Chapter 6 – California – Fathers' Day weekend 2025
"Memorial Day long weekend, Fathers' Day weekend, or Fourth of July weekend?" Tony called out to Ziva from his office.
Ziva poked her head into his doorway, "For what?"
"California trip; I'm thinking San Francisco area. You know, Chinatown, the cable cars, Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's' Wharf…"
"I think we should take at least four days to properly explore the area. On the plus side, we should be able to find a direct flight from here to there. Do you think Fathers' Day weekend would be less likely to have a slew of tourists?" Ziva thought about traveling on a national holiday weekend.
He nodded agreement to her first choice of weekends, "We can take Friday and Monday off or Monday and Tuesday. In fact, Monday and Tuesday would allow us to fly out on Friday night or Saturday morning and return Tuesday night. That would probably be cheaper airfare."
Ziva found three hotels with large suites that would accommodate the family in multiple bedrooms. They were not inexpensive, but given that the suites had full kitchens, living room areas, dining areas, and a bathroom for each bedroom, she preferred the suite to multiple rooms. She showed Tony the options and the first choice was a national chain in the heart of town. Ziva checked if the suite was available and by chance it was. Tony told her to book the two-story suite with its three bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The best direct flight was from BWI, but they didn't mind driving to any of the various airports around DC to get the best deal. The flights were booked and another state adventure was on the calendar.
That night after getting the kids to bed, Tony looked at some options of places to visit in San Francisco to start planning the family's visit.
"This will be state number five, Ziva. We started this bucket list almost a year ago, and we'll have five states done in a year. At this rate, it will be ten years before we hit them all. LJ will be a teenager! Tali could be on her own," Tony looked up at his wife with a slightly shocked expression at the thought of his number one mini-Ninja being grown up.
Ziva thought about his comments, "I do not want to think about our children being grown. Perhaps we should plan some more efficient trips. For example, to get to Alabama, we drove in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. We could plan a multiple-state trip and cross several states off the list."
"I think after this trip, we should be planning multi-state trips," he agreed. "My goal is to see them all before Tali turns eighteen; what do you think?"
"Agreed, if we are going to see all fifty as a family, we should get the trips done before they are adults." Ziva grabbed his tablet and turned the screen so they both could see, "Now about this trip…"
~California~
"I have all seven Muni Visitor Passports downloaded to both of our phones," Ziva reminded Tony as the family boarded the BART train at the San Francisco airport. I bought the seven-day passes, because that was less expensive than a three-day and a one-day to cover all four days we will be here."
Tony pulled up his pass to reread what all it covered, "Unlimited rides on all means of transportation, including the cable cars and streetcars. I like that. I have an app on my phone to help us plan the Muni transportation for where we want to go. I noticed that the cable cars stop at the Cable Car Museum, which is free by the way."
"Have you seen this one, Abba?" Tali showed her father the website for Musée Mécanique. "It's at Fisherman's Wharf Pier 45 and it's free. I think it looks like fun."
"You can look at that later when we are at our hotel suite," Ziva was watching the BART stations. "We must get off the train at the next stop and then get to the surface to walk to the hotel."
Riv looked at her Ima, "How far do we have to walk? Who is going to carry our backpacks?"
"It is about two-tenths of a mile or a five-to-seven-minute walk, yaldati. You will carry your own backpack. Since we have only three suitcases on wheels, Abba, Tali, and I will each have one," Ziva responded to her middle child.
"Well, I don't like to walk…" the five-year-old pouted.
Tony ruffled her hair, "Get used to it kiddo; we are going to be using public transit and doing a lot of walking while we are here. It's the best way to get around the city."
Tali showed her parents her phone screen, "We can get a cable-car just across from the train station and it stops by the hotel."
"If we did not have the luggage, we could do that," Ziva responded. "We cannot bring the luggage on the cable cars, unfortunately. However, after we get settled into our suite, we could take the cable car to the Cable Car Museum."
Tony nodded, "I think that's a good plan for today. Maybe if we feel up to it, we could hit Chinatown as well? Or see the famous Lombard Street twists and turns?"
"We shall see. We have three full days yet to visit the places we would like to see."
Ziva led her family from the train and to the street-level. They walked Powell Street to their hotel and got checked in. The multi-level suite was like a house atop the hotel; located on the thirty-first floor, the views over the city were amazing. Anthony and LJ claimed the room with the king-sized bed; Tali had one of the doubles to herself, while the twins had the other double-bed room. The girls shared a bathroom, and Tali placed their shared suitcase on a stand near the bathroom so all three could easily access it. Anthony and LJ placed their shared suitcase on the luggage stand in the room and tried the bed. LJ noted the large-screen TV on the opposite wall. Tony carried his and Ziva's suitcase to the master bedroom.
In the kitchen area, Ziva determined how much room for food she had with the refrigerator, pantry, and cabinets. She inspected the cooking area and the pots and pans in the cabinets as well as the flatware, dishes, and beverage ware. She did a search on her phone for the nearest supermarket and found a store from a well-known chain within a half-mile walking distance. She started planning a shopping list for their outing that afternoon.
"Whatcha doin'?" Tony came up behind his wife in the kitchen, snaking his arms around her.
Ziva leaned back into her husband, "Making a shopping list so we can have breakfast and snacks here in the suite."
He softly nuzzled into her neck, "You're all I need for a snack…"
The sound of the boys running down the stairs interrupted the parents' moment. The girls weren't far behind.
"When's lunch, Ima? I'm hungry!" Anthony ran into the kitchen.
"Me too," LJ added as the three girls came in the room behind him.
Riv piped in, "We passed that burger chain on the way here; I could eat two kids' meals today."
Tony looked at his better half, "Okay with me to do fast food burgers for lunch. And it's on the way to the cable car stop we need for the line to go to the Cable Car Museum."
The family walked to the fast-food restaurant to get lunch, then to the cable car stop for the line that would take them to the Cable Car Museum. The car that arrived a few minutes after the family got to the stop was relatively empty so the kids all got to sit for the ride. Tony and Ziva chose to stand holding on to the interior poles for standing riders so that others could take seats.
At the Cable Car Museum, they learned about the history of cable cars in San Francisco, including the competing cable car companies that eventually merged to form the present-day services run by the city's transportation authority. Many old cars were on display, some with logos of the now defunct operating companies. The large area with the working cables was fascinating for every DiNozzo. The large gears turned to move the cables under the streets. The large, powerful electric motors wound the cables which in turn propelled the cable cars. The motors were originally steam-powered. They learned that the system used four cables: one for the California Street line, one for Powell Street, and one for each of the lines off of Powell. The cables are over an inch in diameter, with six steel strands of nineteen wires each wrapped around a core of sisal rope.
Each cable car has a mechanical grip which latches onto the cable, much like a huge pair of pliers. The gripman (or grip-woman—two women in history have served in that position) can 'take' or 'drop' the 'rope,' as the cable is called, as needed to start, or stop the car. The cables move at a constant nine -and-one-half miles per hour. If a cable car is going faster than that, usually on the Powell Street line before the split to the two end lines, it's a sure thing that the car is going downhill and the grip is not holding the rope tightly. The world's only cable car crossing is at Powell and California Streets.
After purchasing t-shirts for the family, some books about the cable cars, and a small model of a cable car, the family boarded a car outside the museum to head to the top of Lombard Street's famous crooked block, eight tight switchback turns in six hundred feet of road. The street is one-way down-hill, and has flowerbeds of hydrangeas lining the curves. Two flights of stairs for pedestrians line the sides of the street. From the top, where the cable car stops, one can see the San Francisco skyline, including the Coit Tower, parts of the bay, and bridges over it. The walk down yielded many pictures on cell phones and with the family's digital cameras. At the bottom, they captured the iconic view of the street with the plants and twisting red-brick roadway.
"I would not want to live on that street," LJ commented to the others as they walked to a nearby bus stop to head towards Chinatown.
"Why?" Beth asked out of curiosity.
"Too many cars!" he replied.
Tali added, "And trying to get out of, or into, your own driveway must be a real challenge. I agree with LJ."
From the bus stop, they walked to the Dragon's Gate into China town and strolled a bit. In one of the shops, there was a forty-foot-long dragon kite on display spiraling up over a staircase in the building. The kids were in awe. Tony got under the head and snapped several cool shots looking upward.
They were all getting tired and ready to head back to the suite, so they boarded another bus to stop at the supermarket for some groceries after having dinner in Chinatown. Each carried a bag of groceries as they walked to the cable car stop across from Powell Station and hopped on to the stop by the hotel.
Back in the room, Ziva put up groceries with help from Tali and Anthony, while Tony found a family-oriented film on one of the cable tv channels. All agreed that their first day had been fun and that they were looking forward to exploring more, especially the Fisherman's Wharf area, over the next three days. By 2200 local time, even the parents were asleep.
The next morning, Ziva made omelets for breakfast before they headed out for the day's adventures. The plan was to take the cable car to the end of the line by Fisherman's Wharf and spend the day exploring the popular destination. As they watched the movie the night before, the kids had leafed through the books from the hotel showing sights to see in San Francisco. Anthony had made note of the Wyland Whale Walls near Pier 39 and the Museum of 3-D Illusions near Pier 45; LJ and Rivka saw the pictures of the sea-lion viewing area and the carousel and wanted to visit both areas. Beth and Tali wanted to see the Musical Stairs. The Musée Mécanique, on Pier 45 was also on the list of places the family wanted to be sure to see.
"We will try to see all of these, but it will probably take the two days that Abba and I have planned for this area," Ziva assured her brood. "I would like to visit the Aquarium of the Bay by Pier 39 as well."
After checking the Muni app on his phone, Tony suggested, "Perhaps today we should do the F tram to Pier 39 and then tomorrow take the Powell-Hyde cable car to the Pier 45 area. That way we can see all we want to see in one area each day."
At the end of the day, on the ride back to the hotel, the kids discussed the various things they'd seen that day. The Whale Walls were interesting to view, the San Francisco Carousel was a hit with everyone, and the Aquarium was a fun activity. Tali found the Musical Stairs were a bit of a disappointment; while it was fun to sound the tones by climbing or descending the stairs, she was bummed that trying to play a tune was a challenge unless the notes were consecutive. Playing a scale was easy, but that was also boring.
"Those sea lions were not at all nice to see; they were smelly," Rivka held her nose as she talked about a disappointment for her. "I really liked the Solve It! Puzzle store and play area."
"Yeah, we all bought something at that store," Tali noted. "Even Ima and Abba found puzzles they liked. I'm glad we emptied out our backpacks before we went there. I'd rather carry my purchases and souvenirs in my pack than in my hands."
Anthony listened to his siblings, then added his favorites, "I liked the puzzles, too. And the arcade was awesome. There was so much to do there. I liked the aquarium as well."
"But the waffle cones were the best!" LJ had been impressed with the size of the cones and the amount of ice cream that could be packed into one of them. He'd convinced the others to have the cones for lunch. "Too bad Ima wouldn't let us have them again for dinner."
Ziva chuckled at her little boy; that child sure loved his ice cream. "One meal of just ice cream and toppings is enough for this trip, motek. You seemed to like that seafood sampler plate you ordered for dinner."
Seven tired DiNozzos arrived at their suite just after 2100. It had been a full day of activity and sightseeing and none of them protested when Ziva suggested an early night and that if the kids wanted they could wind down in their rooms with a bit of TV. Each room had its own television. LJ and Anthony tuned to a kids' channel but fell asleep within thirty minutes.
Tali chose to read one of her new books that she bought at one of the bookstores on Pier 39. She also fell asleep within about thirty minutes. Rivka and Beth got on their tablets and played a few games, checked out the places they planned to visit the next day and had lights out in about an hour.
Monday morning brought some fog, but it didn't stop the family from venturing out to the second day of sightseeing in the Fisherman's Wharf district. The rode the Powell-Hyde cable car to the end of the line near Pier 45. They all watched as the cable car was turned around on the turntable for the trip back into the heart of the city before heading to the attractions.
First up was the Museum of 3-D Illusions. Anthony was somewhat disappointed when he realized it was very much like the virtual reality headsets they had at home. The family took some pictures with the various illusions and then headed out to the Pier and the World War II era ships that had been turned into museums. The USS Pampanito submarine was docked nearer to the street. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien was a Liberty class ship; both ship tours were self-guided. Knowing the characteristics of the two types of vessels, neither DiNozzo parent felt a need to do the tours and were relieved when the five youngsters were not very interested.
They moved on to the Musée Mécanique and ended up spending several hours inside. Almost all of the mechanical devices in the museum could be operated or played. The arcade style games were a hit with all seven DiNozzos. Tony found several pinball machines that reminded him of ones he played as a child in the resorts in the Hamptons on Long Island. Ziva was intrigued by the models of Ferris wheels and other rides. Tali spent most of her time with the mechanical music makers. All of them thought the fortune teller machine was creepy, but they laughed at some of the fortunes each one got after inserting their quarters.
Finally emerging at about 1400, both Anthony and LJ realized they were hungry about the same time as Tali commented about eating lunch.
Ziva found a sign pointing towards a well-known bakery for its sourdough bread and the family headed that way. All of the kids also got sourdough fish-shaped rolls to carry out for a snack later in the day.
Tony suggested they head back to the cable car station to ride back towards town. Once nearer to the hotel, they could decide if they wanted to go back to the hotel, head towards Chinatown, or in another direction. With the late lunch that was also filling, Ziva figured they could eat a light dinner back at the suite. The five kids had their fish-shaped sourdough rolls, and she could make something to go with them and for her and Tony from the food she'd bought.
They headed back to the suite and had a family game night with the puzzles and games bought at the Solve It! Store. Tuesday morning turned into the trip to Chinatown and after lunch the family headed back to pack up their things and check out of the hotel. They then headed to the BART station at Powell Station to ride the train to the airport for their flight home.
