We spent out first night at Tracy & Lauren’s. They live in a really cool condo just off of the main downtown area. One of the things I noticed most about the place was that as you walk in the main door there is a set of about five or six black and white photographs along the wall. They are shots of what the building used to look like and also during its renovation into becoming a condominium.
They live up on the third floor. Their place is nice and open, having two levels. The floors are wood. All the cabinetry is also wood. In many ways it reminds me of my brother’s place. There are toys and small robots all over the place. So, many, many thanks to Tracy and Lauren for allowing us to stay with you guys, extending our trip, and truly making it wonderful.
We tried to wake fairly early today. We got up around 9:30 or 10:00. After we showered we decided to see Berkley. I had heard many things about this small college town and we both wanted to see as much of the Bay Area as possible.
It took us about 30 minutes by the BART to reach Berkley. We passed through many other small parts and then also West Oakland, which looked like Detroit but with better weather. We exited the train downtown and were right on the main street.
Needless to say, it took us all of an hour to see what Berkley had to offer. Being that we live in a college town, it wasn’t very interesting. There were lots of coffee houses and restaurants but not much else. Boredom quickly set in and we sat down for lunch at an Indian buffet. The food was very sub-par. The building also had no AC, perhaps to add to the authentic feeling of really being in India. We finished our meal and decided to go see a movie while we were here.
The League of Extraordinary (Extraordinarily Old) Gentlemen was about as fascinating as Tomb Raider 2 but without Angelina Jolie to look at, as Rebeca pointed out. Sean Connery is just getting a little too old to be doing action flicks. The theatre itself was also pretty bad. It was like watching the movie on a big TV with one small, lousy speaker. After that we had had our fill of Berkley. We made our way for the train, hoping to reclaim something of our day.
We arrived by the Embarcadero sometime between 4:00 and 5:00. Rebeca had still not seen much of the city so we toured it again. I had a chance to stop and talk with a photographer couple that was selling their prints down there. They spotted my camera and sparked up a friendly conversation. Sheila was kind enough to give me some good ideas for locations as to where I could go to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge. I purchased a couple of prints and then we walked on.
The Embarcadero is such a cool area. I love being near the water and the ships. We passed by the areas where people get on board for tours around the Bay Area. I finally got the spark to get my camera back out and start shooting. Eventually we made it to Pier 39, otherwise known as Tourist Hell.
Pier 39 is the one area of San Francisco that San Franciscans avoid. It’s filled with tons of stupid shops, trinkets and all other kinds of crap. So we stopped here and walked around for a bit.
Rebeca needed to have her film developed so we dropped it off. It was also getting later on in the day so we decided to give Lauren a call and have dinner at Scoma’s. It took an hour to get in. It’s right down on the wharf so the crowd was thick. We eventually got in. Dinner was good. I had scallops. Ahh…, it’s good to be in San Francisco.
