So here we are in SF again for technically the 3rd time in my life that I can remember...
Memory #1: "The Vague One"
-10ish years old
-getting sick on the ferry to Alcatraz then getting lost and wandering around NOT in sync with the headset
-the aquarium? well at least i think that's where we went...
Memory #2 : "The Whirlwind One"
-23-ish years old leaving the hometown at 6AM with no definite plan
-Golden Gate Bridge and Presidio Park, the Palace of Fine Arts, the best bread ever that is no longer being made by Bristol Farm, a failed search for a church steeple in the distance, and the finding of a polo field in the huge park that google map on my phone still does not recognize
-leave SF around 6 PM dead tired
Memory #3: "The Legit One"
Yes. Finally. Most of SF covered as much as you really can or want to in three days. Every day for me began with an internal alarm clock prodding me awake around 630 AM. A quick glance at the weather, shoes on and out the garage door. Why you ask? Well there was only one key so I got to get in and out via the garage. Parfait, no? Oh by the way, did I mention that I got to stay with my friends in the Italian/French quarter on telegraph hill? And thus the legitimacy of this trip is confirmed with that single fact. Back to the run...you never realize how bad the hills are in SF til you try to walk them. Running them is out of the question unless you are crazy or training for cross country which confirms your insanity in the first place; but keep running you crazy people. Keep running. I wish I had your discipline.
Coming from major country back roads you forget how many people actually run. I thought I was doing pretty well until I stepped onto the Embarcadero sidewalk with hundreds of other runners. Suddenly, whether I want to or not, I have new competitors. Old people, young people, men and women, people who look like massive athletes and people who can't even run right. Crap. And even though Captain Awesome tells me that I can catch people "because I have superior form", this is not always the truth. But thank you coach for teaching us how to "run like an athlete;" at least we don't look completely awkward when we run these days.
There is also the dilemma of running A.D.D.. Movements in my periphery cause me to pause or twitch and my mind to fly in a million directions with the possibilities of what that movement might have been. Running along the Embarcadero with the different Piers to the East and mass traffic/awesome apartments/businesses to the West wreaks definite distraction to my mind. All the huge garage doors for each Pier were pulled wide open, cars were entering, people were moving and my imagination was running away. Was that an undercover lab for investigators? Was that the set for a movie? Why are all those people wearing suits and heels? Wait, was that a Starbucks?! Yeah, you get the idea. This fortunately was all on flat ground. Once the run along the Embarcadero was over, the trek up the hill had to be begun again.
Coit Tower was my reference point. If I made it there, then I went too far. If I couldn't see it or any signs for it then I needed to change directions. The apt was in the perfect location to run, hike, eat, shop, and enjoy a beautiful SF experience especially if you do not have access to a car. Pier 39 was 0.6 miles from us, Ghirardelli Square was around 1 and the Palace of Fine Arts (built for the World Fair) was about 2.5. For the French, this is nothing. Walking is a way of life and the apt was in the prefect location for Christy, Marc, Monique and I to enjoy these things. Oh yes! And The Crookedest Street (Lombard) was about 1.5 away as well. So thankful for this opportunity!
Day 1:
Arrive around 11:30 AM
Park car in front of the garage and hope not to get towed.
Walk down to Pier 39 with Marc and meet TANYA Schmidt for the first time after hearing about her for months. Note: she is just as great as the name suggests.
Meet our French connection: Monique.
Eat Boudins' legendary clam chowder bread bowl. Yes.
Walk to Ghiradelli Square. Chat with Christy while Tanya and Monique ride the crazy cable cars. (And when I say crazy I mean that! The rigging of them is insane!!! We learned this at the museum on Day 2.)
Debate walking to Palace of Fine Arts. Challenge accepted.
Definite con: wind whipping our faces the entire way there. 1.5 miles. ug. A week later and I still resemble Rudolph.
Definite pros: the fantastic company; random insights into the history of SF, and another brief intro to the French language!
Day 2:
Run #1: Coit Tower and stairs
Split up: Marc & Monique Alcatraz tour and Christy & I union square exploring
Rendevous at Pier 35 where we decide (or it is decided for us) not to go on the bay tour.
Begin whirlwind SF tour through a windshield!
-Lombard Street
-The Painted Ladies
-Maison Bleue
-Haight/Ashbury District
-Castro District
-Cole Valley
-Twin Peaks "best view of SF"
Cable Car Museum. So much more than mere cable cars. They had pictures of the mansions of SF back in its hey-day and then pictures with descriptions of the devastation of the earthquake + the fire that raged afterwards. Crazy. Its so sad all the history that was lost due to that fire.
Return to apt. Gelato!
Recover.
Day 3:
Run#2: The Embarcadero run.
Recover.
Shopping with Monique in Union Square. Major stops? Old Navy and the incredible Bristol Farms food court in SF's own Westfield Mall. Sadly they no longer make the bread that Christy & I have been dreaming about ever since our last trip to SF 2 years ago. It was a gooey cinnamin swirl bread with chocolate laced through AND on the top. Do you now understand? I was informed that they discontinued it due to a switch in dough suppliers resulting in a vastly inferior product. So sad.
Return to apt.
Gelato Round 2! Watch first half of NBA finale! TP & Timmy Duncan all the way! I know, I know...my brother is a major Heat fan and he is stoked about the win.
Drive home with a stop by Panera Bread for their Mac'n'cheese. Absolutely worth it. Singing at the top of my lungs with Mumford&Sons, Pistol Annies, and The Lumineers on three hour trip home? Even better.
Conclusion?
If you are going to SF, please make it more than merely a day trip. There is so much history and culture loaded into each street that to attempt to visit adequately in one day will overwhelm and leave you wanting and wondering what you actually did find of value on the trip. Oh the history! Dive deep into it to see the foundation upon which SF was built and how it continues to shape her character.
Furthermore, you must have a game-plan before you enter the city. In memory #2, we had no game plan and it was enlightening to visit random sites, yet it fades in comparison to memory #3. We dominated our game plan and had detours along the way. Next time, I will do more research prior to entering the city in order to determine which sites I would like to commit to memory as well as allow my imagination to run rampant with: the destroyed mansion homes which theoretically may have sat upon each hill as a throne might, evidence of the earthquake/fire--before and after shots of areas--, eventually Alcatraz again, a journey to the north of SF along the 101, and who knows what else may come up? I've also heard that Mavericks are close by and that is one place I NEED to see in all its glory.
San Francisco, I look forward to being your guest again!
