve aussi plein d'infos et de jolies photos -
Map borrowed from here, where they also have lots of information and beautiful pictures
... Tipoulet qui remorquait sa soeur. Dans les montées ou les descentes trop raides, on aidait Tipoulet, ce qu'on aurait dû faire de toute façon, et le reste du temps, il gérait super bien, ce qui nous permettait d'avancer à un bon rythme.
On est arrivé juste à temps pour monter la tente,
faire le diner, et regarder le brouillard déferler sur les collines au nord du Golden Gate Bridge, en espérant qu'il n'arrive pas jusqu'à nous.
Le lendemain matin, après que les ratons-laveurs nous aient piqué une bonne partie de notre petit-déjeûner, pourtant rangé dans une armoire soit-disant anti-ratons-laveurs, nous nous sommes rendus à l'embarcadère pour un brunch au Cove Café.
Puis, nous sommes repartis à la découverte de l'île, en faisant le tour par le nord cette fois.
Premier arrêt à l'ancienne garnison militaire de Fort McDowell, qui héberge désormais les quelques employés de l'île, et des biches.
Ensuite, juste en contrebas de la garnison, sur une jolie plage de sable blanc.
Et enfin, au sud-est de l'île, à la carrière où ont longtemps travaillé les prisonniers militaires d'Alcatraz.
Et pendant ce périple, notre petit cycliste a été drôlement résistant.
Le lendemain, pour notre dernière matinée sur l'île, nous sommes restés tranquillement à notre campement, les grands à admirer la vue que le brouillard nous avait constamment cachée jusque-là,
Depuis notre table de pique-nique, Alcatraz et San Francisco sur la gauche... -
From our picnic table, Alcatraz and San Francisco on the left...
... et sur la droite, le Golden Gate Bridge - ... and on the right, the Golden Gate Bridge
Alors, bilan de l'aventure: certes, on a eu froid, on a mal dormi, on a été attaqué par des ratons-laveurs, et je ne vais même pas mentionner les toilettes sèches, mais quand même, quand même, ça valait le coup.
On Thursday and Friday, the daycare was closed to prepare classrooms for the new year. I decided to continue our tradition of planning a family getaway. This time we spent 2 nights on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay.
First, off to Tiburon to catch the ferry.
We arrived on the island around 3 PM, and saw all the tourists of the day leave with the last ferry.
Almost immediately after the welcome committee made its appearance in front of the visitor center.
We then had to reach our campsite (Ridge Site 5), on the south-west part of the island. Because yes, the only way to spend the night at Angel Island is to camp there.
We had taken Tipoulet's bike and the trailer for La Poulette, with the idea that we would rent bicycles there. Except that the bike rental place was already closed when we arrived. "It's okay ..." as Tipoulet says. We quickly found another solution, and a much more convenient one, actually. P and I walked, and ...
... Tipoulet pulled his sister. Uphill or on steep downhill roads, we helped Tipoulet, which we would have been doing anyway, and the rest of the time he did really well, so we moved at a pretty good pace.
We arrived just in time to set up the tent, make dinner, and watch the fog sweep across the hills north of the Golden Gate Bridge, hoping it would not get to us.
The next morning, after raccoons had eaten most of our breakfast, stored in a so-called raccoon-proof box, we went back to the pier for a brunch at Cove Café.
Then we left to explore the island, going north this time.
First stop at the old military garrison Fort McDowell, which now hosts a few island employees, and lots of deers.
Second, just below the garrison, on a beautiful white sand beach.
And finally, on the south-east part of the island, at the quarries where Alcatraz military prisoners worked for years.
And during all this trip, our little cyclist was awfully tough.
The next day, on our last morning on the island, we hung out at our campsite, the adults enjoying the views that the fog had kept hidden til then, and the kiddos climbing up trees, playing with sticks, and chasing each other around the picnic table.
So to summarize our little adventure: of course, it was cold, we did not sleep so well, we were attacked by raccoons, and I will not even mention the pit toilets, but still, still, it was absolutely worth it.
First, off to Tiburon to catch the ferry.
We arrived on the island around 3 PM, and saw all the tourists of the day leave with the last ferry.
Almost immediately after the welcome committee made its appearance in front of the visitor center.
We then had to reach our campsite (Ridge Site 5), on the south-west part of the island. Because yes, the only way to spend the night at Angel Island is to camp there.
We had taken Tipoulet's bike and the trailer for La Poulette, with the idea that we would rent bicycles there. Except that the bike rental place was already closed when we arrived. "It's okay ..." as Tipoulet says. We quickly found another solution, and a much more convenient one, actually. P and I walked, and ...
... Tipoulet pulled his sister. Uphill or on steep downhill roads, we helped Tipoulet, which we would have been doing anyway, and the rest of the time he did really well, so we moved at a pretty good pace.
We arrived just in time to set up the tent, make dinner, and watch the fog sweep across the hills north of the Golden Gate Bridge, hoping it would not get to us.
The next morning, after raccoons had eaten most of our breakfast, stored in a so-called raccoon-proof box, we went back to the pier for a brunch at Cove Café.
Then we left to explore the island, going north this time.
First stop at the old military garrison Fort McDowell, which now hosts a few island employees, and lots of deers.
Second, just below the garrison, on a beautiful white sand beach.
And finally, on the south-east part of the island, at the quarries where Alcatraz military prisoners worked for years.
And during all this trip, our little cyclist was awfully tough.
The next day, on our last morning on the island, we hung out at our campsite, the adults enjoying the views that the fog had kept hidden til then, and the kiddos climbing up trees, playing with sticks, and chasing each other around the picnic table.
So to summarize our little adventure: of course, it was cold, we did not sleep so well, we were attacked by raccoons, and I will not even mention the pit toilets, but still, still, it was absolutely worth it.
