San Francisco Here We Come

The Golden Gate and San Francisco
Saturday morning market at the Ferry Building.

Sailing with Captain Jones.

A different look at the city.

The fog and the bridge

Fog creeping over the neighborhood behind Erin's house.

Streets and houses in the city. Top middle my old digs, top right Erin's place.

Signs, signs everywhere are signs

Marin County Civic Center

San Francisco from Marin Headlands.

We left the rig in Santa Rosa and spent the weekend in San Francisco with Erin Jones. We had a wonderful time visiting with him and seeing the city with a personal tour guide. On Friday we ate at a little neighborhood Thai restaurant and on Saturday we had Spanish food. We have never tried either kind and loved them both. It is hard to believe we were introduced to these cuisines by the same person who would only eat hamburgers, pizza and fries when we were in Europe together 24 years age. After dinner on Friday we took a night tour of the city driving down the famous crooked portion of Lombard Street and then up to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill for the spectacular views. On Saturday morning we went to the Ferry Building for the huge farmers market. Inside are several permanent restaurants and food vendors selling just about anything. We opted for a bag of beans for soup and passed on the $200/ounce caviar. This building was renovated following the 1989 earthquake and is now a must see stop along the waterfront. The highlight of our visit (other than spending time with Erin) was going sailing with him on the bay. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat and the location of this first voyage will be very hard to top. We left the marina near the AT&T Ballpark, sailed under the Oakland Bay Bridge, then out into the bay near Alcatraz Island. This different perspective of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge was fabulous. The weather could not have been better, enough wind to keep us moving but not enough to kick up any big waves. We have been on the water many times in different kinds of boats the last 27 months but this was the absolute best. After sailing we drove around the edge of the city and enjoyed the different views of the water. It was neat to look out at where we had just been sailing. On Sunday we took a long stroll around Erin's neighborhood just admiring the unique San Francisco architecture. We had planned to eat in a local restaurant but everything was so crowded on this beautiful day we decided to stop at a local market and buy some bread and cheese. We had quite a lunch back at Erin's beautiful home. While driving and walking the streets of this city you get a new picturesque view at every turn. You could take thousands of pictures here and never capture the ever changing landscape. We had a great visit and it is nice to see Erin is doing so well. Once again our lifestyle offers us the opportunities to spend time with friends and do things we would never get the chance to do if we were still in a stix and brix.

On our drive into the city we noticed a unique looking building and decided to stopped at the Marin County Civic Center that we discovered was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The center was not completed until after Wright's 1959 death. It is reminiscent of many of his other buildings we have visited in our travels with long low lines and precast concrete being the primary building material. The roof is blue to blend with sky and the walls are sand beige. Skylights flood the interior hallways with natural light from the top to bottom floors. This is one of the few public buildings designed by Wright and is well worth a visit.

We stopped to see the views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This is a MUST see for anyone who visits the area. We got the classic view of the bridge, fog and city you see in so many photos. We drove to the Point Bonita Lighthouse but were disappointed to find it was not open to the public the day we were there. When we crossed the bridge we entered the Presidio that was once an army base but is now part of the NRA (not the gun lobby). There are several trails in this area through the grounds and along the water. Many of the old military homes are now rented to the public. We drove along the Pacific Ocean beach and passed the house where I lived in 1968 before I was lured back to PA to get married to the love of my life 40 years ago. Ahhh, San Francisco!! Old and new memories, what a wonderful city that we never tire of visiting.