STEVE'S 30TH BIRTHDAY!!!

I tried to make it as special for him as possible which meant running around like a blue-arsed fly for a few days!

PRE-BIRTHDAY:
For his present I emailed Pascal and asked him to drew a personalised picture of me and Steve in San Francisco. I left the concept totally open and just told him about our blog so he could get ideas and also see the photos so he would know what I looked like! I knew Pascal worked super fast but I asked him at the end of September to make sure he had enough time to do the picture and get it printed for me which he very kindly did! It only took Pascal a couple of days to send me the first draft and I loved it straight away! It totally captured Steve and I (me feeding him cake!) and the Golden Gate Bridge totally summed up SF.

Keeping the picture a surprise for nearly 2 weeks was difficult, first I had to tell Steve not to look at my emails in case he saw one from Pascal. Then Steve kept saying "I might ask Pascal to draw a picture of us before we leave" so I started to panic but I also knew Steve would really like the surprise. 2 days before Steve's birthday I went to meet Pascal outside their work building to pick up the prints. I was a bit worried Steve might see me and I'd be busted! But Pascal met me and gave me the prints without a hitch and as a little thank you I gave him some cookies I'd made (hence the need for vital ingredients!). One of the prints was HUGE, almost as big as me and the other is about A5 size, so carrying them home was fun! I also had to find a hiding place which isn't easy when you live in a studio flat with no furniture! So I hid them in the wardrobe behind our suitcases and gave Steve strict instructions not to go poking around in there.

As Steve was taking the Thursday off work for his birthday I had to get all my surprises ready on Wednesday. So I went and bought some balloons and pretty string and tied balloons up everywhere so he'd see them when he got home from work.
Then I made Irish Apple Cake which I've made before in the UK but it was really difficult to get the weight/cup conversion right so the cake came out totally different which was really disappointing!

However I didn't have time to make another one as Steve sent me a message to say that we could take our airbed back to the shop and exchange it for a new one. Yes our poor airbed was feeling rather deflated and no amount of pumping could restore it to its former glory. It had served us well for the first couple of weeks but now it was deflating at such a rate that by the middle of the night it was half flat and we'd wake up on the floor. So as soon as I'd finished making the cake I had to carry the bed to Steve's work as the shop is just up the road from there. Steve was still finishing off some work so I waited in the reception area for him. He asked me if I wanted to meet Pascal and I said no because I thought it would be easier than trying to pretend we hadn't already met. But then just as we were about to leave, Pascal comes into the room and Steve introduced us! Pascal looked totally shocked to see me so I quickly said "Nice to finally meet you" and he was on the ball and played along perfectly so Steve was none the wiser! Phew!

So we got a new bed and walked home and Steve loved all the balloons! I really wanted to show him his present there and then because the suspense was killing me but we decided to wait until his birthday.

HIS BIRTHDAY:
I'm so accustomed to waking up at 8am for when Steve goes to work, that today was no different and I was really excited that it was his birthday that I didn't really let him have a lie-in! I kept asking him when he wanted his present and he said after he checked his emails and Facebook for his birthday messages. So the time finally came for me to present him with the picture and the look of surprise and happiness on his face was priceless - I really wished I'd taken a photo! Then he spoke to his mum on MSN messenger and she thought the picture was fantastic too. Ah, I love it when a plan comes together!

So where were we going to spend the day celebrating Steve's birthday? IN PRISON! Alcatraz prison that is! We'd booked our tickets online (www.alcatrazcruises.com) for 2.20pm, so we left our flat about 11am and took the streetcar to the Embarcadero and walked round the Ferry Building for a little while. We had an early lunch and then walked to Pier 39 to get an ice cream as it was a scorching hot day. Then we headed to Pier 33 where we would get the boat to Alcatraz. We had to be at the pier 30 minutes before we were due to depart and whilst we were waiting we saw about 5 planes flying overhead doing tricks. We later discovered they were the Blue Angels (like the UK's Red Devils) and they were practising for their air show to celebrate Fleet Week over the weekend. Steve got a bit frustrated trying to take photos of them whilst we were waiting for the boat, but he got some great ones when we were on Alcatraz as they practised for a good few hours all around the Bay.

I was really glad that we'd pre-booked and printed our tickets as the queue was pretty long. When you have your tickets there is also a queue to board the boat at designated departure times. Halfway down the line there is a photographer who takes a photo of you with a picture of Alcatraz in the background and you can buy these when you return from the island. Our picture looked nice but they charge $22 for 2 small photos which is a bit steep! Anyway, we got on the boat and headed straight for the back of the boat as Steve said that would be the best place to take photos of SF as the boat turned around. Steve was still trying to photograph the planes but they flew so fast that he kept missing them and then I just did a point-and-shoot and got a perfect one which annoyed him a bit!

The boat to Alcatraz was surprisingly fast and we got there in about 10 minutes as it is only 1 1/4-miles from San Francisco. When we got off the boat we listened to the short introduction given by one of the island workers and then headed up the hill to the Video Presentation room where we watched a really interesting 17-minute film about the history of the island and the building. For all you history buffs out there (Hey Dad!) we learnt that it served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal maximum security prison until 1963 when it was closed due to deterioration and high running costs. An interesting story was that in 1969 a group of Native Americans from many different tribes landed on Alcatraz and demanded the Government sell them the island as so many Native Americans had been forcibly relocated from their land. The occupation lasted 19 months and several buildings were damaged or destroyed.

We then walked up a steepish hill on the old service road to the Cell House which is at the top of the 25-acre island. Here we got our headsets for the 35-minute audio tour, which was really good as it guided you around the whole cell block and it had narration from former prisoners and guards. There were also noises from famous events such as escape attempts, "The Battle of '46", food riots, and surviving solitary confinement so it really brought the place to life.

Part of the tour led us outside where we got a great view of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge and of course those Blue Angels! Almost everyone forgot about the Alcatraz tour and just stopped and watched the planes, some ringing their friends on mobile phones to say how excited they were! Steve really enjoyed watching the planes and we joked I'd arranged it specially for his birthday. We finished the tour and then headed back to the boat about 5.30pm as we were both really tired. There is also a nature trail which passes through a protected bird sanctuary and features beautiful plants and flowers but we were far too knackered to walk it.

Our plan was to get the streetcar back and stop off at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, but the streetcar was packed and just whizzed past us, so we ended up walking which wasn't easy when you need a wee and your feet are in agony! But we made it to the restaurant only to find it packed too, so we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. We had a nice dinner and then treated ourselves to a taxi back to the flat as we were dog-tired by this point - I think I fell asleep about 9pm, I'm such a party animal! But we both really enjoyed the day and can highly recommend going to Alcatraz, whether it's your birthday or not!

The next day we totally chilled out as I struggled to stay awake and I didn't get out of bed until about 2pm, I guess I really needed to recharge my batteries!