Berkeley Rose Garden

Sorry for not posting for quite awhile. The movers finally delivered our stuff on last Tuesday, so we have been busy setting up our new home for the past week. Unfortunately, they lost some of the screws for the dining table, so we also had to shop for a new dining table. After a week of intensive packing, our new home is mostly set up even though there are still some boxes to be unpack. Well, I guess it will take about a month for us to get settled in.

Anyway, we did make our way to Berkeley Rose Garden for an evening walk on the Sunday after we came back from Fisherman's Wharf. Thanks to Auntie Oranna recommendation.


The Rose Garden is landscaped in the form of a terraced amphitheater.

There are different varieties of roses in the garden. Unfortunately, they are not in full bloom since it is in late summer.

Kindness begets kindness

On our way home from fisherman's wharf, we met a man walking with a stick. Obviously, he has some problems with his eyesight, so he needs to move around with a stick. The man alighted from the train with us at Berkeley station. However, instead, walking in the direction of the elevator to get out of the station, he headed towards the boarding platform for the train that goes in the opposite direction. There was no train at the boarding platform at that moment. This meant that he would fall into the track if nobody were to stop him in time. Surprisingly, nobody bothered to stop him even though there were so many people in the station on Saturday afternoon.

Fortunately, daddy was alert to pull him back and asked him where he was going. He told daddy that he wanted to get out of the station to take bus number 18. Of course, daddy volunteered to help him on the elevator so that he could get out the BART station safely and continue his journey. After we parted with him outside the station, we took a walk back to our apartment.

When we reached the lobby of our apartment, daddy wanted to reach for his keys to open the door to the lobby. It was then that daddy realised that he could not find his keys. The first thought that came to his mind is that he could have possibly lost his keys in the streetcar. The streetcar that we took on our way back from Fisherman's wharf was packed with people and
all the jostling could have caused him to drop his keys without knowing. Oh dear! The thought of replacing the keys frightened him because he has recently drawn out a new set of keys for his office and lab, and he was instructed by the person-in-charge that he has to make a police report if he were to lose them.

Anyway, there was nothing much that we could do at that moment except to go home and think of a solution. Fortunately, mommy had her keys with her, so we could still get into the apartment. Just when we opened the door back to our apartment, daddy's eyes suddenly sparkled with joy. Guess what?

His bunch of keys was still hanging on the wall. Thank god! Our fears were unfounded. He did not bring his keys out in the first place. Fortunately, the day was not ruined by the incident of losing his keys. It ended up well. We had fun at Fisherman's wharf and daddy helped someone who was in need at the BART station.

This incident also brings us back to what happened two years on Valentine's day in Breinigsville. There was a heavy snowstorm on that morning and daddy could not go to work. Mommy was still nursing our one and a half months old little girl at home. From our house, we saw a man trying to move his car that was trapped in the snow. Being kindhearted as usual, Daddy went out to help the driver push his car to the side so that it would not block the incoming traffic. Pushing a car in the snow is not an easy task. Daddy had to first shovel the snow away from the tires and then push the car with the help of the engine running. Daddy had to repeat the process a couples of times just to move the car by a few inches. Mommy witnessed the whole incident as she was looking through the window while holding our little girl in her arms.

When daddy returned home, he was completely exhausted and he suddenly realised that he had lost the apartment keys. Unlike the incident that happened on last Saturday, he really lost his keys at that time. He could have possibly dropped his keys in the snow while helping the person
to push his car. However, there was no way we could find the keys in the snow no matter how hard we tried. After the snow stopped, there were people clearing the snow from the roads and some of the snow were either removed or pushed to the side by the bulldozer. So, the probability of finding the lost keys in the snow was close to zero.

I could not remember exactly whether it was one week or two weeks later that daddy suddenly saw something familiar lying on a pile of ice when he got out of his car. Miraculously, he found his lost keys sitting on a pile of ice. Thank god! He found his keys back.

Until now, we still find it very incredible how daddy managed to retrieve his lost keys. All I can say is that kindness begets kindness and we will be rewarded ultimately by the seeds that we sow.

Funfilled Saturday

Make a guess of where we went today.

Yes, we were on our way to Fisherman's wharf, which is one of the attractions in San Francisco. To reach there, we had to first take the BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) to Embarcadero and then transfer to the streetcar F. Today, Our little girl was introduced to two forms of public transport, the train and the streetcar.

Mommy is surprised to find that the design of the station control and the train are very similar to that in Singapore.

There are different types of streetcars found in San Francisco.

Mommy loves this design the best.

A picture of our sleepy little girl munching'cheerios' while waiting for the streetcar.She did not seem to have woken up yet.

Finally, we reached Pier 39 at Fisherman's wharf. Rows of shops and restaurants at Pier 39.

Our little girl was attracted to the merry-go-round and off she went, round and round with daddy.

Next, we took a walk at the pier. The view was spectacular.

Right across the sea is the famous Alcatraz Island which was used to be a military prison. According to daddy, nobody has ever escaped from the prison. It also housed the first lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States that was built to guide ships safely into San Francisco Bay during the Gold Rush.

It's time for some snacks. Well, we did not forget the pigeons as well.


Mommy loves the view of the yachts that were parked at the pier.

Our little girl spotted her favourite place (a playground) while we were walking alog the pier.

Lunch was the clam chowder soup served in San Francisco sourdough French bread and seafood platter.

After lunch, we went to the world famous sea lion viewing gallery. We did not see just one, but lots of sea lions basking in the sun.

From the wharf, we could also see the Golden Gate Bridge, a famous landmark of SA.


The last stop was the Aquarium of the Bay to catch a glimpse of the the rich aquatic life that lies below the surface of the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters.

Our little girl was completely mesmerized by sharks, rays, jelly fish and other aquatic creatures in the underwater tunnels.

We also had a chance to touch some of sea creatures like star fish, sea urchin and sea cucumbers.

A picture of mommy touching the leopard shark with sheri.

It was funfilled day at fisherman's wharf. Our little girl was completely exhausted at the end of the day.She had an early night, so mommy had the chance to put up this post, fresh from the oven today.

Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California - Sheri's first bus ride

Last Saturday, we brought our little girl to Lawrence Hall of Science. Actually, we wanted to have a picnic at Botanical garden on the hill top, but somehow we ended up at Lawrence Hall of Science, which is also located on the top of the hill.

Ever since she was born, Sheri has never taken a bus. The only bus that she is familiar with is the bus in her favourite musical DVD called "The wheel on the bus". To her, riding a bus is fun and enjoyable because she can sing the song "The wheel on the bus" with her favourite characters like the 'mango', 'papaya, and 'coco' on the bus as shown in the DVD.

We were always wondering whether she would get a cultural shock if we were to bring her on a real bus ride and she finds that nobody is singing on the bus. Well, I guess that she must learn to grapple with the truth ultimately. In Berkeley, the public transportation is well-developed, so it is a good opportunity to introduce her to various public transports.

Here it is, Sheri Foo's first bus ride. We took bus number 65 to go
up the hill. Berkeley is an environmentally friendly city. Most of the buses here run on fuel cell, so there is zero emission.

She was very composed throughout the whole journey. We wondered what went through in her little mind as she rode on the bus. No music and songs on the bus?

The bus went round and round and up the hill. After an half an hour's ride, we were up on the hill at the last stop. To our surprise, the bus did not stop in front of the botanical garden. Instead, we ended up at Lawrence Hall of Science.

A panoramic view of the bay area from Lawrence Hall of Science

See how naughty this little girl can be.

Lawrence Hall of Science features many hands-on exhibits for kids. It's time to go in to take a look at what is inside.

Our little girl was very excited to see an inverted image of herself in the mirror (left picture).

Rolling a ball down the well.



Entertaining our little girl with mommy's self directed puppet show.

Controlling the gears just by turning one of them.

California is an earthquake zone, so some of the exhibits were designed with the theme of earthquake in mind. For instance, we were asked to build a structure that could withstand the shocks of earthquakes. This was the structure that we built together. Not too bad, it did survive at least 3 earthquakes.

Talking about earthquakes, most Californians seem to be quite cool about it. They do not seem to bat an eyelid when we mention to them about earthquakes. This is something which mommy and daddy are still trying to get used to it.

Playing with speedboats. This station allows you to investigate the best design for speedboats.

Wow, what a great achievement!

One last shot with the DNA sculpture before we left.