Travel Catch-Up: San Francisco Weekend (lots of pictures!)

February 16-19: Sea Lions, Ghosts, Fashion, Candy, Puzzles

I took Amtrak to San Francisco on Friday 2/16 to meet up with my cousin A, who was flying in from a Denver to take advantage of the President's Day holiday long weekend for a girls' get-together. From the drop-off point near Salesforce Tower in downtown SF, I caught the street car on Market Street to travel along the Embarcadero towards our hotel, Holiday Inn & Suites Fisherman's Wharf. The hotel was in a great location, just two blocks from the waterfront, and I was greeted by a colorful sea lion at the main entrance.

A and I had rooms next to each other, and despite some delays with her flight, she arrived at the hotel about 30 minutes after I had settled in. Our first outing was to get a late lunch at Boudin, where she enjoyed the clam chowder in a bread bowl and I procured my traditional mini sourdough turtle. Then we strolled along the Embarcadero towards Pier 39 for our first glimpse of the iconic sea lions. The group was relatively small but still entertaining.

Since the weather was clear that evening, we decided to take a chance on seeing if there were any spots for the historic ghost tour that we had originally booked for Saturday evening but had cancelled based on the rainy forecast. We were in luck! No problem at all to secure our spots, so later in the evening we walked towards the meet-up location near the TransAmerica Tower, passing through North Beach along the way and getting a lovely evening view of the Coit Tower.

Our guide for the tour was very enthusiastic and entertaining, and we learned a lot about the history of San Francisco as we strolled through the neighborhood. Based on how our sensory equipment responded, we think we may have had an encounter on Hotaling Street!

The tour ended in Chinatown. A picked up a special ice cream treat to snack on and I got some the V8 vege roll from Sushi on North Beach (some of the best sushi I've ever had!) as we walked back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the night.

On Saturday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we took a Lyft to the deYoung Museum to see two current exhibitions: Fashioning San Francisco and Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care. The fashion exhibition was full of creative and innovative looks from the 20th and 21st centuries and really showed off the museum's amazing collection.

I especially liked being able to see the details and intricacy of some of the decorative accents, pleating, and draping, not to mention the fabulous shoes, including oa pair of "palm tree" stilettos.

Despite the overcast skies, we decided to go up to the observation tower and were able to get a pretty decent (though grey) panoramic view of the city landscape.

We took a break in the cafe for an Americano and some trail mix, though we had to sit on the floor of the entryway since no tables were available (the rain had of course caused the outdoor area to be closed, which accounts for more than half of the seating). Then we got in line for the curator's talk with artist Lee Mingwei, which was a fascinating conversation about his work, his life, and his creative inspiration.

We had enjoyed some of his installation pieces earlier, including Sonic Blossom, and I definitely want to return to the museum with Mr. E so that he can experience these immersive works of art and reflection. 

Due to the rainy weather, we decided to take a Lyft back to the hotel, but unfortunately, the driver apparently thought he was on a race course, and the ride was rather unpleasant as both A and I started to feel a bit carsick due to the fast speeds, quick braking, and rapid turns. Ugh. No tip for you! We both agreed that we needed to lie down a bit after that journey, so we agreed to meet up in the early evening to decide on our next plans. We ended up having an early dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant and then browsing at Ghirardelli Square, where I bought some cards and a cat puzzle and paused for a non-dairy hot cocoa at the Ghirardelli store and then wrapped up for the evening.

Sunday morning was unexpectedly beautiful, clear, and sunny! So after breakfast, we took the street car to the Ferry Building and walked back along the Embarcadero, stopping to read the placards about the history of the ports and taking a pause for beverages and people-watching at Pier 39, where we were greeted by several of the colorful sea lions in their corral.

The skies were starting to cloud over, but we managed to take a ride on the SkyStar Wheel (thanks to Groupon tickets!) without getting too much rain. The view out to the Bay and back towards the city was still impressive, despite the overcast skies.

We made a stop at It's Sugar (the biggest location I've ever seen!) for candy provisions and then got takeout poke to eat back at the hotel for lunch.

Our evening activity was a twilight cruise on the Bay. The weather was definitely not ideal, but we still enjoyed being out on the water for about an hour and seeing the city skyline.

A decided to get crab chowder from Boudin for takeout, and I managed to find some snacks at CVS to tide me over for the evening. We finished up the night by doing one of my new cat puzzles on the chaise lounge in my hotel room!

On Monday morning, we decided to continue our puzzle them and try our luck at an escape room. So after breakfast, we secured a booking of the Gold Rush at The Escape Game with just the two of us. A had done escape rooms a couple of times in the past, but this was my first attempt, and it was such a blast! We finished and solved the game with just over four minutes to spare. Phew! Then back to the hotel to pack up and check out as we headed off to our respective departures, me to the Amtrak bus pick-up for my return rail trip to Sac and A to Union Station for the train to SFO and her return flight to Denver.

Great weekend! Excellent mix of activities with just enough planning to allow for flexibility and spontaneity to accommodate the weather and our moods.