SFO Day 1

San Francisco is one of those Cities close enough to us geographically and climate-wise that it doesn’t seem an exotic enough destination to warrant “vacation”, but far enough away that it isn’t really a long-weekend trip. This combination probably explains why we have not travelled to San Francisco in the 15 years we have been travelling together. The last time I was in SFO, I was about 22 years old and bumming around sleeping in the back of a van. Last time Tig was there, she was a teenager travelling with her parents!

What brought us there this September was a combination of things: We needed (wanted?) a 4-day weekend to get away from it all; September is a great month to be in San Francisco; Our favourite live band was playing at the Greek Theatre in Berkley; and a fellow traveller we met in Belize (the Good Doctor named Nayer) happened to have a spare ticket to the Wilco show and invited us down.

So it came to pass that Thursday night at 9:00ish, we were sitting in the essentially-abandoned US Departures Lounge at YVR, ordering a beer in a plastic cup from the only business open in the World’s Greatest Airporttm as they are setting up to close an hour before the last flight leaves.

We arrived in San Fran with few plans (other than the Wilco Show), and were staying in the Potrero Hill neighbourhood with the Good Doctor (now termed the Hostess with the Most).

It is hard to describe the Potrero Hill neighbourhood in Vancouver terms, mixed residential adjacent to some re-claimed light industrial, a couple of streets worth of funky retail-restaurant-coffeshop stuff and a single Tavern. Not enough commercial to be a self-contained neighbourhood, but only a few blocks from the Whole Foods. Hilly with beautiful views of the Bay and Oakland from the heights (over the ubiquitous freeway). Maybe 12th Street in New West is the right comparison, except that I can’t decide of 12th Street is becoming more like Potrero, or Potrero is becoming more like 12th Street. Regardless, it is a short walk to the Muni and the HwtM has a beautiful pad that provided a great base for travels.

Friday Morning we decided to just hit the bricks as Tourists and see what we see. Leaving Potrero, we walked towards the Bay, which necessitated crossing the I-280 down the Dogpatch. We noticed several people standing on the Highway overpass, just kind of milling about. We also noticed other people standing on the next highway overpass. As we walk, we kept noticing people standing on roof tops, on balconies, on the top floors of construction sites. By the time we got to Mission Channel at the Ball park, we figured something was up. Literally “up”. When we got to McCovey Point, we saw what was all about:

It was the final flight of a space shuttle. In this case, Endeavour heading for its final museum parking lot. Americans are nothing if not aware of the pageant, so NASA arranged for a loop-around fly-by of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate, and downtown San Francisco before heading south to Edwards AFB.

That bit of excitement passed, we wandered through the financial district of the City (which is indistinguishable from the financial district of pretty much any other City, except for the cable cars), and around through China Town, where we found a dim-sum lunch spot.

Where the sidewalks turn to staircases, we walked up to Telegraph Hill, where the Coit Tower provides views over the entire City, from the Bay Bridge to the Golden Gate, Downtown, the Marina, and the Embarcadero. The tower itself is an example of spectacular Art Deco design, with some bas relief murals and mechanical ornamentation. They just don’t build ‘em like this anymore.

We wandered down more sidewalk/stars through North Beach, and along the Embarcadero to the tourist hell that is Fisherman’s Wharf. Past the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and the Hard Rock Cafe, the real tourist attraction here is the Pier 39 Sea Lions. There were probably 100 of them on the docks when we visited, and we could have spent hours watching. As it is, we used the best part of an hour to watching the young males fight for control of dock areas, females and the very young generally lounging about, and the occasional big male stand up and howl at the young-un when their rastling disturbs his lounge time. Yes, I am completely anthropomorphising animals I know nothing about, but that is part of the fun.

Occasionally, an AC-45 America’s Cup catamaran would fly by on the bay. The Golden Gate Yacht Club is the current America’s Cup champion, and the 2013 Cup will be held in San Francisco. Preparations and preliminary races have already begun up and down the Embarcadero. All this excitement caused us to find a seat in the Courtyard of an old Cannery building and drink exotic microbeers out of plastic cups. Like the tourists we are.

After swinging past Lombard Street to gawk at the tourists gawking at the tourist spot....

... I spent an hour or two contemplating the meaning of existence in the spectacular specialty beer aisle of our local Whole Foods before a home-cooked dinner on Potrero Hill, and we called that day 1.