Week 08…

I have discovered a new dimension of joy to living in San Francisco, and it is all thanks to my sister, Robin ❤

When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest, I was the one being shown around; and I will admit that I did not venture far beyond the University District. As a graduate student, I went to class in the evenings, and worked for the School of Drama during the day. And after graduating, I still didn’t explore the city of Seattle beyond very specific attractions (the Underground Tour), theatrical performances (5th Avenue forever), and attending my beloved ECCC (Emerald City Comic Con). Why? I am not a huge fan of driving, and Public Transportation left a lot to be desired (other than the fact that our Orca Card mascot is named “boop”).

San Francisco, on the other hand, is very well connected — the only thing you need is a Clipper Card account, a great pair of walking shoes, and a little patience (especially out where I live). You also need a quick period of trial and error (MUNI is not just buses, but also subway trains, but these are different than the BART subway trains — ask me how I know)!

And voilà… I am now able to successfully host my sister in my new city ❤

Here is what we got up to:

• Breakfasts at my favorite spots: Simple Pleasure Café (bagels); Diamond n’ Pastry (croffle — croissants pressed in a waffle iron); and Devil’s Teeth Bakery (Sunday beignets)
• A Pub Bookstore Crawl: Green Apple Books (Inner Richmond); City Lights Bookstore (North Beach); Kinokuniya (Japantown); and Silver Sprocket (The Mission)
• Lunch at Twitch (with my coworkers), and a tour of Chinatown
• Playing tourists in the sunshine at Fisherman’s Wharf — sharing a sourdough baby alligator at Boudin (RIP Claude); touring the Musée Mécanique (Robbie made special note of all the execution dioramas); pondering why sea lions flop all over each other (they live for the drama); and taking in the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge that I have yet experienced
• The tourism highlight reel continued with a cable car trip back downtown and then on to BART and the Mission for some sister-day shopping, a super quesadilla (that was how it was presented on-menu); and a Dandelion Chocolate s’more… Robbie was most pleased
• A quiet stroll in the Japanese Tea Garden; a ramblin’ and wandering walk through Golden Gate Park and up to Haight-Ashbury, and then a Waymo back down to Ocean Beach for some coffee and a sweet treat

What a delight it is to share some place you love with some one you love. When you get to see it through their eyes, you come to realize how far you’ve come and what you’ve learned… and how far you still have to go 😀

SF Neighborhoods/Places Explored: ^^^^^^^

Soundtrack: Vaundy

Bus + Bench Book: Sour Cherry, by Natalia Theodoridou

Lesson-Learned: “You want people in your life who see you, not dissect you” (RSJ)