San Francisco - to the oceans white with foam

In a strange turn of events, M had actually made reservations for Muir Woods, an old-growth redwood forest that was set aside for preservation in 1903.The tallest coastal redwood at Muir Woods is about 258 feet and the average age of the coastal redwoods at Muir Woods is between 600 to 800 years, with the oldest being at least 1200 years old. This is still young for redwoods as they can live up to 2200 years.The park itself was surprisingly cold and poor Mina was wrapped in a blanket sitting in her motorized chair. As such, we didn't do much hiking because we didn't want her to freeze.

So we moseyed on to Point Reyes National Seashore which is gorgeous but in the middle. of. nowhere. Bring snacks - that is one think that all of my siblings excel at actually. 

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I struggled to explain how I wanted us to pose for an artistic photo looking over the bluff and T kept exhorting us to get closer and closer which for some reason resulted in this giggle fest:

That evening we returned to the city for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Indian food. The next day was my last day in town so we spent the morning driving to scenic overlooks. From Lombard St to Twin Peaks to the Painted Ladies (ie the Full house houses).

And so ended my San Francisco interlude.

San Francisco - The family descends

On day three of the San Francisco dream, we were expecting M's husband and mother-in-law. I'm sure I had been given this important information but I must have denied the impact that a little, old, mobility-impaired, set in her ways (but perfectly charming) Indian woman in full sari would have on our plans. So in the morning I stuck close to home and walked over to the rooftop Salesforce Park. I liked how it made use of a marginal urban space, incorporated the bus station below into design elements (like a fountain that went on any time a bus went by), and stuck to drought-adapted plants. But I was struck by how unfriendly it was to the man-of-the-people element. Ok, it was hella bougie. Ironically, the New Yorker thinks so too.

I spent lunch at a session of the Association for Slavic Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (the conference my sister was organizing) about sacred (tree) groves on the border of Finland and Russia. In the Karelia region, groves of trees were used to mark sacred places, burial grounds, places of worship, and even to mark good hunts. As a forester, I asked "What kind of trees?" and was disappointed to hear that the researchers didn't know.

This marked the end of MY vacation and the beginning of the family vacation where I made suggestions but tried to be as flexible as possible with plans, which you may have guessed is not always my strong suit.

Upon T and Mina's arrival, it began to rain in earnest. Evidently the sunny weather I had been experiencing was the anomaly. Despite weather conditions, we drove over to the Golden Gate Bridge to take typically touristy photos.

Then we continued on to Ghiradelli to have sundaes for dinner. Ghiradelli was an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in 1849. In 1865 one of his employees discovered the Broma technique to purify cocoa butter and this is one of the many reasons I support open and inclusive immigration policies. 

We followed up our sundae dinners with an Indian dinner with T's cousin who interestingly had been in-sourced from India to provide IT support for a large retailer over the Black Friday sales. 

The next day, we ventured to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose at the request of T. A sprawling mansion, the house was (mostly) built in 1886 by Sarah Winchester, widow of William Winchester of rifle-making fame. Sarah Winchester was evidently instructed by a psychic to continue construction on her house indefinitely to keep the haunting spirits of people killed by gun violence at bay. Upon Sara's death in 1922, the house had 6 kitchens, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, etc, etc. It is evidently haunted by friendly ghosts and in present time there is a huge gift shop and carnival games on the premises as well. I'm not entirely sure why it is such a popular tourist attraction.

We continued on to The Tech Interactive, a unique hands-on museum with displays on hacking, medical technology, and design. We debated for quite some time whether we wanted to see Frozen 2 in IMAX before or after having dinner with my buddy Lin. Given strict instructions to choose Indian, Chinese, or Thai (maaaaybe Mexican), we hung with Lin over Thai food in Palo Alto (where my super intelligent friend is getting a PhD at Stanford.) Unfortunately, as we ate someone smashed the window of our rental car and grabbed my sister's backpack and my ukulele. Lin was a great sport and hung out with Mina and me for two hours at Starbucks as the rental car was exchanged.

We never did see Frozen 2.

San Francisco - The Rock

In a rare moment of planning and forethought, I had reserved tickets for the boat to Alcatraz in advance. So day two in San Francisco I moseyed over to the piers for my prison tour. I was probably the only person to go alone - so I skipped the photo opportunity on the ferry.

Alcatraz was an active prison between 1934 and 1963. It was considered a last resort for the worst of the worst criminals - which struck me as interesting because many of the inmates were gangsters and bank-robbers that we have since glorified and made famous.

The display at the Visitor Center highlighted that the island sits on the original homeland of the Ohlone people. In 1964 and 1969, indigenous groups from all over the United States re-occupied their land for three years. According to the National Park Service, "During the period the occupiers were on Alcatraz Island, President Nixon returned Blue Lake and 48.000 acres of land to the Taos Indians. Occupied lands near Davis California would become home to a Native American university. The occupation of Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C. would lead to the hiring of Native Americans to work in the federal agency that had such a great effect on their lives."

Yes most of my photos were of plants. Upon returning to San Fran proper, I got a traditional clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and then hiked up Lombard St. (It is not as exciting walking as it would be driving but I was just pleased that I didn't hurl.) Then I trolleyed my way back downtown where I had a drink alone in the hotel bar.

The San Francisco Treat - November 2019

Last week I hopped on a plane to Seattle to start a new job. Despite the terrifying spectre of being trapped in a metal tube with 100 potentially germy people, I was excited to finally have the opportunity of exploring a new city again. Even looking up ways to get to new restaurants or parks in my own city was a pleasure that I haven't had since March. So friends, since I haven't written about my last two vacations I thought I would do so now -- and give you the opportunity to live vicariously (and back in time) through me.

In November of 2019 the biggest challenge we faced travelling was the California wildfires. But I decided to head West anyway to join my sister M at her work conference in San Francisco before spending Thanksgiving together. I was pretty stressed at work so didn't have much time to put together an itinerary or research mass transit options. I think I threw something together that looked like this: SF Botanical Garden, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, whale watch, bike across Golden Gate to Sausalito, that windy street, Pacific Ocean!

Evidently one of my sister's colleagues thought that my visit would be stressful - that M would have to help me figure out how to get places and recommend sights to see. That's not usually the case but I will admit that I found the mass transit system more confusing than necessary. Between the BART, the Muni, and the cable cars (which are not trolleys), I needed like three different passes and wound up walking most everywhere to just avoid figuring it out. No matter.

My first day in the motor city city of brotherly love golden city, I headed to the botanical garden of course. Since it costs $12, I pulled out my "I'm a member of a different arboreta card" to get in free. But of course I din't actually have my card so the person working the front desk offered to call the Arnold Arboretum to prove my membership. I was put on speaker and when the phone was answered I said "Oh hi Ana" and she responded "Ell! How are you?"so that was pretty effective. I wandered around a bit before heading to the Japanese Tea Garden for refreshments.

The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public one in the US of A. It centers a small cafe with tasty treats in a beautiful landscape. However, there was a surprisingly steep entry fee so I'm not sure I would actually recommend it for the casual tourist unless you are a real Japanese landscape nerd or on a hot date. Or perhaps to reflect on the Hagiwara family who began to take care of the land in 1854 until they were expelled to a Japanese internment camp in 1942, never allowed to return. I wandered pre- and post-iced green tea.

Then I headed for the Conservatory of Flowers for a botanical hat trick. (I was once again able to argue my way in for free. Gotta love reciprocal agreements.)

After all the plantage I needed a nap so I stretched out on a grassy knoll in Golden Gate Park. Thus refreshed I took another trolley or bus or tram or some other conveyance to World's End. The world, guys. Nothing on the other side of that Pacific Ocean. I dipped my feet in just to have the right amount of wet pants and sandy socks for the trek back for dinner with my sister.