The Perfect Family Vacation

Although I have experienced many wonderful vacations over the years, it was a recent trip to California that was the perfect family vacation for me.nnWe flew into San Francisco, where we rented a car and hit the road. We started our perfect family vacation by driving along a coastal road and watching the fog lift to reveal the ocean in all its immensity and beauty. We then stopped at a cute little restaurant where we could gaze out at a harbor filled with boats coming and going. nnAfter a delightful meal we headed further South where we visited an aquarium. What an amazing place to see. There were sting rays you could touch, little sharks that would stick their heads out of the water to look up at you, and all other kinds of sea life. It was an experience that will stay with me throughout my life.nnUpon returning to San Francisco we walked along the beach front and took pictures before calling it a night. The next day we headed to Alcatraz for a tour. It was fascinating to see how the prisoners there had lived. We also had the opportunity to meet an author who had written a book on Alcatraz that included information about the famous inmates from there. He signed our copy and I had most of it read before we returned from our vacation.nnThe next jaunt in our perfect family vacation was the Winchester Mystery House. There is nothing else like it. It was built by the widow of one of the Winchester heirs. She lost her small child and then her husband within a short time of one another and went crazy. She believed that the only way to keep bad spirits at bay was to continuously build on her house. This meant building around the clock and adding rooms, closets, etc. randomly, continuously expanding. There is a staircase that goes nowhere (it connects with the ceiling), a door on the second floor that opens into midair, and a cupboard that is only about an inch deep. It is a truly incredible house to walk through.nnBefore catching our return flight and ending our perfect family vacation we explored the Maritime Park. This is along the beach and consists of several old ships you can walk through. They still have small room with signs showing you where the different crew members worked and slept.nnThis was our perfect family vacation. Everything went well and we enjoyed all of the interesting sights. We all had our favorite parts about the trip, but nothing we did was dull.n