We Left Our Heart
It has been two years since I last visited San Francisco and I miss it. No, I am not a former resident, though spending a week there every year for eight straight years made it feel like a home away from home.
Why go there eight straight years? Well, while we did some things every year, we also did a lot of different things each year. I really don’t think you can ever do all there is to do there. Not even living there.
Yes, we did the cable cars every year. For the cynics, it is true that the wait at each cable car turn around is longer than the ride itself. But the views are beyond compare, and worth the wait. The ride itself is like an early 20th century thrill ride, and more than once our “companions” on the car spoke a language other than English. One special time, you could hear Japanese, French, German, English, and whatever language residents of New Hampshire speak.
The view of the city from the north portal of the Golden Gate Bridge is a must. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Alcatraz each year, and it is true that at times you can hear sounds of the city. Knowing a world class city is so close, yet impossible to experience, seems almost like cruel and unusual punishment. Take the evening trip to Alcatraz if you can. There are special talks by National Park Service guides and views of the sun down and city lights are amazing.
During two of our visits, we stayed at the Washington Square Inn, oddly enough in North Beach, across the street from Washington Square. The hotel is basically a bed and breakfast, and furnishing in some rooms include antiques. If you like to people watch, Washington Square is the place. I spent several hours early one morning on a park bench, drinking a cup of coffee, reading the New York Times, and watching tourists, locals exercising their dogs, and elderly Chinese doing their tai chi routines.
Do not miss Mama’s for breakfast or Moose’s for lunch. Mama’s is just across the street from WSI, and Moose’s is next door to WSI. Of course there are too many wonderful restaurants within a few blocks to name them all. You will not go hungry if you stay in North Beach. And at least once, take in the musical review and satire, Beach Blanket Babylon. The show is hilarious, it is constantly updated to poke fun at our current icons, and it has been sold out night after night for years, so order tickets early.
We have visited the Asian Art Museum several times since it moved from Golden Gate Park to what was the old public library. Looking at a relic that has existed for close to 2000 years is not boring. And there are thousands of ancient artifacts on display. The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is a delight, though there are far too many visitors for it to be a place of contemplation.
My daughter would have been a hippy 40 years ago, so we have made several trips to Haight-Ashbury. It is still a little funky, but each year seems to become more gentrified and commercialized. Something about a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor across the street from the Dead house, and a McDonalds just a few blocks away from the intersection of Haight and Ashbury doesn’t seem right.
When we visited the city several years ago, we each decided to go our own way one morning. My daughter took a bay cruise, my wife had a hotel spa visit, and I went to the Marina, and to quote Otis Redding, spent a few hours “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay.” There is parking at the Marina, though you can get there by public transportation. This time I had a book, a bottle of water, and sat on a park bench just feet away from the lapping bay waters. I love to people watch, but traffic on the bay is fascinating, with sail boats, ferries, one man kayaks, even ocean going container ships managing to co-exist. If you spend a lot of time rushing around doing too much on a vacation, I recommend a morning like this.
I’ve left out dozens of San Francisco adventures. You would probably not want to do all the things I have mentioned, but if you try even one, it will be a vacation highlight.
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