Kelly and I were both excited to be spending a few days with her. She's an excellent host and tour guide. Emily lives near the Haight Ashbury district which was once the center of the hippie movement. After dropping off our bags at Emily's ultra charming flat, we were out the door to explore the area.
The Haight is the definition of eclectic with lots of shops and restaurants, everything from head shops selling the wares you would need to use "medicinal" herbs to The Gap and Starbucks. The area is also "home" to lots and lots of "street kids." Unlike some of the other homeless individuals we would eventually encounter during our visit, Kelly and I didn't feel too sorry for these kids. Most seemed to be living on the street by choice. It seemed like they were embracing the bohemian lifestyle, but maybe they were just really good at putting a "happy face" on the hand they were dealt in life.
On day 6, the goal was simply to explore the many diverse districts that make up San Francisco. We started the day on the steep streets of Chinatown. After wandering through the shops for a while, we started searching for a lunch spot. Neither of us was starving, but the aromas from the restaurants are hard to resist. The options are overwhelming though, and we were clueless about which restaurants were tourist traps.Eventually, we stumbled upon a restaurant packed with Asians. A worker saw us lurking in the doorway and came over to invite us in. We figured, "What the heck!" It seems to be popular with "the locals." That's always a good sign! Our assumption was correct. The food was delicious.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around North Beach, Union Square, the financial district, and the Ferry Building. Kelly and I divided our time between shopping and people watching. San Francisco definitely has some interesting people!
After work, Emily met up with us and whisked us away from the crowded streets and sidewalks of the inner city to the beautiful and scenic Cliff House overlooking the remains of the historic Sutro Baths and the breathtaking Pacific Ocean. We lingered a bit, soaking up the last rays of sunlight and marveling at the strength of the wind in that area.
From there, we headed to dinner. Emily treated us to a meal at Brothers, a Korean BBQ restaurant. This is something I've been wanting to try for years, and while it was good, it wasn't everything I had built it up to be in my mind. The only real difference between Brothers and other good Vietnamese/Chinese/Thai restaurants was that we actually cooked the meats that we ordered right at our table. It was fun and interactive, but the food itself I had eaten before.After dinner, we met up with some of Emily's friends at a local comedy club. This was my first time at a comedy club, but it won't be my last. The comedians performing that night were only so-so, but the overall experience was fun and worth repeating.
After the comedy show, Emily ended the night with an after-dark tour of San Francisco. She showed us the city lights from the top of Twin Peaks and Coit Tower. And, last but not least, we ended the tour with a drive down "the crookedest street." Needless to say, Thursday was a jam-packed day!
Finally, day 7! It was the final day of our trip. How would we spend it? Kelly and I had no plans, but Emily came up with an excellent idea. She suggested that we rent bicycles and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. At first, I was a little unsure about whether we could handle the 5 or 6 hour bike ride, but it sounded like so much fun, Kelly and I channeled our inner Lance Armstrong and committed to the adventure.First stop on the self-guided bike tour was the waterfront and marina. We were only about 5 minutes into our journey when we came across a pier that looked like the perfect spot to check out Alcatraz. So, we decided to venture of the path. What we didn't realize was that in addition to being a fantastic location to snap some pictures, the pier also serves as a "training ground" for the guided Segway tours. We encountered 2 tour groups that CLEARLY were not yet familiar with how to control their Segway scooters. Kelly and I felt like we were participants in some sort of real life Frogger-style video game. Luckily, we survived the Segway invasion, and the view was a nice reward.
Unfortunately, the Segway tour groups were not as eager to move on from the area, and we once again had to weave our way through the chaos. Seriously, at points we were certain that they were gunning for us. Oh, and I forgot to mention the gang of kids on their Razor scooters that added to the "fun."The reward for safely exiting the pier was not as nice. At that point, we encountered our first hill, and what a freakin' hill it was! Mountain might actually be a better description. Kelly managed to peddle the entire way up, but I was forced to walk the steeper section. We paused briefly at the top to rehydrate while enjoying a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Seeing the bridge made us more excited about actually biking across it.
We continued along the bike path, passing the marina, a small marine life preservation society, a beach packed with people enjoying the unusually warm day, and an old fort at the base of the bridge.
It was at that point, standing near the fort, we started to feel or excitement really build. We were soooooooo close now to actually crossing the bridge! Our excitement level was going up and up...UNTIL...we realized that we were so far below the actual bridge, a clear sign that another massive hill/mountain was in our immediate future. Yikes!
There was one positive to the 2nd hill. We met a couple from Kansas on the way up. They were both KU alums, and as one would expect of any KU grad, both were rabid basketball fans pumped up for that night's Sweet Sixteen game. They were fun to chat with for a bit while we all tried to catch our breath. That hill was no small feat!Then, the highlight, crossing the bridge! The first section was crowded with pedestrians which made biking somewhat of a challenge. Once we reached the halfway mark though, the pedestrian traffic was pretty minimal making it a much more pleasurable experience.
Kelly and I lingered for a while at Vista Point on the other side, asking stranger after stranger to take our picture. One would think that given our location, it would be obvious that we wanted the bridge in the background of the picture, but that, evidently, was not apparent to all. Several individuals did their absolute best to omit the giant bridge from the photos. Thus, the need to ask for additional pictures. We even thought we were being smart by asking folks with giant, fancy cameras to take the picture. Oh no! They were the absolute the worst!
Eventually, we ended up with 1 picture that included both of us and the bridge. Thank God for technology that allowed me to crop out the 500 other hideous things that the would-be photographer also decided to include in the frame. After she took the picture, I said, "Thank you," but what I really wanted to say was, "I realize that group standing next to us is probably very nice, but I really didn't want to include them in our memories. Oh, and the coin operated telescope is a nice addition to the park, but again, not really something I want in the photo." Somehow, "Thank you" seemed like the appropriate response though.
With the bridge behind us, Kelly and I both figured the excitement was over. It should have dawned on us that the giant hill we climbed to get up to the bridge would also have to be descended. That was the real fun, for me anyway. Kelly put her brakes to good use on the way down, but my inner dare devil came out. In retrospect, I think I may have put a little too much faith in my helmet's abilities. Luckily, I stayed upright and what a thrill it was speeding down that winding mountain road.We coasted into the adorable downtown area of Sausalito. The picturesque main street ran along the bay and was packed with stores and restaurants. It was a tourist's dream! Confident that we had burned our fair share of calories that day, Kelly and I treated ourselves to frozen coffee drinks. We had enjoyed our adventure so much, we contemplated continuing on, but ultimately, we decided time was not on our side.
The adventure ended with a ferry ride back to Fisherman's Wharf which really is one giant tourist trap. That night, we went out for a farewell dinner with Emily at a cute little French restaurant. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!
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