Call It What You Want...

It was getting too long, so this is Part II of the trip.

Saturday morning, Tim and I both were off to see the sights. First, we had breakfast at Lefty O'Doul's (just down from the hotel). Again, basic breakfast, better price. Then we walked and walked and walked and walked... I am not exaggerating the walking here... about three miles (not measuring changes in altitude, as we ended up near the top of Telegraph Hill) to the waterfront, meandering along the Embarcadero back to Pier 39 for some hot chocolate and snack, then over to that bus company to take the Golden Gate bus tour. Hey, at least I'd see it this way, since the fog had not cleared sufficiently to see it before.

Along the way we stopped off at the Palace of Funny Old Columns That Really Aren't Roman Ruins, where I auditioned for a part as a maiden holding up part of the column.  They say they'll get back to me when they get an opening.

Then it was on to the Golden Gate Bridge. I couldn't wait to see the cool red-orange structure, right up close.

Well.

That, my friends, is the best image we got of it.

Across the bridge in Marin County, we stopped at the beautiful scenic overlook for pictures our ourselves with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Yup. By this time it was quite sunny. Except on the bridge. So. Pretend there's a bridge in the background and ooh and ahhh.

We saw pretty and expensive houses on the way back (sunny, again),  and, once back to the bus office, had a quick Inn-and-Out burger lunch, set off for Chinatown, getting a little lost once again (that darn hill makes streets end!).

We got there, and headed to a "tea tasting" at the Vital Tea Leaf on Grant. That was interesting. We were treated to a tea-tasting that would be like a wine-tasting by the proprietor of the store, "Uncle Gee", a 75-year-old retired structural engineer who operates on the same principle Grandpa Arnfinn used to -- "I'm old and crochety and can say what I want." (I didn't hear either of them say that, but...)
My Chinese friends would probably giggle at our tourist-ness, but, hey, it was fun. And we came away with a nice blue tea and enjoyed what ended up being over an hour with this kooky old guy and these two guys who were in town for the big game and just stuck their noses in to see what kinds of stuff they had in a tea shop and left a couple hours later with lots and lots of tea. Reviewers either go wild about Uncle Gee and the fun they had (isn't that what going to a tourist place is about?) or get all up-in-arms about them selling inferior teas. I don't care. It was fun and we had a nice time. So there.

Then supper in Chinatown, too, though I have to say it wasn't all that great. But we all know I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food anyhow... unless LEO is cooking it, Andrea!!!!! ... but, it was a nice view and we felt like we oughta. Just maybe we didn't pick the best place. Oh well.

Sunday morning was breakfast at Lori's Diner down the block from the hotel, then a cab ride down to pier 33 for our trip to Alcatraz. We ended up getting on the 9 a.m. instead of having to wait for 9:30, which was good because we had a flight to catch.

Hey. Did I mention it was foggy? Yeah. The views were not to die for, and we didn't get the audio Cellblock Tour because our time was limited, but wandered the place at our own pace -- okay, Tim seemed to want to read signs like always... and saw it all.

Tim was mad to be put in a cell, but

Being in "The Hole" made me s-s-c-c-a-a-r-r-r-ed.

Then a cab back to the hotel to pick up our stuff, and BART to the airport for a hugely crowded flight to Denver, and home to Indy before midnight, and tucked away into bed by 1 a.m.

Whew.

The End.