Savoring San Francisco

Ryan and I made the drive through California wine country down the 101 towards beautiful San Francisco on a clear, sunny day. We follow the Acura’s GPS dutifully, so we knew the Golden Gate Bridge was coming, and yet it still surprised us, popping up around the bend bright red and shining.

We were on our way to meet our hosts, relatives of some good friends of mine, who graciously offered to put us up even though they’d never met Ryan or me. I cannot stress enough how lucky Ryan and I were for this act of kindness from (basically) strangers. The flat where our hosts lived was literally a few blocks up from the bay, within easy walking distance of several main attractions, like the Golden Gate Recreation Area, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, etc. Ryan and I were absolutely astounded when we pulled up to their lovely apartment building, one of the many old, stylish buildings San Fran is known for. The apartment itself may have been small, but our hosts treated us like kings with every kindness they could, even though we were underfoot.

What was even better than the flat and its location was the company itself. Our hosts graciously took us to dinner that night, where Ryan and I enjoyed fresh seafood and we shared wonderful conversation with our new found friends. Since Irv happens to write novels for fun (I highly recommend The Men on the Grassy Knoll) he would rivet us with stories whenever he spoke. Stories of San Francisco, his family, and how he met his wonderful wife. There was lots of advice given too, which I tried to dutifully jot down when we got back to the flat. My favorite was Irv’s lecture to Ryan to always follow his dreams.

Feeling blessed, Ryan and I were able to explore much of the city from our prime lodging location with all the local tips from our hosts. We biked along the bay and rode out on the Golden Gate, ate at In n’ Out Burger (my first time ever) and attended a Giants game at the famously beautiful AT&T park. There, it’s customary for kayakers to hang out in the bay which the park overlooks, waiting for home runs to come whistling over the low park wall to bob in the water. No luck at this game though, and the Giants easily beat my hometown team, the Rockies, not that we were all that surprised.

No luck this time...

Chinatown

We decided to walk back through the city after the game, stopping in what we thought was the most authentic Chinese restaurant in China town we could find. We weren’t disappointed. I’ve never tasted Chinese food so good, sweet and sour pork, pork fried rice, egg rolls, and complimentary green tea. It was almost enough for us to forget our real dinner plans, sushi for my belated birthday dinner. When in San Francisco, one must take full advantage of the culinary experiences it offers.

After Chinatown, Ryan and I wondered through the city, running into Little Italy along the way, and lots of beautiful churches. We eventually ended up down at Pier 39 where the sea lions were basking in the sun, smooshed together and crawling atop one another for the best sunning spot. We walked through Fisherman’s Wharf to get back to home base, trapped along the way by a “police man” who wanted to “ticket” Ryan for not holding “the beautiful girls hand.” He had to make a donation to the man’s cause (supposedly a food kitchen for the homeless) in order for him to “release me back to him.” Fortunately for me, Ryan paid up.

Sushi dinner for my birthday was quite delicious, and was preceded by a walk by “the most crooked street in America,” which really is an impressive example of how hilly San Fran really is. We ate sushi almost to our fill, but we had to save room for dessert, which was this:

Maybe the best and worst part about the location of our hosts’ apartment was that it was just up the road from the Ghirardelli factory. We’ve never had a richer ice cream sundae, or a more expensive one, but it was well worth it (as you can probably imagine).

Our last day in the city, we woke early, said our goodbyes to our lovely hosts, and retrieved our car from the national park across the street to drive to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Gardens, which was my favorite memory from San Francisco when I visited for the first time. The attention to detail in the gardens absolutely amazes me every time. Every branch and bloom is carefully considered and altered to match the ambiance of the place and the architecture around it. If we’d had more time, I would have loved to actually ordered some tea and rest awhile in that peaceful place (though Ryan thought it was more apt for paintball than tea), but we were headed to Tahoe that day to meet my parents.

It was when we got back to the car that we saw the smashed glass all over the pavement, and I knew instantly what would be missing. We’re still pretty impressed the thief was so brash, given how busy the park was at that time of the morning and how many witnesses likely were around, but my dad made the point that he could well have been on drugs and thus unphased by the public place.

Regardless, my computer was gone for good, and there was no use in mourning the loss when we had places to be and people to see. We cleaned up the glass as best we could (the big pieces anyway) and then headed towards Tahoe, stopping in Sacramento where I’d successfully made an appointment to replace the glass. With the car fixed and the glass vacuumed out, the disappointment of our discovery after the gardens wore away fast, especially as we approached Lake Tahoe…