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.
Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).
And, of course
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