San Francisco
San Francisco,,,,What a city! Went to the city by the bay yesterday and I'll never forget it. There is so much I want to tell you. So many experiences I want to share. Where do I start. Let's start on the drive down. It's a 2 hour drive from Sara's house in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada mountains. If you've never been to California, just realize it's looks like a whole other country from the rest of the U.S. There's nothing and I mean nothing like it in Texas. We went from rolling hills to very steep hills in the city. From very dry to fog. The high at Sara's house yesterday was 99. The high in San Fran was 69. Just a 2 hours' drive in between. While we were on the road, we realized we didn't have a city map. Bad news? Yes and no. Sara and Jim remembered alot about the city. They've taken many of their grandkids on trips there. If you know a few of the streets, you can have a good start. There are 2, well known bridges. the Oakland Bay Bridge and The Golden Gate. The Oakland-Bay is the double decker bridge that collapsed during the earthquake a few years' back. We came in on it. By chance or was it, the first famous place we found was Haight-Asbury,,,the old hippie hangout. The hippies are gone, but there are still, some strange stores around. Let me say right now, the archetecture of the city homes are worth the trip. There are bay windows everywhere, all up and down the buildings and the colors are some you'd never expect. There were pale and dark blue houses, all shades of green, mustard, purple, and pink houses. But after driving around(There were certain places Sara wanted me to see.) we got a city map and found we were very close to one of the sites she wanted me to see,,,the Cliff House, a very fancy restaurant on South Beach. It was beautiful. There was a little island just off the beach. Nothing but rock. The Presidio was next and it was a marvel to see. To think of all the military history it has, it's a shame it's not still active. It'd be a great post. The Golden Gate Bridege lives up to it's reputation,,,not a more beautiful bridge in the world. But the biggest time I had was on Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. Jim and Sara knew a great place to eat,,,The Buena Vista. I highly recommend the Reuben sanwich. It's to die for. And the fries are great too. Well, it's hard to find parking down there. Really? So, they let me off in front and they went to find a parking place. By the way, it's right across from where you catch the cable cars. While I was waiting there, I must have heard a half dozen different languages spoken around me, excluding English. We decided to forego a cable car trip since there were such long lines. and went to Boudins', the bakery I wanted to see. We parked in the back and as we were coming around to the front, a guy started telling me he had to give me a citation for breaking a law. I figured as crazy and Califoirnia is, they didn't allow smoking on the streets and I stopped. It was a scam! And I wouldn't trade it for the world! He wrote me up for not smiling! Oh, he was beautiful! He had citation forms and his spcheil was perfect. He was going to "give" me 2 t-shirts...one for me and one for Sara. Then when he found out Jim was with us,and he was going to give him one too. But, I had to pay the fine for my citation,,,a donation to charity.(Think the charity was him.) It was $20. I gladly paid him. It was worth the 3 t-shirts and listening to him. Boudin's is a fantastic place! Make it a stop if yiou're in town. You can watch them make the bread and you can buy it inside along with some great gifts. The send the bread from the bakery to the sales area by wire baskets that travel on rails in the ceiling. The prices are great. I bought a mug for $6. Got my loaf of sourdough bread and the total was opnly $10! Not too bad! I'll dowenload photos when I figure out Sara's scanner. But let me tell you. Be in shape if you visit. The hills make walking hard. I was limited because my legs are bad. More later.
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Great read. Thanks for sharing. Sue