Father's Day Aboard the USS Potomac

The USS Potomac -- FDR's Presidential yacht -- is berthed at Jack London Square in Oakland.  Lovingly restored, it is now operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit as a working museum.  You can tour the ship at dockside.  Even more fun, you can take a cruise on the San Francisco Bay on the Potomac.

That's what we did on Father's Day.  The cruise lasted three hours.  We went under the new span of the Bay Bridge (where the gargoyle that protects the bridge was clearly visible), around Angel Island, under the Golden Gate Bridge, past San Francisco's Marina, downtown, and AT&T Park, and back to Oakland again.  They served boxed lunches and had an open bar.  The docents were fantastic and fun.    The tour was well worth the price of admission.

Annual Pirate's Festival, Father's Day Weekend, June 18,19, 2016

This year we visited the Pirate's festival in Vallejo, CA.  I enjoyed the huge turkey leg for lunch, and my dog enjoyed the leftovers!  Dogs are not allowed at this event, other than service dogs.  My son really enjoyed Pirate School where he earned a diploma after several tasks such as rope tying, a dice game, and other activities.  It was really warm in the sun so I recommend wearing hats and sunscreen.  My friend C. got a really cute fancy hat at the hat shop.  There was also a great book shop with all kinds of pirate books.

Pirate Festival
www.norcalpiratefestival.com
Father's Day weekend
June 18,19 2016
289 Mare Island Way
Vallejo, CA

Pirate and Dragon

Northern California Pirate Festival 2016

The Northern California Pirate Festival is going on right now, June 18-19, at the Vallejo waterfront (right next door to the Vallejo ferry building).  Activities for kids, arts & crafts (pirate-themed and other stuff, too), food, drink, and lots of folks dressed up as pirates!  Lots of fun to on Father's Day weekend.

Meccano Robot

Walking down the sidewalk with "Rover," our home-built robot (from the Meccano G15KS kit).