Wiltbanks Gone Wild

This week has been UC Berkeley's Spring Break!! So while many of Cory's classmates are partying it up in exotic locations and some are even touring Europe, we are still here -- trapped with a child in kindergarten whose Spring Break doesn't come for another 2 weeks and trapped without a trust fund or lottery winnings to really party. But we did allow Alex to play hookie for one day and we did our version of "Wiltbanks Gone Wild." We went into the city of San Fran determined to make the best of the awesome locale we are in right now. So, this was one day of no holds barred, no expense spared, utter economic abandonment. For our current no income status, we might have gone a tad bit overboard. Here's the breakdown:

San Francisco Spending:

BART Tickets -- $21

Trolley Tickets -- $33 (we were going to this adventure the right way -- cable cars were a must. Too bad I didn't realize how uncomfortable a mode of transportation a cable car is. They are crowded and hard to balance on -- especially for one whose abdominal muscles are severely compromised. Thank goodness many people gave up their seat for the pregnant lady.)

ATM fee $2 -- we have GOT to remember that no one accepts anything other than cash in the city

Map of the city and the public transportation that gets you through it -- $3

Italian Lunch for 4 in Little Italy -- $42 (but can you really put a price on having your children discover a love for calamari?)

One Cannoli for dessert -- $4.75 (Cory insisted on this purchase but was nice enough to give us all a tiny bite)

2 Ghirardelli Chocolate Fudge Sundaes -- $17 (this was actually my only reason for wanting to go into the city so we couldn't pass on this. An exorbitant amount to pay for ice cream, but I'd do it again.)

One emergency purchase at Victoria's Secret -- $45 (my old bra actually broke -- this was a must!)

Dinner at a 50's Diner -- $32 (Dad's choice of Tai food was vetoed this time, one exotic meal a day should be enough)

I don't want to even add it up. I think it's enough for our whole family to have gone to Disneyland for the day instead of just across the bay. But we did do some things that were free:

The Trolley Car Museum was free.
Rolling up the kids pants and letting them play on the beach, pretending pirates were coming after them was free.
And the sitting on the sidewalk like vagrants, waiting for the over-crowded trolley to have mercy on us and pick us up was free.

And the kids having a public meltdown on the steps that acted as an ampitheater? Well, that's just priceless.