Note to self: when grandma says bring a sweater, bring a sweater!
Despite the fact that Sacramento and the surrounding area were experiencing record highs in excess of 100 degrees, San Francisco was not the place to go to without a jacket. We really underestimated the wind and temperature of the Bay City and wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I was not thrilled.
Rather than drive all the way to San Fran, we decided to avoid that monstrous traffic by way of the BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit. We got on in Richmond which if you’ve seen the movie Coach Carter you know it isn’t necessarily the best of neighborhoods and I wasn’t excited about parking my car there. Still we rode into the financial district of San Francisco and decided the first thing we wanted was lunch. And Chinese. The first thing we did however, was get lost.
After getting directions from a German and a map from a hotel, we found ourselves in the middle of Chinatown. It looks, exactly how you would picture it from a movie, filled with tiny shops restaurants (presumably individually run/owned). Some seemed like they were trying to take advantage of tourists by offering a lot of Asian wares as their chief products, while others looked like cheaper versions of the dollar store. Either way, everything looked like a dive. We had our Chinese food and started to head towards the piers. Piers 1-38 are excessively boring, as are piers 40-47. Pier 39 is the infamous fishermen’s wharf. From there, we could get a great view of the luxurious hotel Alcatraz advertising bars in every room. Ritzy.
On top of the fantastic views of things like the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge (despite low clouds covering its top) and the rock, we also saw some sea lions… lots of sea lions. They choose to hang out around the piers because there is an inordinate amount of fish available, which is good, because they eat lots of it.
After the wharf, we found our way to Ghiradelli Square for chocolate and milkshakes. I like how the founder’s story really is a true example of the American dream, despite the fact that he ended being successful in a “different” American dream. The American dream used to be coming up from nothing to run your own life and business and become successful thanks to your hard work. These days it seems that the American dream is to win the lottery or sue somebody. Ghiradelli came up to California from South America in search of a “get rich quick” American dream (the Gold Rush). Unable to find any gold, he set up shop nearby selling his delicious confections before opening up a second shop in the city. The rest is history.
After the square, we walked down Lumbard street, which is not a fraction as entertaining as driving down it, but watching people attempt to drive down it was fun enough. Then we wandered around trying to get into a cable car but upon failing miserably, we abandoned hope and decided to go tie shopping for Kris. Apparently he likes to get them as souvenirs from trips.
As we walked along, we definitely began to notice San Francisco’s more liberal attitude. One thing I noticed in particular was how much everyone was “checking you out.” It kind of reminded me of walking around in Spain where you would get the eyes of passion from just about every woman you crossed paths with. This time the same thing happened only with both genders… mostly male. We walked by this store called Pink which specialized in men’s clothing. Pink? Only in Frisco could you get away with that. After we had had enough of the tie-shopping (no ties on our budget) and being undressed by eyes of the not-so-fairer sex, we headed back to Granite Bay via the BART.
