To China and Back

Day 4

Once again, we covered lots of ground. Thanks to my trusty walking tours of San Francisco sightseeing book, I picked out a couple of routes I thought we could conquer this afternoon. It started with one through our neighbourhood followed by, unbeknownst to me, a hike up some (you guessed it) very steep hills. Within minutes we were sweating, my feet were killing, and we were wishing my book had altitude indications.

We hiked up, up and up, then around and around a big rugged park looking for an entrance. Once we found an opening and worked our way in a little bit, the view was worth it. The pic doesn't do it justice, so you'll have to trust us.

We didn't find the place my book said we were heading for - Spreckles Mansion - but my feet were killing and I was happy to put a check mark on this one anyway. Darrell had one idea for how to get back to where we started....

We stopped for lunch at a popular, transient place called Cafe Flora, recommended in my book. We shared a massive salad, barely put a dent in it, and before we headed out, I visited the little girls room. That's when a message rang out loud and clear in my head: "Houston, we have a problem." My feet were in pain. Pain, I tell you! If my shoes weren't so damn cute, I would have taken them off and flushed them down the toilet. It's important to note here that these shoes were purchased specifically for this trip. They're flat, stylish, and represent the solution to my shoe-packing dilemma. They were chosen lovingly by me and Colette on a specific shoe-buying excursion. What's that thing the kids are saying these days? Oh ya: FAIL!

We spent the next who knows how long wandering around. slowly, looking for a place to buy shoes. We stocked up on Band-Aids at the Walgreen and finally came across a place where, some how, I found a pair of new black kicks that were small, cheap and comfortable, along with black socks to match. K-Swiss sneaks they are and yep, I'm now rockin' out with my socks out and I couldn't be happier.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program: China town. We thoroughly enjoy the lanterns, the shops and the statues.

We came across a sqaure where all the elderly people hang out and gamble, I bought a Mardi Gras-like mask that has nothing to do with China, I'm sure of it, but is going to make for a killer Halloween costume. And, we find the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. A hole in the wall down an alleyway, but so cool. We eat fresh cookies that burn our finger tips (or mine, anyway), buy a bag of cookies, and give the small old man a few bucks for letting us take pictures.


After all that, my legs are most certainly tired and we head home. We cap off our last night in San Fran by finding what's left of Harvey Milk's infamous Castro Camera (not much) and eat burgers at a restaurant named after him. Perfect tribute, I say, to the man who helped create a neighbourhood where we felt safe, comfortable and unassuming for the last three days. Thanks Harvey.