My heart is beating a little faster each day. I go to sleep with visions of sea birds, water for as far as the eye can see and loads of luscious food cooked by someone else......and no dishes to wash! I watch videos of the ship sailing out of San Francisco and under the Golden Gate Bridge. I am in love.
Every cruise is special for one reason or another.....an anniversary, new cities to see, a new ship to explore, or just celebrating being alive! This one is no exception as we both have memories from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Vince was born and raised in the area and his father worked on the bridge when it was first being built. In our early marriage years we would visit "The City" as those in the area fondly call it.....and yes, locals get annoyed when we hear people refer to it as "Frisco"....kind of like nails on a chalk board.
Driving across the bridge for work or a weekend to Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden, Embarcadero Center and the Ferry Building, Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium and the Marina Green was amazing. From the north when you come around the corner and see the bridge in the distance it's like opening a present....you just don't know what you will find till you get there. If it is fog hovering half way down the towers, or a gorgeous clear day it is always exciting to drive across this lovely lady in red.
There were times when an accident would stop traffic in both directions and you knew you would not be going anywhere soon. So out comes the football and Frisbee and people would get out of their cars to pass the time with a game of catch. If the ball or disc when over the side....oh well it was fun while it lasted.
Having lunch at Fisherman's Wharf with fresh crab, a glass of wine and some famous San Francisco Sourdough French Bread is always a treat. When we fly through SFO we still bring back several boxes to put in the freezer. Of course one loaf is eaten almost immediately!
Another favorite lunch spot is
Lefty O'Doul's at 333 Geary Street. Established in 1952 and still going strong with good solid meaty comfort food, craft beers on tap and baseball memorabilia throughout, the history and bio of Lefty is interesting indeed. We will be having lunch there and will be sure to take some pictures. Information about where we will be having dinner will be coming soon...Hint...it is going to be Very Special!!
My favorite story though, is about Vince's intimate and in hindsight terrifying experience taking a very small outboard boat under the Golden Gate Bridge and out to sea. Picture this......two smart ass 16 year olds decided to check in at school and then sneak out for the rest of the day to go fishing. OK, not so horrible, just a fun day with your buddy. Two boys, one family ski boat and several hours later they are at their favorite fishing spot 27 miles out to sea at the Farallon Islands.
They talk of girls and baseball and hope to catch some salmon. Yep, they were hauling them in and lost track of time. Looking around they couldn't see any of the usual charter fishing party boats......and the fog had rolled in. Fog in San Francisco is silently cat like, it is quiet and sly as it sneaks up on you, one minute you can see fine and the next you literally can't see 10 feet in front of you. You become disoriented, and the only way you know which way is up is thanks to gravity and feeling your butt firmly planted to the cold damp seat in the boat.
There is no left, there is no right, there is only you and the noise of the water. Holy Crap! What do we do now? Wait....what's that noise? The swishing is getting louder and louder and you can barely make out a freighter in the distance. OK! we are saved! Let's follow it in and get this fish cleaned. The two buddies are home safe and sound and feasting on salmon. Yet, like an Alfred Hitchcock Mystery .........What if the boat was going out?
Our plans for our day in San Francisco are fluid because they all hinge on the fog. We will fly in to SFO at the butt crack of dawn leaving Eugene at 5 am. It is an hour and a half flight so we will have all day in the city to have adventures. Stay tuned!
