The Great Heatwave of 2017

For Labor Day I had coordinated a multi-family camping trip near a local lake.  We planned to fish, swim, bike, and bring our dogs to romp on the beach.  I had prepped meals to feed 20 people, and most of our camping gear out and ready to load.  Then the weather forecasts got worse and worse-- 116F was the high at Lake Del Valle, the hottest spot in the entire Bay Area. With temperatures similar to Death Valley, Mattias tried to talk some sense into me, "The entire purpose of this trip is to have fun, right? Do you really see anyone having fun in that heat?" For a day I researched what it was like to camp in Death Valley, purchased water guns, water balloons, and a mister. Then I came to my senses when San Francisco hit a high of 106F.

Instead we opted for a staycation, to enjoy our city in a way we almost never do. We brought all the camping food to Crissy Field for a day of grilling and chilling, and my dad brought the kids' fishing poles and a crab net to see what the bay had for us to catch.

With just a few chicken necks we trapped 3-4 small rock crabs every 15 minutes.  After an hour the boys were pros, asking when it was "Crab O'clock", and hauling the net up themselves.

For the first time in my life I swam, whole body, in the San Francisco Bay.  In the intense heat and absence of breeze, the usually cold water was an invigorating oasis. That day, our only goal was to eat and stay cool. 

The next day was cooler in temperature but with humidity that reminded us of our time in Arlington.  As promised, we brought out the kids bikes to give Linus a chance to test out his very belated birthday present.

After meeting our friends at Duboce Park and finding refuge at our neighborhood burger spot (it was too hot to cook), we came back to our roof for water play. The water balloon war, while fun at first, didn't end well. (When do they ever end well?) After eating our grilled taco feast we retreated inside for a few episodes of Voltron. In case you were wondering, yes, the grown men watched too.

On Labor Day we took a trip across the Goldden Gate to visit dear friends who recently moved back to the Bay Area.  We packed 3 bikes, 3 kids, and a 70lb dog into our car. With the trunk filled with bikes, Ted had nowhere to go but on the front seat with me.

Marin is famous for its bike trails, and we found an old rail trail near our friends' new place.  After a few miles the kids were tired, not accustomed to cycling very far.

While I normally hate diversions from my master plans, the common sense thing to do was the more enjoyable and relaxing thing to do, too.  We saw all the people we wanted to see (and then some), ate all the yummy Korean and Mexican food, biked, swam, fished, and had our dog outdoors. The heatwave didn't ruin our long weekend after all, it made it more memorable.