Back a few years ago, Stan and I went to San Fransisco on our honeymoon.
Now that we're back to just Stan and I, we thought it would be fun to spend a few pre-Christmas days there.
Flower child Stan with the flower children
We have not been back to San Fransisco in nearly 35 years.
We haven't changed much--I wonder if San Fransisco has?
We left Billings on Friday and came back on Tuesday.
It seems more than a little bizarre for us Montanans to hear Christmas music playing while enjoying the local flowers.
Stan requested a room with a view of the harbor. That's exactly what we were given.
They just forgot to mention there was a building in between us and the view.
We found this vagabond in the SLC airport and took her with us out of the goodness of our heart.
Yep, we're still working on getting this empty nest stuff right.
Actually, this was a trip we had plan to take last spring, before Stan changed jobs and the duplex came calling. It was always intended to be all about Megan. Well, a little about Megan.
We visited the same Wax Museum Stan and I visited thirty+ years ago. Whistler's mom is still there.
Megan and Stan with their entourage.
You've got to love San Fransisco. There's an ice cream parlor or gelato stand every few yards. We may have tried a few of them. Ok, a lot of them.
Mom Elf and Megan Elf at the tree near the pier. We shivered the whole time we were in San Fransisco. Although it was 20 degrees warmer than Billings, the humility made it feel 20 degrees colder.
View of the sunny, cold harbor.
There were plenty of unusual individuals looking for money in a variety of ways. Most of them didn't even pretend it was for anything but beer and drugs.
You could get a spray-painted picture of the harbor for the cost of a slightly used car,
while trying to avoid eye contact with robots willing to chase you down with their tip cup.
It's amazing what some people will give you for all the money in your pocket.
The worst part was that we had been forced to listen to this street singer for an hour while in line---indubitably the most off-key, word-forgetting, horrible joke-telling mess we heard while in town. And here we thought the Geneva Convention had banned human torture.....
At this point we conceded walking was going to be faster than SF trains, planes, or automobiles and headed out on foot.
Eventually we got to Chinatown, hungry, cold, poorer, but there! We looked everywhere for an interesting restaurant, but couldn't find one. We ended up in a dive with food of questionable age. I'm pretty sure that beef dish they were feeding us was dog.
We explored the shops of the area, then headed home.
Immediately, we spotted the interesting diner we WISH we had eaten at.
Day 1 was definitely NOT our best day, but it got better!
We left Billings on Friday and came back on Tuesday.
It seems more than a little bizarre for us Montanans to hear Christmas music playing while enjoying the local flowers.
Stan requested a room with a view of the harbor. That's exactly what we were given.
They just forgot to mention there was a building in between us and the view.
We found this vagabond in the SLC airport and took her with us out of the goodness of our heart.
Yep, we're still working on getting this empty nest stuff right.
Actually, this was a trip we had plan to take last spring, before Stan changed jobs and the duplex came calling. It was always intended to be all about Megan. Well, a little about Megan.
We visited the same Wax Museum Stan and I visited thirty+ years ago. Whistler's mom is still there.
Megan and Stan with their entourage.
You've got to love San Fransisco. There's an ice cream parlor or gelato stand every few yards. We may have tried a few of them. Ok, a lot of them.
Mom Elf and Megan Elf at the tree near the pier. We shivered the whole time we were in San Fransisco. Although it was 20 degrees warmer than Billings, the humility made it feel 20 degrees colder.
View of the sunny, cold harbor.
There were plenty of unusual individuals looking for money in a variety of ways. Most of them didn't even pretend it was for anything but beer and drugs.
You could get a spray-painted picture of the harbor for the cost of a slightly used car,
while trying to avoid eye contact with robots willing to chase you down with their tip cup.
It's amazing what some people will give you for all the money in your pocket.
No journey to San Fran is complete without a ride on the cable cars. We thought we'd take the cars to Chinatown. We purchased our tickets and waited in line for an hour before we finally got on board---------just as the line experienced a power outage. We were told to leave, and no, they don't give refunds. I don't think that "no refunds" thing would fly in Montana.
The worst part was that we had been forced to listen to this street singer for an hour while in line---indubitably the most off-key, word-forgetting, horrible joke-telling mess we heard while in town. And here we thought the Geneva Convention had banned human torture.....
Next we got on the bus to Chinatown, only to be kicked off a few blocks later when Occupied people blocked the bus path several blocks away--at least that was the story. We never actually saw any of them. Again, no refund. I'm beginning to understand how SF funds the transportation system.
At this point we conceded walking was going to be faster than SF trains, planes, or automobiles and headed out on foot.
Eventually we got to Chinatown, hungry, cold, poorer, but there! We looked everywhere for an interesting restaurant, but couldn't find one. We ended up in a dive with food of questionable age. I'm pretty sure that beef dish they were feeding us was dog.
We explored the shops of the area, then headed home.
Immediately, we spotted the interesting diner we WISH we had eaten at.
That is so rude! No refund two times in a row! I would have thrown a huge fit and caused a scene...and probably embarrassed the whole family! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the week!!
ReplyDeleteYou guys have not changed a bit. (Really, Chris, YOU do look the same!) What a pain all those transportation issues must have been! And no good food in Chinatown??? I'm looking forward to the postings of happier days!
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