California

Jan 24, 2019

After we had breakfast at Boudin’s, we headed out to see Alcatraz.   I have been to San Francisco more than I can count; work related as well as long weekends and I have done just about every touristy thing San Francisco has to offer from driving down Lombard St. to taking the trolley across town.  The one thing that I have wanted to do for the longest time was to see Alcatraz.  It seemed like every time I visited, I couldn’t get tickets or it was closed for some reason.    When I first looked into getting tickets, there was a government strike and I thought that once again, I will not get to see Alcatraz. I am so glad that I was wrong.

It turned out that I could see Alcatraz and Brad and I hopped a boat and went to see it.  The tour was well worth it.    The boat ride over had picturesque views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge.   I used to work for Transamerica and I remember learning on how that when they built the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco that it was quite controversial, many people opposed the building of it.  Today, that pyramid is one of the most recognizable buildings in the skyline of San Francisco.

I thought the tour was well done.  The audio guides told stories of the prisoners, attempted escapes, and the families that lived there.  I enjoyed every minute of the tour and would go back and do it again to pick up details that I might have missed!

Jan 22, 2019

I am sitting in the Boudin Café by the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.  My nephew called me last week saying that he had to take a trip out here and asked if I wanted to join him.  I agreed and quickly booked my trip and met my nephew Brad at the San Francisco airport.

I have discovered on this trip that over the years, I have gotten a bit spoiled.  When I met Brad at the airport, he indicated that he got a great deal on a rental.  I had never heard of the agency and when we arrived at the counter, I realized that the line was moving very slowly.   When we got to the counter we waited in line for an hour and a half later, they explained that although Brad had booked it through Expedia, none of the traveler information had come over and they had to key it in to the computer.

The hotel was in a great location close to the fisherman’s wharf but when I got to my room, the bed had a mattress cover and no sheets, pillows or blankets, the heat didn’t work and neither did the Wi-Fi which is why I am over at the Boudin Café using Madame Tussaud’s free Wi-Fi.  Of course you desperately need Wi-Fi the moment it isn’t available.  To the hotel’s credit, they made up the bed and put in a portable heater but they didn’t get the Wi-Fi fixed.  Although my days of bargain travel are long gone, it was nice to remember those days and I really cannot complain about the hotel, it was clean and I felt safe.

After we checked in, Brad and I walked around, when we turned the corner, there was no mistaking the smell of sourdough bread baking.  I am a baker and I have spent a lot of time learning and perfecting sourdough bread.   There is nothing better than the smell of baking bread except for the smell of baking sourdough bread.   Boudin has a bakery, store, cafe and restaurant in the same complex where you can watch them bake the sourdough bread.  We could not resist going to the restaurant and ordering the chowder bread bowls.   I have to be honest, I could eat every meal there the next few days and not get tired of it and we did go back there a couple of times!