I had trouble uploading photos just now, so I'll try again another time. Some notes from our San Francisco vacation:

Atticus sampled four new forms of travel this past week: a bus, a subway, a bicycle trailer, and a ferry. He tolerated the often-overcrowded San Francisco buses better than one could hope--much better than his father, that's for sure. He mostly just checked everyone out, though on his last bus ride, he did attempt to train in the art of pickpocketing by reaching for a pamphlet in an unsuspecting man's back pocket. He also tugged at the feathers hanging from a woman's necklace--the necklace was practically hanging in his lap after all, the bus was that crowded. The bicycle trailer was by far the most interesting travel experience of the week though. The poor kid had was asleep in the ergo carrier when we arrived to pick up our bikes at about 4pm, and he hadn't had a proper lunch (crackers and blueberries) because Chris and I are not so good at making sure everyone gets fed when we're out and about on the town all day. So when I attempted to ease him into the trailer without waking him, and he woke, he was not in good spirits. In fact, he was terrified--a stranger was trying to strap him in and place a helmet on his head. Not good, not good. I took him out and we went outside of the bike garage and waited until he'd calmed down and woken up more, then lured him into the trailer with crackers. That worked. Then he had a marvelous time for about 45 minutes or so--until he ran out of crackers. Then he cried most of the rest of the 35 minutes or so home.

Mostly though, Atticus had a glorious time. We went to the park just about every day (three different parks over the course of the week--all within walking distance of the house), and he mastered getting up steps and sliding down toddler slides all by himself; we visited several aquariums (he especially enjoyed the first one at the Cal. Academy of Sciences, maybe because it was novel then, maybe because it was more impressive than Aquarium of the Bay with the exception of the fascinating eels at AB) and saw an assortment of fishes, sharks, mollusks, penguins, etc. He danced, his arms spread high over his head, at the site of these full-wall aquariums and ran about giddily; he cheered people running in the San Francisco marathon, which I sadly was unable to participate in; he perched on top of a bagel shop table looking out through a window at passersby in the financial district and got a lot of smiles; he napped in the stroller we rented while we pushed him all over town (and while I toured the DeYoung museum, Chris napping back at the house); he napped in the ergo while we walked all over town; he went hog wild in the plaza in front of the big water sculpture near the Ferry Building--I don't know that I've ever seen him that ecstatic; he chased pigeons; he saw families of squirrels in Buena Vista Park and viewed the city and the ocean from its breathtaking summit; he goofed around in Crissy Field by the Golden Gate Bridge; he discovered a new book to love, I Love You Through and Through; he goofed around at Alcatraz; he got to hang out with grandma Ginny; he ate lots and lots of crackers, black beans, and berries (possibly the most delicious blackberries I've ever had), and drank milk with cream on top.