Wake up to a lot of fog and clouds out the back window, but you can see the waves breaking on the rocks below. We slept the night to the sounds of the waves crashing just feet below us. It is very cold and I get up to check the temp. It is 53 degrees outside, and since the windows are all open it is probably just as cold inside. I close some windows and fire up the heat. It only takes a few minutes to get it warm in here.
Wendy is not feeling well. Not sure what it is, but she does not think she can make a day of it today. I head out to check in and pick up the car. The rental spot is just a couple blocks away, so I pull on a sweatshirt and walk up to the office. They are very nice, but ask about my hookup. Seems California State Law requires a special adapter for the sewer. I purchase one for $10 and ask them to hold it for me to pick up on my way back into the park.
As I walk north up the hill, I make a turn up a street to see if I can find a way down to the beach. We are on a bluff that is about 20 – 30 foot tall, but they said in the office that there is a path at the end of the RV Park. It must be on the other end as the path here is closed and says danger – do not enter. I pass a car that is covered with squirrels and nuts. Yes – we are in California.
A block up is a bakery and I stop for a cup of coffee, then head across the street to Enterprise to pick up the car. I get a 2010 Chevy Impala (what FUN) and decide to drive down a couple blocks to the beach access. It is cold, windy and foggy and there aren’t any people walking the beach. There are a few guys surf fishing, and I walk over to check it out. Seems striped bass are hitting well, but the guy I talk to doesn’t speak very good English. I decide to find a bait shop to learn more.
On the 3 block drive back, I pass a bait shop. I stop in to find a few old men playing cards. The lady behind the counter asks if she can help and I tell her I would love to give some surf fishing a try. She tells me the best spot in the area is at the south end of the RV Park up the road. Hey, that will work well. She tells me that live bait is not doable here, but they hit well on some artificial lures. That’s when all the other guys chime in on which lures I should buy. For 5 minutes they go back and forth, until they all decide on the one that will guarantee me a hit. I pick up some line for leader and drive back to the RV Park.
Wendy is still in bed, the kids are up and we decide to hit Haight – Ashbury for the afternoon. Wendy agrees that we need to get out, and she doesn’t want to miss any of the other excursions. We grab the guide book and take off for the city. It is about a 15 minute drive to Haight. The kids are gawking at the sights as we drive through. I want to hit Cha Cha Cha for lunch. This is a spot I have eaten a few times and love. We park the car, pump $2 worth of quarters in the meter and only get 45 minutes instead of an hour. We will just have to eat fast.
We have a blast at the restaurant. It is a Cuban/Latin cuisine with a quirky décor. World music and Santeria alters make for some interesting sightseeing while waiting. Oh yeah, and people watching too! I wanted the daily special snow crab crab cakes but they were sold out. I opted for the jerk chicken and Jackson had a Cuban sandwich. His came with wonderful slices of pork roast, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles. Delicious. A side of spicy black beans and Sangria (their specialty) and I was happy. The girls found plain cheese quesadillas so we were set. Wendy and I found this spot back in 1993 when we stayed at the Red Vic in Haight during my first sabbatical. She was sick that evening also, so headed back to the room. I stayed at the bar and polished off a couple pitchers of Sangria while the bartender brought me samples of everything on the menu. I have been back a couple times since with friends while in town on business.We pay the bill, and I get another couple dollars in quarters for the meter. Then off to explore Haight. We stop at the Red Victorian, a B&B with rooms that are each themed by the owner Sami Sunchild. Wendy and I stayed in the Sunshine room, and I took the kids upstairs. We were able to check out any of the rooms that were unoccupied. Fun. We also checked out the Aquarium bathroom (many rooms share baths).
It has an aquarium with live fish in place of the tank and when you flush the water drops out of the aquarium. It is actually an inner tank – but neat effect. We look for the guest book from 1993 (they have them going back to ’67 the Summer of Love). No luck – Sami has them stashed away somewhere.
On up Ashbury and we stop at the house that the Grateful Dead lived in from ’66 to ’68. Then back to Haight for some shopping.
We stick out like sore thumbs. Jackson and I both wearing Chicago Bears sweatshirts. He finds a recycled electronics shop and picks up a game for his Xbox.
The girls look for shirts or earrings. We burn about an hour stopping in and out of shops then back to the car. Jackson realizes that he does not have his “picture of the day” for his Facebook status and notices a “smoke shop” across the street. He thinks this will be just the picture to show what Haight is about. I agree, and although inappropriate – I guess anything goes here.
We then make the trip to Alamo Square to take in the Painted Ladies or Postcard Row.
These homes are a very nice example of the Victorian style homes in the area, but the kids want to see the “real” Full House house. They don’t quite understand when I am telling them that this is a famous scene from the opening credits. “We don’t care Dad – we just want to see the real house”. A bit of cajoling and then I open the Fodors to show them the picture on the inside. They also see all the other people taking pictures. I don’t think they understood why Full House featured the Tanners having a picnic from this spot.
On to the real Full House house at 1709 Broderick Street. OK, now our Full House/Tanner journey is complete. No Georgia, you don’t tour the inside and the show was NOT shot here. This was on Georgia’s must do list for sabbatical.
We head back to the RV Park, but a quick stop at the video store to see if they have Escape From Alcatraz. Wendy is bent on seeing it before we visit, but we can’t find it streaming online and the Best Buy we stopped at on Sunday was out. Of couse the video store here has it. This is an old video store – one of few left in Pacifica since Blockbuster pulled out. On the way back, I take a detour south to the beach. The people at the desk told me that we could find surfers in the afternoon at the beach in Pacifica. I missed the parking and we end up heading a mile or so too far south. A couple surfers pulling their boards headed across the street and down some cliffs, but this is not the spot we were looking for. Backtrack a couple miles, and I find the parking lot and we sit for a bit and watch them catch the waves.
Finally back home and we have some dinner, a glass of wine and an early bed…