Ghirardelli & Bubba Gump

Fisherman’s Wharf, especially Pier 39, is a tourist’s “dream comes true” location and obviously the stores and vendors recognize the attraction.  If you can think of it, most likely you can find it on this stretch of pier from food and candy to a fun pet store or the always-present T-shirt shops.  We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Bubba Gump’s restaurant at the end of the Pier as the Golden Gate Bridge peeked out from the fog.  Ferries and sailboats competed for the bay with the smaller boats struggling over the waves created by the larger ferries, the persistent wind and the pull of the tide. 

Summer is in full swing with tourists everywhere and even more so because we have all been blessed with a sunny day.  Even a group of Buddhist monks dressed in orange robes enjoyed the antics of a street entertainer ensconced in an anonymous green costume.  The sea lions basking in the same sun as we, sang a chorus of comments to one another delighting their admiring audience of tourists snapping their pictures.  In spite of the sun, the breeze was cold and we succumbed to two fleece jackets emblazoned with SF and the Golden Gate Bridge happily at the best price we’ve seen anywhere in California.

The reward of the almost 10,000 steps was a stop at Ghirardelli Square for ice-cream sundaes and bags of chocolate.  Wisely, we had the sundaes first so the chocolate did not tempt us but Jim’s daughter Kris succumbed.  After a lunch of Cajun shrimp with rice and the ice cream sundaes, the idea of dinner was completely eradicated!

The wharf was everything that it encompassed five years ago when we came here to celebrate our second anniversary almost during the same time period.  I could easily live in this city if the economics of living here did not surpass us.  Now only the likes of the Google, Yahoo, Twitter, software or medical research employed crowd can achieve the cost of living in the city often only by the virtue of sharing apartments in many cases.  The vibrancy of their youth and free spirits breathes a freshness and excitement into the city.  I wish I could step back in time to my youth and make the choices that would have allowed me to embrace this lifestyle.  Now I know why my mother’s favorite song was always “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” by Tony Bennett.  I have left my heart once again also. 

Coit Tower and Lombard Street

For the first time in my journeys to San Francisco, I have gone up to Coit Tower.  The tower was originally a place from which arriving ships were identified as they entered the harbor.  The person charged with this duty then using a flag system advised the others below just what visitors the city could expect.  This system worked until the telegraph replaced its function.  The views from this location of the city are spectacular.  Murals within the tower present a glimpse of the people and times of San Francisco.

Nearby we looked for the famous “Painted Ladies” Victorian homes and found them.  Sadly, two of them were wrapped in protective cloths draped over scaffolding as they were indeed being painted.  I’ll have to buy a post card and photograph it for my photo collection! 

We drove the mandatory tourist route down serpentine Lombard Street and enjoyed the crowds standing with cameras watching from the street below.  The adjacent homeowners want to limit the time the street is open, but so far the city has acquiesced to the tourists.