Hello, San Francisco – So Good To See You Again

Bike chick street art san franciscoThough our trip to California centered around motorcycle riding, we padded that time with a day up front and the tail end of the trip for hanging around in San Francisco. Our first visit in 2008 left such a great impression on both Kenny and I that we were very much looking forward to walking it’s streets again.

The city in many ways seems so “un-city like” when you compare it to a place like Manhattan. At least on the surface the frantic hustle just isn’t there. There is a laid back vibe that I love.

Hotel Tomo Lobby San FranciscoWe stayed at Hotel Tomo in Japantown again. I just love the feel and the decor. From the artwork on the walls and ceilings, the furnishings and cartoons playing in the lobby – this place is just my speed. I’m not a fan of fancy; fun is where it’s at.

Being a morning person means that when I am on the west coast, I’m up in the morning long before the sun rises. I quietly padded around the room and surfed the web while the rest of the world was still asleep. I sat around drinking coffee and considering all of the things we could do with our day of leisure. Everything pointed to what I like to do best: wander around and just see the city.

Medusa Mural near Haight Street

Legs over Haight StreetWe left the hotel on foot and walked up to Haight street. Given the early hour, nothing was open. Aside from a few people who appeared to live in the park it was pretty much just the two of us peering in to closed shops. I’m not much of a shopper, so just looking through windows suited me fine.

Eucalyptus trees in the PresidioWe charged our batteries with some breakfast at Whole Foods and set off again on foot, walking towards Presidio Heights and into the Presidio. We strolled under the canopy of the Eucalyptus trees on Lover’s Lane.

California’s roads are so twisty, even the paths through the trees are serpentine!

By the time that we’d walked from our hotel in Japantown, to Haight Street, through the Presidio and on to Crissy Field, my feet started to protest a little. Perhaps walking so many miles in a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors wasn’t exactly brilliant. It wouldn’t be until later in the evening with a few more miles on their treads that I would realize just how dumb that would be.

The Palace of Fine Art - Exploratorium San Francisco

Love left to be found on the jettyWe parked ourselves on the end of the jetty by the Golden Gate Yacht Club to rest our feet and listen to the sounds of the bay being piped through the tubes of the Wave Organ. On our way, I managed to find some love that someone else left behind. That made me smile just a little bit more.

In true tourist form, we continued our walk along the bay past Ghirardelli square, to Fisherman’s Wharf where we stopped for a bite to eat and a few cold ones and then on to the Embarcadero.

Cupids Span San Francisco

By the time we’d made it to Cupid’s Span we’d logged 14 miles on our Converse. My dogs were BARKIN’! They’d reached the point that I could no longer think about anything but the desire to stop walking. The soles of my feet felt like they were swollen with a layer of water. Raygun Gothic Rocketship - San Francisco

We finally decided to give in and hail a cab. If you’ve walked San Francisco’s street you may in fact be snickering as you read the words “hail a cab.”

I’m a happy person. I would go so far as to say that it takes a lot to make me angry. We discovered on our walking tour that non-existent cabs in major tourist thoroughfares and empty cabs that drive right by are 2 things that will peg my freak-out meter into the red. It took us no less than 25 minutes to finally get a cab back to Japantown.

About 1 hours worth of time has been expunged from my memory surrounding this time frame as I recovered from my meltdown.

My love - Kenny

Between the jet-lag, the throbbing feet and the anticipation of getting our road trip underway the following morning, I was done for the day. Shortly after dinner I sank into the beautiful fluff of my Tomo pillows and slept the sleep of the righteous.

More Posts From This Trip:

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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11 Responses

  1. RichardM says:

    Nice pictures of the artwork and I really like the pano shot of the Palace of Fine Arts. I almost always end up going through the Exploratorium but that takes a lot of time. Fourteen miles with hills. Pretty good workout. There is an app called Taxi Magic that I’ve used to get cabs in San Francisco. It seemed to work a lot better than trying to get them to stop in the street.

    Thanks for the tour!

    Richard – My blog

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, Richard 🙂

      I though that the scale of the palace as you walk around the grounds is so huge – it makes you feel… strange? Kind of like it isn’t correct for feeling a comfort in the space. Did you notice that? Of course, I just might be nuts.

      I wish I would have put a little more thought in to wearing the right footwear for our walk. Converse Allstars – not made for that kind of walkin’! Even the beer didn’t help 😆

  2. Crudmop says:

    It is astounding how the drivers will look at you as you are screaming for them to stop and just keep on going – sure, some might be on calls to pick someone up, but it’s doubtful that they ALL were. Really frustrating. The only way we could get one was by running over to one sitting at a light and force our way in.

    SF is such a great “city”. I really love it. I love the mellow feel, the happy feel, the “accessible” feel of its buildings and layout, everything about it.

    Oh, and Tomo rocks. You cannot beat what you get for the price – it’s a great hotel.

  3. ToadMama says:

    Fourteen miles? Jeez louise. We didn’t hike that far in the Rocky Mountains. Love the pics!

  4. GLantern says:

    Great pics it has been so long since I have been there. Great pictures and some great writing!

  5. Trobairitz says:

    Great pictures. Awesome that you made it to the Presidio. We walked the opposite direction and were worn out by the time we got there. Love the eucalyptus picture.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks! Its such an awesome city, isn’t it?
      I was reading your post about Coit Tower and was hoping to head up there, too – but there was no possible way I would have made it up those steps after all that walking. I would’ve collapse on step 3 and rolled all the way down into the bay never to be seen again 🙂

  6. ToadMama says:

    That bike chick street art shot would make a great t-shirt for you!

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