San Francisco Travelogue 2024 – Day 6 and Souvenirs

I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got an early start out for my flight home. Took the N train to the Civic Center downtown, making absolutely sure the reader got my Clipper card, because Muni cops tend to be downtown. As I’m exiting the Muni train station, I find to my horror that NOT ONE of the dozen exit gates will recognize my card and let me out. I tried EVERY one, facing the card in different directions each time. I was trapped. Of course, there were no agents present who could have helped. Finally, I had to either jump the gates or use the emergency exit (Alarm Will Sound! Report To Agent!). Well no alarm sounded, just the gate clicking open at a button press, and again, no agents present to report to.

Then I crossed over to the entry gates to the BART trains, just 25 feet away, and my card worked on the first try. SO fucking annoying and unreliable. I’d double checked before I left that I still had more than enough money on the card to get me to SFO.

I got down to the BART station, and just 15 seconds later, the SFO train arrived. No waiting. At the airport, it only took 15 minutes to get through both security lines. I had a souvenir length of cable car cable in my luggage, and I’m AMAZED they didn’t pull me into secondary to check it out. It would’ve just looked like a dark mass under the x-ray.

I was SO early, and needed to kill about 3 hours. I got a cortado coffee at the Illy Caffe and checked out this mini museum textile exhibit. Then I settled in at an elevated perch at Bourbon Pub, overlooking the concourse, and enjoyed (again) some of the best people-watching in the world. Airport bars are the best. Had a michelada and a breakfast sandwich with avocado, and then a glass of chardonnay. Read my book and kept checking the flight app and enjoyed the human parade.

My flight was delayed by about 30 minutes, not a big deal. Free wine on the flight, again. No screaming children. Rich picked me up at the airport, bless his heart.

Now, souvenirs! I got a few this trip. This wee pottery vase. How do they make them this small? Only $15 at My Favorites shop on Haight: (Slideshow)

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Also from My Favorites, a plush bunny keychain, a plush catbus (from the My Neighbor Totoro movie) for Tim, a mini Lombard Street jigsaw puzzle, and an Arson Cat pin, which went onto my purse: (Slideshow)

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From the Cable Car museum, a length of cable from the 1982-1984 rehabilitation program, a hand-cranked pressed penny souvenir, and two matted art prints, that when put in an inexpensive gallery frame, look really great: (Slideshow)

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From a shop in the Castro, four sets of mini toys (crows, tardigrades, rubber chickens, and blobfish), and a Bob Ross Oracle! After setting a few of the wee toys aside for myself, I like to leave them out in random places for people to find. (Slideshow)

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From the Japanese Tea Garden shop, a pair of mini origami crane earrings, a ceramic koi fish (which looks great in our wee pond), and a mini ceramic Lucky Cat figurine. (Slideshow)

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We got home around 5pm. Long day. I texted Tim to let him know I’d arrived safely and to confirm the ikebana flowers I’d sent arrived as well.

A few days later, I sent an email to customer service at ClipperCard.com to complain about the shittiness of their cards, during two visits in a row. “I’m just trying to enjoy my vacation, not have daily anxiety attacks over whether I’m going to get a very expensive ticket because your technology doesn’t work reliably.” It’s been eight days as of this writing, and I’m not holding my breath for a reply.

San Francisco Travelogue 2024 – Day 5

Tim has an extensive tea collection at home, and a nice ceramic teapot, AND a spiffy Zojirushi countertop hot water heater.

So on my last full day, instead of going to a coffeehouse, I made a nice pot of jasmine tea and enjoyed it at Tim’s breakfast table. I filled the rest of my morning with a breakfast burrito at Brioche cafe (delicious), and then a glass of chardonnay at Hobson’s.

Around mid-day, Tim & I walked to the De Young Museum in Golden Gate park. Tim suggested we take an Uber, but I’m all, “No it’s a beautiful day; let’s walk.” On the way, we passed by this temporary art installation. (Slideshow)

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We get to the De Young, feeling a mite steamy from our walk, only to find out the exhibit we want to see is at a whole nother location, at the Legion of Honor. Equal parts amused and annoyed, we walk outside… and there’s a taxi slowly cruising down the concourse! I waved it down – I think that was a first for me – I’ve called for taxis before, but I don’t think I’ve ever hailed down a taxi on the street. It was a 10-minute taxi ride. The Legion of Honor is impressive. (Slideshow)

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They have one of Auguste Rodin’s Thinkers:

The exhibit I wanted to see was “Japanese Prints in Transision: From the Floating World to the Modern World.” It was marvelous. They even had a print of “The Great Wave,” perhaps the most famous of all Japanese woodcut prints:

More photos – this wasn’t even all of them, just the ones that really struck me. (Slideshow):

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There was also a small side exhibit about kimono design, but it was disappointing. Tim said he’d felt rushed through, so I chilled with a glass of wine in the cafe while he went back to read the descriptions more carefully. They abruptly closed the cafe at 4pm, locking Tim out as I was getting up to leave. He got into a bit of a kerfuffle with the guard: “My friend is meeting me in there, and I am going in.” We cruised through the museum store but didn’t buy anything.

While we waited for a bus outside, we took in the impressive views. The Pacific Ocean on one side and the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay on the other. It was windy and cool. (Slideshow)

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We took a few busses back (Tim knows these lines like the back of his hand), and we indulged in some vicious gossip (don’t worry, it wasn’t about anyone who would be reading this). The first bus, leaving empty from the Legion of Honor, held a wee stuffed toy left behind by some child:

I decided she would come home with me. Sometimes you don’t find the souvenirs, they find you.

At dinnertime, Tim & Alex & I all went to YH Beijing in the Lower Haight neighborhood. Alex and me:

Feelin’ a little hangry – we waited THIRTY minutes for our food.

We had to wait FOREVER for our food, to the point where we were less than 3 minutes from leaving, but when it did come, it was hot and delicious. We shared a dish of cucumber salad (surprisingly spicy), an order of General Tso’s Tofu (nice and crispy on the outside), and some fried chicken that was delicious but a bit salty for my taste.

I had a big day of travel the next day so I said goodnight and packed and went to bed early.

Next post: Travel home and Souvenirs!

Maya “Underworld” Observatory Revealed

Pic of the Day – 5/14/24

Norwegian forest cats.

The Leidenfrost Effect in Slo-Mo

Pic of the Day – 5/13/24

The natural rock formation known as the Dragon’s Eye in Lancashire, England.

San Francisco Travelogue 2024 – Day 4

In the morning I took myself to Flywheel Coffee at the end of Golden Gate park and got another mocha. Sat in their back garden patio with a Clif Bar and read The Shining. Then I strolled up Haight to Gus’s Market and got a fresh-squeezed orange juice and drank it on their sidewalk patio.

Later, Tim & I walked to the Japanese Tea Garden. As a resident, he got in for free, and tried to pass me off as his wife in the hopes of getting me in free, too. “Honey, they want to see your ID, too.” I pulled it out, and seeing my non-SF address, asked if I had a SF ID. “Not yet,” I offered, like I just moved here recently. She wanted a utility bill or some such, and we both laughed. “Who carries that around with them anyway? For that matter, who even gets paper bills anymore?” So I had to pay.

The gardens were enchanting, as before. There was a section cordoned off for some construction project going on, but it wasn’t that extensive. I did notice that the pond water was quite murky and green. And no koi fish in evidence. Hmm. (Slideshow)

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Finally, I spotted some koi fish, all congregated at these stepping stones, maybe eating algae. Maybe the ponds were just experiencing an algae bloom with the rising temperatures. (Slideshow)

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Tim had me take a pic of him positioned just so he can photoshop in a urine stream later:

More of my photos: (Slideshow)

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More of Tim’s photos: (Slideshow)

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We considered checking out the California Academy of Sciences, to see their aquarium and rainforest and butterfly exhibit, but the entry fee is $42 bucks! Each! Too much. We stopped at Snowbird Coffee again, and on the way back on the bus, we spotted this dude wearing a bunch of 4 bananas ON HIS HEAD. Actual bananas. Weird. Tim managed to get a shot after he left the bus:

I took myself to lunch at Brioche Cafe on Haight, and sat in their outdoor garden patio in the back. Dappled shade and light jazz playing. So charming.

I ordered the Nicoise salad. It was SO good, and so much food. I took half of it home and had more later for a late afternoon dinner.

Late in the afternoon I went downtown again, to meet my old high school friend Erik. I’d wanted to see the View Lounge atop the Marriott, but last time I tried to go, it was closed that day. This time, no problem. We met at a window table and got caught up over drinks. The place is larger than I’d imagined, and those huge windows are on both sides of the building, one side facing the south, the other facing north. We sat at the south windows, and poor Erik gamely braved not just the heights, but also the blinding sun from the west.

After, Erik accompanied me on the train back to upper Haight, and we visited Zam Zam and The Gold Cane. He took a pic of me on the train. Good times. So nice to see old friends.

That night Tim & Alex & I watched the first episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Next post: Japanese Woodcut Prints

San Francisco Travelogue 2024 – Day 3

Got a caffe mocha at Gus’s Market (so yummy – why don’t I get these more often?), and then took myself west on the N train. Destination: the beach.

Now, about these Clipper Cards. You use them on all the SFMTA modes of travel (buses, ferries, light-rail trains, and BART), and you can check your balance online and add money as needed. Problem is, they only work (for me) about 25% to 35% of the time. I had to try three different gates downtown before I found one that would let me in. On buses and light-rail, the reader rejects my card more often than not, to the point where I have to just give up and find a seat. I’m not going to stand there like an idiot, endlessly swiping my card, blocking other people who want to board, when I know there’s money on the damned thing. I just hope there’s no transit cops present to give me an expensive ticket.

So I’m on the N train, and I’m honestly not sure if the reader got my card or not. And two transit workers in blue vests approach me. Oh fuck my life, I’m thinking. I stay cool and make eye contact with one, say how’s it going. Then the other one comes over and asks if I have time for a quick survey. They don’t look like cops; their tags read “Survey Team.” It’s a 20-30 minute ride to my destination, so I say okay.

It’s very clear the guy who’s interviewing me is a trainee (probably his 1st day), and the other guy is his trainer. Wants to know where I live. San Diego. Trainer comes in and shows the guy how to enter an out-of-city address. Trainee is clearly not familiar with the tablet’s interface. Wants to know my address in San Diego. I say I don’t want to give any personal information. Trainer says that’s fine, shows the guy how to do that, San Diego is close enough. Am I staying at a hotel or with friends? With friends. The address? Again, no personal information. They just wanted a rough area, so I said it’s near Haight and Ashbury.

This must’ve also been trainee’s first day in San Francisco, because trainer had to show him how to spell Haight. Where am I going today? Ocean Beach. That took a while to enter; trainer finally came over to help; he’d had me somewhere in Oregon. How many people in my household? I felt that was harmless enough and told him two. Am I using the Clipper card or the app? Clipper card.

Now, this would have been my perfect opportunity to complain about the unreliability of the Clipper card, but I was afraid that if I did, they’d want to scan it and then they’d find out I was riding for free. At this point I just wanted to see the backs of these two. And to be fair, I had money on this card, and I didn’t even use all of it, because the damn readers are useless. Whatever funds are left on the thing by the time I go home, they get to keep.

Finally, he wanted to know my year of birth. I just smiled and said something about, again, personal information, and added “I’m old enough.” They laughed and said that’s okay. Thanked me for my time, and they got off at the next exit. Whew. (Slideshow below)

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It was windy at the beach. Whitecaps on the ocean out to the horizon. Sand drifts invading the sidewalks and roadways. It’s a 1.3 mile walk to the Cliff House, but the Beach Chalet is at about the halfway point. I stopped there for lunch. Had the same deviled egg appetizer as last time, but this version was nowhere near as good. No salad, no bread, and instead of those spears of smoked fish, they were topped with mounds of shaved bonito. Way too salty. I ended up knocking most of the bonito off. I didn’t even take a picture – here’s how it looked the first time I was there, and this was what I’d been expecting:

I continued on up to the Cliff House, and…. it’s CLOSED! Looks like it’s been closed for some time. Boarded windows, another window half-stoved in and about to shatter, birdshit on the exterior, chains and padlocks on the front door. There was another fish restaurant overlooking the Sutro Bath ruins just a hundred yards farther up the road – it’s also closed and boarded up. Apparently the Covid killed them. Still, the Cliff House is such a historic, iconic place, on a million-dollar view location, I’d have thought some developer would’ve come along and brought it back by now.

The Giant Camera Obscura next the the Cliff House was still open, and I’d skipped that before. So I paid my entrance fee and boy, it is amazing!

I gazed at the ruins of the Sutro Baths for a bit, then walked back. I think I did more walking during my visit than I’d done in the entire prior year. Took the train back to Cole.

Now, everyone knows, from an early age, that people boarding a bus or train stand aside for people who are exiting. Social norm, common courtesy, right? So, I’m getting off the train, and there’s this young dude standing directly in the way of the exit, staring at his phone, hypnotized. I hesitate a split-second, and seeing he’s not paying any attention, I come on down, and am forced to give the dude a shoulder-check. “Sorry,” I threw back at him, and thought to myself, “but that was your own damn fault.”

Spotted this candy-confection of a house:

Went to Hobson’s for reading and drinks and people-watching and resting my sore feet. There was an Episcopal priest there, having a cold one and chatting with the locals, and he was wearing the long frock coat. You don’t see that very often anymore. Cuts such a nice figure. J’approve!

Later, Tim & I took the bus to Dragon Beaux in the Richmond area for dim sum. I tried soup dumplings for the first time. Everything was delicious.

That evening we finished watching Dune 2.

Next post: Japanese Gardens and the View Lounge

The Ancient World’s Ingenious Ice Making and Air Conditioning System

Discover how ancient Persians beat the heat without electricity, and witness the revival of wind catchers in modern architecture.

Pic of the Day – 5/12/24

Iman and David Bowie.