Monday

• Walked to waterfront from hotel
• Explored Ghirardelli Square; bought all the chocolate
• Ate breakfast at Joanie’s Diner
• Wisely opted to purchase 3-day transit passes
• Started our Wharf Walk (distinctly different from our Worf Walk that one time) at the end of the piers (45-ish)
• Wandered Pier 39: saw (and smelled) the sea lions, rode the carousel, bought souvenirs
• Took the ferry from Pier 33 to Alcatraz – the audio tour was awesome, the overcast day perfectly suited the atmosphere, and we took about 200 photos
• Returned around 6:30 utterly famished; shared a (fantastic) bowl of clam chowder from Chowders in a sourdough bowl; ate bowl while loudly crowing “AND THEN I ATE THE BOWL!” to the horror/amusement/disgust/confusion of those around us
• Stumbled inland, found bus, returned to hotel exhausted and half dead from blisters/wind rash/seafood overload

Our hotel is awesome. It’s a tiny little place that we ended up at solely because of an ad in a magazine I picked up at Denny’s in Crescent City – $49 a night, free wi-fi, on several major bus routes, and located 4 blocks from the water. This place has totally saved our ass – the place I made reservations for turned out to have no parking whatsoever, which was not mentioned anywhere on the website or in any of the reviews. A few people mentioned parking was an issue, but they definitely didn’t say there was NONE AT ALL – the Mazdabator had to go somewhere, and parking 3 blocks away for an additional $20 a day didn’t seem like a very good idea. We cancelled the reservation for a hefty fee, but the new hotel is so awesome we’re still coming out ahead so there.

Tuesday

We awoke on Tuesday to more clouds, but it quickly turned out to be a glorious day. We took the bus from our hotel and:

• Explored Japantown; had major nerdgasm
• Had to be pried out of Kinokuniya Bookstore with a crowbar; was soothed by purchase of early birthday present
• Bought out every Sanrio store I saw
• Took another bus to Union Square
• Ate lunch at Carl Jr’s
• RODE A CABLE CAR! Seriously, I wasn’t expecting this to be anywhere near as awesome as it was. I rode on the edge, at the very front, hanging off the side like some sort of fat Canadian monkey. It was fucking fantastic. I loved it. It may have been better than scooter riding.
• Got off at Chinatown; explored Grant Avenue – Ed bought a shirt with dragons on it; trying to convince him to grow the matching neckbeard
• Bought a parasol because I am a lady
• Took bus to waterfront
• Road the F-Market streetcar to Pier 39
• Finally gave into the irresistable lure of freshly baked waffle cones
• Ate some fruit to make up for the ice cream gluttony
• Convinced Ed to take a boat tour of the San Francisco Bay; sang song; had blast
• Ate dinner at Chowders again; ate OWN bowl as I did not want to share
• Admired Ed’s sunburn
• Took bus back to hotel; collapsed in a puddle of fewer blisters thanks to the sandals I bought at Skechers

We did the waterfront again because it was so much different in the sun. Tuesday was probably the nicest day we had here weatherwise, and the entire day was spent in ridiculously high spirits. The cable car was fucking awesome. I would travel that way all the damn time if I could.

Wednesday

We slept in on Wednesday, our energy levels definitely waning a little. After dragging outselves out of bed, we:

• Took a bus through the Marina district
• Walked to the Exploratorium; marvelled at the Palace of Fine Arts and surrounding parklands
• Changed our minds about actually going INTO the Exploratorium – we arrived just as four or five buses full of screaming children pulled up, and the day was just too nice to be spent indoors doing science
• Walked along the waterfront for a while
• Ate an IT’S IT
• Took the bus back to Union Square
• Wandered along streets of shops I couldn’t afford to look at, let alone shop in
• Went to Westfield Center; ate lunch at the +4 Food Court
• Quickly wandered through the first floor of Forever 21 while Ed waited in line for the cable car
• Rode said cable car to the waterfront again
• Stopped at Cost Plus and Trader Joe’s to stock up on snacks for the road trip home
• Rode back to the hotel room; passed out
• Woke up hungry
• Bussed back to the waterfront
• Wandered around looking at menus unable to decide what to eat
• Finally ended up at Bubba Gump’s; ate epic amounts of seafood
• Splurged on a taxi back to the hotel
• Got naked, started writing

I know Bubba Gump’s is totally gimmicky, but that was one hell of a good meal. We’ve been eating really cheaply our whole trip, but I’ve always wanted to go there and was craving seafood so it seemed like a good idea. And it was! I can’t move, but it was worth it!

It’s been a great trip. This is our first real vacation, and I’m so glad it went well. We’re hoping to hit the road fairly early tomorrow – as awesome as our time in San Francisco has been, we’re eager to get home to our cats and our scooters and the three full days of nothing we have planned.

We’ll be back for sure. San Francisco is so easy to get around via transit that it’s the perfect city to fly to – you don’t need a car here. I would have loved to have my scooter here, but transit is awesome, cheap and extensive. We did almost everything on my list, but there’s a few things we didn’t get to do – stand on the gayest corner in America, go to some of the museums, buy dildos at Good Vibrations. Definitely enough to warrant another trip – maybe I can convince Josh and Shan to come out next time and act as tour guide. I’m an old pro – I’ve been here THREE TIMES now, and I didn’t even get heat stroke the second or third times!

I’ve posted over 150 pictures – check them out why not.

the palace of fine arts is fancier than you

Also, San Francisco has some of the best Diet Coke I’ve ever had. It’s been delicious the entire time!

Yes, that’s important.

Mmm, Diet Coke.