San Francisco - Her Heart/Her Bridge

For her first nine years, CaDiva lived just blocks from the ocean in San Francisco (apparently it costs $25.00 if you call it Frisco) and feels not just nostalgic but more than a little proprietary. You know she calls the Pacific her ocean, and I always presumed that was just to differentiate it from the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Gray's Lake. But apparently the very large orange bridge across the bay is hers too. But you can't really blame her. After all, she did learn to parallel park in San Francisco in a car without power steering or automatic transmission. So she does have a claim I guess.

As we approached the Embassy Suites in Burlingame we crossed her bridge for the second time on this trip. We very much anticipated this stop, it was factored into the trip primarily because we had stayed three times at the Embassy Suites before and always reveled in the view, the service and the Sunday Brunch at Rings Restaurant. (Oh another remind me to tell you about moment - watching the dad and the dead shark from the balcony) Unfortunately, while the view is still spectacular, the balcony was little more than a ledge, the restaurant was sold, no longer accepts our gift certificates nor serves Sunday Brunch, and the service has declined significantly.

The fold out couch for HRH was not made up with fresh bedding or even a blanket. The bar and restaurant main room was taken up by a wedding reception and the pool area was filled with children. On the upside, the server at the little interior patio where we were served dinner was attentive and concerned with our disappointment. The meal was quite pleasant. The next morning the complimentary cook to order breakfast was served quickly and I was able to carry it to the room thus making big sister points by bringing HRH and CaDiva breakfast in the room.

So we got an earlier start Sunday morning than we planned and drove down to Pier 39 and scheduled our bay cruise with the Blue and Gold Fleet. But that wasn't for several more hours. There was nothing to do but shop, eat and play a claw machine. Oh, not just any claw machine. While not the mother of all claw machines, more along the line of a dear family friend of a claw machine.  I didn't win...but I came >this< close.

And then we got a great table at Sea Lion Cafe to watch their namesake lounge as we ate. CaDiva had to have her chowder, and HRH concentrated on not eating anything that was anywhere near a fish (she keeps them as pets and refuses to eat them, but I think it is just because she is a bit of a wienie about food). To ensure HRH didn't miss any opportunity to make faces at me, I had the sea food and pasta and dribbled on my shirt...so it was a double dose for her.

We eventually wandered down to the gate to await boarding call for the cruise. We whiled away the time watching a very strange young man spend about a half hour trying to catch a pigeon. Hey, I don't explain them, I just report the facts. No one was able to explain to us why so many of the pigeons had plastic bags tied to their tails. But frankly, we didn't look that hard for an answer.

Then it was time to queue up for the cruise. We almost cut ahead of this strident tourist, but she put us straight to our place. Still, we were able to get up top and cruise around the bay, up under the Golden Gate bridge, twice around Alcatraz, and over to the Bay Bridge. We saw wind surfers, sail boats, sea lions, wonderful cityscapes and heard about 3/4ths of narration (thanks to the conversation of our strident tourist and her party) told in the words of city natives from Emperor Norton to Lottie Crabtree to Alcatraz guards and "residents".

All of this was bonus given that just riding around on the water in the sunshine and warm air would have been more than enough for we two landlubbers. I wasn't able to talk HRH or CaDiva into going out onto the bow. And I did have to veto the picture of me on the bow with my fanny pack and air ballooned shirt...ohh not a good look.  As we were beginning to show the wear of a long day, we finished the cruise inside on more comfortable seating.

After we paid for the expensive snaps of us boarding the boat, we did wander the pier a little longer and even ate a $15.00 pair of corn dogs (California vendors don't quit your day job, we still do Corn Dogs better in the Midwest). We should have tried the aquarium, given that it was in the 1000 Places To See Before You Die book, but Golden Gate Park was on the docket for tomorrow.

We ended up touring the city by car. We never got to Lombard Street, but you don't hear me complaining given the fact that you can fall off those hills and die. We did reach a critical point driving through downtown San Francisco when apparently Jane Goodall, at least one Clinton, the Opera and a rock concert were all in town. Neither of my traveling companions had found a rule number 4 place or the required caffeine for several hours, or minutes...depends on who you ask. However, I did win major points by calling out STARBUCKS HO! Since CaDiva continued in her role as chauffeur, we saw serious parallel parking skills. Both CaDiva and HRH called DIBBIES on the bathroom while I ordered by rote - One iced venti no whip mocha and one iced chai no fat with a shot and a COFFEE (Not Dunkin' Donuts). Did you know that Starbucks can run out of Chai? Neither did I. HRH settled for something with caramel a shot and no fat. They were both far more pleasant on the drive to dinner

We stopped at a little neighborhood restaurant, Gazebo Chinese Cuisine, on Noriega in the Outer Sunset. We had a meal to die for. Served family style, we even got HRH to try chopsticks.