Journal of an Urbane Gorilla

A shining city on 7 hills

Well, our happy wanderers got up early on their second day in San Francisco. You’ll remember that they missed out on the free brekie-puddy on their first day; well, they weren’t about to miss out the next day. Grams threw on some clothes and went down to the breakfast room at 6:30 AM. She said that the spread was pretty good, but one thing had her flummoxed. There were do-it-yourself-sucker Belgian waffle makers. Needless to say, she totally messed up her waffle. It was after that when she saw the ‘tip’ jar. That cheesed her off: a tip jar for a do-it-yourself breakfast spread. She loaded up the 2 plates and ‘harrumphed’ herself all the way back upstairs.

Big Guy wanted to see if he could get a sugar-free Irish coffee at the Buena Vista, so off they headed down Van Ness. When they got to the Buena Vista though, it was packed. Grams reminded him that it was the first day of the Chinese lunar New Year and she thought that they might catch the parade in Chinatown. So, they hopped on a cable car and headed off for the festivities. When they got to Chinatown there were lots of firecrackers, but no parade. Turns out the parade comes at the end of the festival in 2 weeks. But, they enjoyed the sights and sounds. Grams especially liked the little children dressed up in their New Year’s finery.

Then, they walked down Grant Street to Columbus Street. Dipping into Caffé Roma, they spent a half-an-hour having cups of the world’s best coffee. They’re still raving about it. Then, they did something that surprised me: they had lunch at In-n-Out Burger. Not only that, they shared a burger. There they are in a gourmand’s paradise and they choose a fast food burger. Grams explained it to me that they knew that they were going to have a fabulous dinner at Harris’ that evening, so they didn’t want to spoil their appetites. I can’t say as I blame them. Why Harris’? Well, when Big Guy was courting Grams it was one of their favourite places.

As they walked down by the Maritime Museum and out around the breakwater. Grams took this picture of the Maritime Museum for me. “What does it remind you of, Gweeds?” It didn’t take me but a nanosecond: “it looks like the train station in Viareggio!” I had never noticed this before.

Even Alcatraz was sparkling that day, and the bay was full of sailboats. There was a stiff breeze, but not too stiff for little sailboats. I know that they must’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to take their little sailboat out there. That’s something they can enjoy without yours truly.

On their way to Harris’ that evening they walked by an apartment house where Grams lived for a while when she was a child. As they were looking at it, the current manager walked up. Grams told her the history of the house (it was built before the earthquake of 1906 and it's the only chalet in San Fran.). Grams also described the interior of a couple of the apartments so well, the woman was gobsmacked. She was thrilled to learn the background of her apartment house. Then, Grams and Big Guy walked on to Harris’ and had a fabulous meal.

None of this would prepare them, however, for lay ahead for them the next day. Yes, the saga continues.

A dopo e Moochas Smoochas,

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

平和 に 働 き

(hewa ni hataraki: work for peace)

The long strange trip continues . . .

Big Guy and Grams had a fitful night in their train berths. The train kept stopping and starting. When they finally arrived in Oakland, it was 5AM. They bade a fond farewell to Chris, their cabin steward, and trundled off to the Amtrak bus that would take them into the city.

The driver told the riders that he had been up all night waiting for them. Of course, he had been paid to wait; while the weary travellers had been paying to wait. Nevertheless, the driver said that if they wanted to be dropped anywhere but the designated stops, they would have to give him a tip, a great big tip. Now, you don’t want to say something like this to Grams when she’s cranky. “How bad could it be?” she thought. This is how bad: when she went to call a cab her cell phone had no juice at all.

Fortunately, another passenger had a full charge on his cell and he called for all of them. After about 20 minutes the cab arrived. They finally arrived at their hotel a little after 6 AM. They fell into their bed and didn’t wake ‘til mid-morning. By then, the complementary breakfast was over. So, they were off to find something to eat, but not before Grams grabbed a shot of the Golden Gate through their hotel window.

After this they walked around Fishermen’s Wharf. Grams used to go to the Fishermen’s Grotto restaurant when she was a wee one. She would always get the shrimp cocktail. It was her favourite and Big Guy took her back there so she could have one. She was chuffed. The shrimp cocktail was just the same as she remembered.

They had picked the best weekend to go to San Fran: the weather was glorious. They walked, and walked and walked. Of course, they’re walkers. I’m a “let’s hail a cab!” person. If this had been all there was to their adventure, I wouldn’t have gone on so long. But, there was more to come, much more.

A dopo e Moochas Smoochas,

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

平和 に 働 き

(hewa ni hataraki: work for peace)

What a long strange trip it's been

I'm not much into sagas, unless they're my own; but when it involves the pain of others, well what can I say?

I should’ve known something was up. We were packing for a 3-day weekend in San Francisco, when Grams came into my room and said, “Gweeds, may I speak with you for a mo’?” This usually means a cancelled adventure. This time, though, it wasn’t the trip that was cancelled; just my part in it.

“Gweeds, there’s no one to watch the house and Crankshaft (the cat) while we’re away.” I gave her my best jaundiced eye, “and your point is . . .?” “Well, since it’s mostly your relatives who need watching, I was wondering if you would be willing to stay behind and take charge while we’re gone?” I was crestfallen; I did have to admit that there were quite a few SBRers staying in our pied a terre at the mo’. But, San Francisco is where we met, and I always love to go back there with Big Guy and Grams. Just then, Grams gave me her best sad face. What could I do? I agreed to stay behind. And that’s where all their problems began.

The train was due at 12:30 in the afternoon and they were due in San Francisco at about 9:30 that night. Well, they got to their hotel around 6AM the next morning. Here’s how is happened: When they arrived at the Santa Tourista station, they found out that the train had been delayed by an hour. They wandered off to get something to eat.

Around 2PM on Friday, the station master announced that not only was the train late, but they had blown an engine. Another engine was on its way up from the San Fernando Valley. The ETA was changed to 3PM. An hour later it was changed to 4:30 PM. Then, the station master said the train, with the replacement engine, had hit a truck and the ETA was changed to 5PM.

The sun set, the air chilled and they finally boarded the train at 6PM. Their cabin steward, Chris had made luncheon and then changed it to dinner reservations for them. They were very grateful. Then, they saw the number of their room: 13.
When she called me to tell all this I said, “Serves you right. That kind of stuff never happens when I’m with you. And if it does, I keep you laughing. Hah!”

They ended up sleeping on the train that night – lucky they had a room. That was my idea, by the way. This was only the beginning of the saga.

A dopo e Moochas Smoochas,

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

平和 に 働 き

(hewa ni hataraki: work for peace)

Always a cool kid

I was wandering through the living room. Grams was scanning old photos into her laptop. I looked over her shoulder and saw this photo. "See, Gweeds, I was always a cool kid! I was, as ever, so hip it hurts" I've got to admit it, she was a cool kid.

The picture was taken in San Francisco, near the Palace of Fine Arts. We met in San Francisco, so it has a special place in my heart. Hope you had a good Valentine's Day.

A dopo e Moochas Smoochas,

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

平和 に 働 き

(hewa ni hataraki: work for peace)