Touring

When our friends, Jeanne and Dorie, sailed into town on one of the giant cruise ships that often visit our fair city, we were excited to show them a little bit of San Francisco. They are Angelenos so, of course, we wanted to hit the high spots and hope to make them a little jealous. The rivalry between Northern and Southern California lives on!

We whisked by the terminal and picked them up for a drive through the Fisherman's Wharf area with its crowds of tourists and sweat shirt shops, where the tourists who expected California to be warm purchase their extra layers.

We took them to dinner at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf where we were seated by a window with a view of the very boats that caught our suppers - always fun!  Our rather gruff waiter (with a twinkle in his eye) took our orders and introduced us to his pretty granddaughter who was celebrating her 18th birthday at the next table. 

I don't need to tell you that Jeanne and Dorie's mixed plate of seafood was fresh and delicious, as was my order of sand dabs and My Beloved's luxurious plate of lobster ravioli in a saffron cream sauce, topped with salmon and a small lobster tail. The food at Scoma's is always good and the bonus is that they will park your car for you.

While we ate, we filled them in about the kitchen and bath remodel and heard about the day tour Jeanne and Dorie had taken to Alcatraz and Sausalito. They said they had passed the Crookedest Street but the bus couldn't fit down, so after dinner we drove down to give them that experience. The hydrangeas are not yet in bloom but our Angelenos seemed tickled with the experience despite the lack of flowers. We parked below the street and hiked back up to the base to take pictures, as all tourists must. I think it is a law.

I was amused to see the handmade and graphic "No Parking" sign on a red garage door (first photo) as we hiked up, and the decal below painted on the pavement, offering tourists a good vantage point for their photos. Of course, they all (we included) ignored the decal and stood in the middle of the street to take our photos instead of staying safely on the sidewalk. I think that's a law, too.

We still had daylight, so we motored on over to the Presidio for a minor history lesson, then strolled in Lawrence Halpern's beautiful garden at Industrial Light and Magic, admiring the statue of Eadweard Muybridge and photographing Jeanne and Dorie with Yoda.

The chilly wind picked up so we were all glad to jump back in the car for the ride to their ship, looming impressively over the Embarcadero. We parted with hugs and promises of future visits on warmer days, after the remodel when we can move back into our bedroom and they can have the guest room.