Ringing in the New Year

No, this is not a belated post.

Happy Chinese New Year!  What did you do to celebrate?

If you do as the Romans do when in Rome, then in San Francisco you party for Chinese New Year.

We started the day with some traditional Chinese church basketball.  I stood on the sidelines watching babies and overheard a bench conversation: "Nick is perfect out there.  He doesn't make mistakes.  He's so patient with the ball."  I married a baller superstar.

From there we went down the hill to the Maritime Museum for some history.  Did you know it took about five months to sail from New York, around the horn, and up to San Francisco?  And some people thought that was a good idea!  Cutting in the Panama Canal reduced the trip by half.  The museum really laid out the reality of sailing to those of us who just hop on planes and complain about the lack of leg room.  We could all use a good dose of humility.

Check out the awesome dock that juts out of the city, right near the museum.  I would have trekked out to the end of it, but the rain was pounding.  Don't worry, though, I've still got three months to get back there.

 This is the top of a lighthouse.  It is beautiful even when not lit.  The center rings are lenses that make the light inside look bigger and the top and bottom curves are mirrors to reflect more of the light out to sea.

In honor of the day, the kids were taught to make origami shrimp and fish-press art.

After burgers at In-N-Out (be jealous), we bundled up and walked out on the rainy pier for a Lion Dance.  I did not know what to expect, but it was fantastic!  The rain made for a small crowd and the kids got personal with the "lions."

This is junk.  No, really, it is.

The highly anticipated event of the day was the parade.  It is the largest Chinese New Year parade outside Asia and is ranked as one of the top ten parades in the world.  We had an advantage being from Washington; with our webbed toes, the rain does not hold us back.

After an hour and a half, we couldn't see torturing the kids any longer.  We took them home for Chinese take-out to wrap up the day.  Bethelle was focused on chop sticks all night.  I tried to teach her, but both kids came up with "better" methods of using them.

Uh-oh.  I've discovered the ease and beauty of video editing.  Now I'll have to up my game in video capturing.  Enjoy.