We have been up early a few days, for Darlene twice on the cable cars to the harbour (once for me), travelled the downtown on foot and on cable car, been out to Haight and Golden Gate Park twice, and walked the Embarcadero (today).
Yesterday we had a delightful day avoiding any mention of the Superbowl, visiting the California Academy of Science with my nephew Ben, his wife Jutta, and their children. A great time was had, seeing the fish and animals there, going to the Planetarium, visiting their rainforest exhibit, and talking family with some of the only family I have. And the day was perfect weather. So overall a good time. Darlene got out to see the sunset at Ocean Beach, Pat got to go to a second-hand record store and get some records he has wanted for some time. And on Saturday, when we were also in that area, we had eaten at a restaurant called Cha Cha, which served Cuban or Puerto Rican foods and had a Santeria-inspired decor. Interesting indeed, and the food was good besides.
Today I had wanted to finally get the parcel mailed to Amed, our friend from Cienfuegos. That involved going to the Post Office, which is situated in a Federal Building about ten blocks from here. The walk involved going through a rather rough section of town, so I was glad it was early in the morning. But the real treat was getting to the Post Office itself. To enter this building, you had to go through an airport-like security, including taking off your belt, showing ID, and checking my camera with the guards there. These were guards with guns and all. I asked why you have to do this, and they said it was because there was a courthouse in the building.
Then, you went down to the rather dingy basement, along some poorly-marked halls, and finally found the office. Once there, I discovered there was a single woman minding the whole show, and she was not even present when I arrived. I asked her if many people came by to mail letters. She said she has her regulars, and there was certainly a lot of mail sitting around the place....Then I had to find my way out, which was almost as difficult as finding my way in. As Darlene and I left the building, we passed the ramp into the underground parking. This was also guarded by a rent-a-cop with a gun, and there was a big barrier to keep someone from charging down the ramp into the garage. Good ol' U.S. of A.!
The rest of the day was better in many ways. Cool weather, and the first overcast day we have had since being here. Probably only fog, but still kept it cooler than usual. Darlene and I walked the Embarcadero from the bottom of Market Street to Pier 31, then we caught transit to get to Chinatown for lunch. Ate at the House of Nanking, and had a wonderful meal of stuff we would never have heard of, much less eaten, otherwise.
Than met Pat, had a coffee, got home for the wine and cheese at the hotel, and spent the evening in the room, talking and eating lightly.
The following day was the final day for Pat. He wanted to go back out to the record shop on Haight, so we did this (or at least, Darlene did this), and then we walked a long Ocean Beach, having taken the LRT out to the Beach. This was a rather eerie walk, with some fog still present, and the wind off the water.
And we managed to get home in time, before the winter's largest snowfall hit Southern Ontario, and a bad head cold hit Bob.
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Location:Post St,San Francisco,United States
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