It's Just Another Five or Six Blocks...

I've been receiving a few comments on how frequently I update my journal lately...this will be the first of several "What I did on my summer vacation" entries.

lsanderson and Thong picked us up on Saturday morning to start the journey. lsanderson presciently observed that, based upon how easily we packed our luggage into the trunk of Thong's car, we probably wouldn't be driving a Mustang convertible down the California coast. Our first stop was at a drugstore on the way to the airport - one of our party needed to get a prescription filled. The drugstore could only supply part of the prescription - they suggested that we return in a few hours and pick up the rest of the prescription. The problem with this suggestion was pointed out, and elicited the response that the remainder of the prescription could be picked up at one of the chain's drugstores in California. We got what we could, and headed out to the airport. This was the first medical problem of the trip. It would not be the last.

Check-in at the airport was typical for this day and age - lsanderson and laurafish sailed through the security checkpoint with no problems. I removed every bit of metal I could find (including my bely), and still set off the metal detector. After submitting to the usual search (including removing my shoes - "Shoes for industry!"), it was determined that I was mostly harmless, and I was allowed into the terminal. Eventually, we ended up on Da Plane. lsanderson and I indulged our cruel streaks by pointing out the "advantage" of having seats over the wings to laurafish. I don't think we amused her as much as we hoped we would.

I remember the flight as being uneventful - some moderate turbulence, but nothing to inspire thoughts about abandoning agnosticism.

We arrived in San Francisco and move our small mountain of luggage from the baggage carousel to a taxi. After a short ride, we were deposited at our base for the next four days - the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness. We checked in, and after a short time in the room, we heard lsanderson lament "No high speed internet access!!!". We would hear this complaint regularly for the duration of our trip.

We decided to head to Chinatown for dinner. A short walk took us to the cable car terminus at California and Van Ness. We waited a short while, and then decided to start walking up (literally) California. Some time later, the majority of our party wanted to give up on walking and get a cab. I consulted the map, and pointed out that "It's just another five or six blocks to Chinatown." This was somewhat disingenuous - while it was just another five or six blocks to Chinatown, getting to a restaurant in Chinatown would require walking further. Much further. Eventually, we arrived in Chinatown, and found a place to eat. It was listed as a good place for Dim Sum. It was too late for Dim Sum. We each had, if I remember correctly, a different variant of Hot Pot. We then made our way back to the hotel and collapsed.

The next day, we went back to Chinatown for Dim Sum. We rode the cable car to Chinatown this time. We found another place that had been recommended as a good place for Dim Sum. It was a real hole-in-the-wall kind of establishment, filled with Asian-Americans. Our party of three shared a large table with several other parties. We did a reasonable job of demolishing more than our fair share of Dim Sum, and then the proprietors had the unmitigated gall to undercharge us for the Dim Sum we'd consumed. I suppose it's an indication of how stuffed with Dim Sum I was that I didn't realize that we'd been undercharged until that night.

We then headed for Ghirardelli Square, in an attempt to pick up a large chunk of chocolate for the Timebinders party. We ended up at Fisherman's wharf, where laurafish and I got tickets for the ferry to Alcatraz on the morrow. lsanderson demurred on Alcatraz - something about finding the Castro district much more interesting than some old prison. We then hiked to Ghirardelli Square, where we found out that Ghirardelli didn't make chunks of chocolate as large as serendipoz wanted. We also found out that the price for such a chunk of chocolate would be considerably more than I could pay.

We took the cable car back to Powell and Market, and then hiked around until we found the SF Museum of Modern Art. Despite the late hour, we went in and checked out the exhibit of photographs taken by Lewis Carroll. We checked out some of the other exhibits as well, and left as the museum closed. We went to Japantown for sushi dinner, where we exhibited our trademark decisiveness in choosing a place to eat.

After we returned to the hotel, one of our party persuaded us that it would be a good idea if we checked out the bars in the Castro district. Which we did. A very different experience for someone who's led a very sheltered life. Like me. Fun, but different. We finally ended up at a bar that was not in the Castro district, where we stayed until closing time. And then we got a cab back to the hotel, and collapsed.

The next day, after we finally got up and moving, we went to Good Vibrations. lsanderson was not impressed. I liked the store well enough. I bought a few items, the most striking one being a Rubber Ducky/vibrator that really needed a home with MnStf/Minicon. I told laurafish and lsanderson that it was a necessary party supply for the Minneapolis in '73 party. I don't think they believed me.

We then returned to Chinatown, where we took the walking tour that was described in our guidebook. Highlights of the tour included a visit to the "factory" that makes fortune cookies, and the bar we ended up in at the end of the tour. At that point, lsanderson headed off for a bit of solo exploration, and laurafish and I headed off for the ferry to Alcatraz. We did the tour of Alcatraz and returned to the hotel. We got a call from drewan, and b\l\a\c\k\m\a\i\l\e\d\persuaded him that he really needed to take the BART from Livermore to San Francisco. After all, it had certainly been more than a week since we'd last seen him. We assumed that lsanderson would show up in time to join us. And he did, at pretty much the last moment - we were about to leave the hotel room to meet drewan when lsanderson walked in the door. We took a bus to the Powell Street BART station, where we met drewan (who was attired in a fashion that would lead one to the notion that he thought the climate in San Francisco was the same as the climate in Southern California). We found Yet Another restaurant in Chinatown for dinner. After dinner, laurafish and I retired for the evening. drewan and lsanderson went out to explore Folsom and the Castro.

drewan returned to Livermore the next morning. The rest of us eventually made our way to the Exploratorium. Much more fun would have ensued had we been better rested. We ate at the Fog City Diner that evening. The food was enjoyable, but the ambiance from the next booth was overwhelming. The two couples in that booth were loud and crass. Loud enough that we couldn't really carry on a conversation in our booth. It appeared that at least one of them was involved, somehow, in marketing cigarettes to teenagers. After they left, one of our party asked our waitress how much it would have cost us to have them "taken out". Being a California girl, she didn't get the Chicago reference. Probably just as well.

Wednesday finally arrived, and our stay in San Francisco was at an end. I went to the rental car agency, and picked up our rental. Back to the hotel, where we somehow managed to load it all into the car. And then we were off to ConJose.

To Be Continued...