The Golden Gate Bridge

I thoroughly enjoyed my final Monday of freedom and leave of absence. We left the hotel before 9:00 and went over to Laura’s condo to pickup our rental car where we left it on Saturday. Parking at the hotel is $50/day and because we knew we wouldn’t need the car while staying downtown John decided to leave it at Laura’s. We had a little trouble with the pass code but John was able to reach Laura at the hospital and we got into the garage after about 15 minutes. First we drove west from Laura’s to Golden Gate Park. Once at the park we toured the Japanese Tea Garden, what a treat! The tea garden is beautiful, colorful and so peaceful. Next we stopped at the memorial to the USS San Francisco (badly damaged but victorious in the fiercely fought nighttime Naval battle of Guadal Canal… history lesson provided by John). Next we stopped at the Palace of the Legion of Honor but this beautiful spot is closed on Mondays, but beautifully situated on a promontory overlooking the Golden Gate bridge. Then we stopped at another memorial to soldiers lost in coastal waters in WWII. We drove across the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and stopped on the other side at a lookout and snapped a few more pictures. Next is we drove to Sausalito where we had a pleasant lunch near but not on the water. Then we headed north to Muir Woods a national monument protecting thousands of California coastal redwoods. We spent about two hours in the park admiring the majestic redwoods and hiking. After we left the park we made a stop a few miles away at Muir Beach and oh my goodness! You can’t even imagine the beautiful view and unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me to document it but trust me on this one… it was a sight to behold standing on a cliff and looking down at the rocky coastline. While driving toward our BB&N we spotted about 10 seals but couldn’t get close enough to have much of a look. Then we drove through the funky little town of Bolinas, apparently they don’t want anyone to know they exist because there are no road signs to direct you to Bolinas, but John was there a few years ago and wanted me to see the place. It’s a funky little town with a real laid back feel. Then we made our way to Olema where we’re spending the next two nights at The Olema Inn and Restaurant. We had a casual dinner at a restaurant in town called the Farm House.

Seeing San Francisco

It was a gorgerous day in San Francisco and we didn’t waste one minute of it! We left our hotel in the Nob Hill area and headed into Chinatown before 10:00. We walked around Chinatown for a little while but it was pretty quiet with most of the shops and stores just beginning to open. Just on the outskirts of Chinatown we walked through a park where 50-75 homeless people were gathered for breakfast, free hair cuts, and what sounded to us like church music. Near the park was an open market where I saw everything from jewelry to wooden bowls for sale. The market was just across the street from pier 1. Laura wanted to meet us for breakfast so she and John discussed a meeting place. Laura said she would meet us at the Ferry Building near pier 38. We walked from pier 1 to pier 40 near the baseball stadium but didn’t see the Ferry building. It turns out that we didn’t see the Ferry Building because it was literary next to pier 1 where we started. Laura met us and drove us back to pier 1. We had a great time walking around the pier while enjoying fresh bread, cheese, and olives for a mid morning snack. Laura headed back home to catch up on some work and shop for the dinner she’s hosting for us this evening. John and I walked up many steep hills (it is SF after all) and eventually reached the Coit Tower built in 1933 as a sightseeing spot. You get amazing views of the city from the tower. We got views of downtown, the bay bridge, the golden gate, bridge and Alcatraz! After exploring the coit tower we returned to Chinatown for a second look, and then skipped over to little Italy where I had a beer and John had a Coke. Then we decided to walk up Lombard Street for more nice views of the city. We got back to our hotel shortly after 4:00 and had to scrabble a bit and get ready for dinner at Laura’s. Dinner at Laura’s was superb. The meal was delicious with salmon, green beans, a salad, and sourdough baguette. Laura and her brother Thomas are John’s first cousins (his dad’s brother’s children). Tom is a writer and magazine editor who is busy traveling all over the county promoting his latest book. Laura is a surgeon obviously keeping busy with her work. Thomas is married to Whitney, a social worker and they have two little boys, almost 3 year old, Rex and 5month old Buckminster. Adorable little kids, Rex presented me with gifts throughout the evening usually items belonging to his aunt Laura, coins, a bracelet, a piece of paper with Arabic writing on it, and a black tank top. Rex wanted to sit at the head of the table and assigned me to sit at the opposite end Buck is a strong little guy who loves to stand with assistance and according to Whitney he’s been doing this since he was three week old. I’m going to sign off now because this post is getting long and we have lots to see in San Francisco today including the California Redwoods. Again, no time to proof this post so forgive or just ignore the errors.

The Industrial City

Greetings from San Francisco nicknamed The Industrial City? We arrived here yesterday at around 2:30, rented a car and drove to John's cousin, Laura's condo. The plan is to leave the rental car there until Monday when we need it because parking in downtown SF is crazy expensive and apparently you don't really need a car in downtown. We spent about an hour at Laura's before taking a taxi to our hotel downtown. We're staying at a really beautiful old hotel called the Stanford Court located in the Nob Hill section, a Marriott property but it doesn't look like any Marriott I've ever seen. The hotel decor is my favorite style, art deco and much of what I've seen of SF is also art deco architecture. We took a little walk around the city after we dropped off our luggage. We walked to the edge of China town and back up several steep hills to our hotel. Laura picked us up for dinner around 7:15. We had dinner at a very good Italian restaurant called Piacera, really some of the best Italian food I've ever eaten. After dinner we all took a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf because John wanted us to see a place called Buena Vista, home of the original Irish Coffee. John treated us to Irish coffees and both Laura and I were expecting decaf coffees. We had no idea we would be sipping hot coffee laced with alcohol so we spent a few minutes making faces with each sip. It was pretty cold out last night and we both agreed that the Irish coffee warmed us from the inside out. We took the cable car back to the hotel around 11:30. I can now add to my list of new experiences, riding a cable car. The cable cars are old and make a rumbling sound that made me think of a rickety wooden wagon full of bowling balls and glass bottles being pulled up stairs. Laura has lived in SF for five years but it was her first time on a cable car. It is also very expensive to ride a cable car, $5/ride no transfers or $13 for a day pass. I imagine the price is so steep because it must take an awful lot of money to maintain those old cable cars, tracks, and drivers. The cable cars require two operators and operating or driving a cable car requires a lot of physical labor and looks like hard work. We're going out in a few minutes to have breakfast, explore the city and take pictures. Tonight we're having dinner at Laura's with her brother Tom, his wife Whitney and their two young sons.

Sorry, I've had no time to proof this post:>) busy trying to get out and enjoy the day.