Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Amtrak Adventure 2019
A more laid-back day
Today
began with a similar routine to the previous day: Bruce started work
horribly early to fit with Eastern Time, and I had a solo breakfast
at a more civilised hour by local standards. An unexpected (but not
unusual) turn of events was that I then got caught up in some brief
outline planning for a possible future trip. I eventually set out
around 1030 for a walk to Nob Hill via a crafty route (O'Farrell /
Polk / California) that avoided the worst of the steep hills. I
spent some time on Nob Hill admiring the buildings, enjoying the
morning sunshine and making a more detailed visit to Grace
Cathedral. I returned to the hotel around 1230 to await the end of
Bruce's working day, having used the direct Powell Street route this
time - downhill, of course!
We set off around 1pm for a dim sum lunch at Yank Sing - but this time the Stevenson St branch, which was actually only ten minutes away from the familiar branch at the Rincon Center. I had almost forgotten about the 'roving carts' operating model, although in these less spacious premises it was more a case of roving servers. As ever, it wasn't cheap, but it was very enjoyable.
Next
up, and about a twenty-minute walk away, was a visit to the
Tenderloin Museum, whose mission is to 'celebrate the rich history
of one of San Francisco's most misunderstood neighborhoods'. I had
no difficulty at all recalling that when I first visited San
Francisco in 1985, this district was notorious. I had been part of a
group of young travellers staying at a cheap hotel, and I clearly
remember being told: "Whenever you leave the hotel, you MUST turn
right. Do not even THINK of turning left." When we started to home
in on our objective, I thought at first that perhaps nothing had
changed: we had to pass along one edge of a taped-off crime scene to
get there. It was later clarified on the news that a female driver
had run amok, essentially using her car as a weapon to cause
criminal damage and injure bystanders.
Once inside the building, however, it proved to be an interesting
museum providing background on an area of the city that I would
describe as still very much in transition.
A little later, we spent what remained of daylight hours attending to some absolutely essential business: laundry! Luckily, there was a nice place just up O'Farrell Street that also served drinks and snacks while customers waited for their wash and dry cycles to complete. When the chores were completed, we simply rested in the room and at an appropriate time, Bruce went out and brought back some take-out food. In deference to his less than ideal working hours this week, we made it an early night.
