Tuesdays with family

Thanks to my genius husband we had salami slices to eat at 5 am when we all woke up groggy and hungry with no way of returning to sleep. We hovered around like a wolf pack, each member awaiting their turn to feast. It was like we couldn't feed the kids fast enough. And I really needed a coffee. But our favorite coffee place--Blue Bottle--didn't open till 6:30. So we changed clothes and headed on a hunt to find their location nearer our hotel. Using our iPhone map app we followed the route through a not so great part of town known as the Tenderloin. We kind of skirted its edge actually, but enough for me to count on both hands the number of crazies, drunks, and strung out. This is a rough part of San Fran very near Union Square and you wouldn't usually even go near it unless you were headed somewhere in particular. And like all reurbanized locals, the Tenderloin is dotted here and there with the truly visionary and courageous artists who see in the area an opportunity to make beauty out of cow poop. So here and there are evidence of a new urbanism where one day lofts will stand where once was abandoned burned out buildings filled with prostitutes and drug users. Today I was tightly holding hands as Declan stopped to stare at a crazy man yelling at passers by. This gave us ample conversation topic at coffee.








Just at the edge of the Tenderloin is the old building of the San Francisco Mint. Now abandoned, the city has earmarked it as a future museum of minting and money. It's just across the alley from The Blue Bottle Coffee shop so as we awaited the doors to open for the day, we parused the Mint building.




This is a picture of the Mint just after the 1906 Earthquake that decimated much of San Francisco. It's such a beautiful building. It's amazing it survived the quake when everything around it was turned to rubble.




Us waiting in the opening cue for Blue Bottle Coffee.




Inside Blue Bottle Coffee








The most amazing Mocha anywhere.








Later we headed over to Pier 41 to rent bikes to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. It's become a tradition with us that whenever we are in San Francisco we bike the bridge. It's really a lot of fun and given we are still jetlaging the exercise will do wonders for our brains. Once we got past the really unhelpful and unfriendly bike rental agent, we were on our way--Declan on a ride-a-long with me, and Tess and Dash in a bike trailer with Dave. Declan was really nervous about the ride-a-long, but kept telling himself to find his courage. It was very cute. And once he did find his courage he did amazing and really began to enjoy himself. He kept telling me how much fun he was having and that he just loved biking with me and that his friends would be so impressed that he biked from San Francisco all the way to Sausalito.
















And no trip by bike over to Sausalito would be complete without eating at Fish on the marina. By far the best seafood around these parts.








Dash was so tired when we got there that he crashed on the bench.












They have the most amazing crab rolls this side of New England. I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at it.








We walked the marina and Tess found a 50' sail boat she really liked, so I told her daddy would buy her a sailboat one day. (he he he!)








That's San Fran in the distance.








While we waited for the ferry to take us back to Pier 41, we stopped for some fresh made ice cream at Lapperts. Really divine ice creams.








And from the ferry we could see Alcatraz. I told Declan all about it. I always thought that as far as prisons go, you couldn't have asked for better views in all directions.








When we returned to the hotel Dash and daddy had some daddy time together while Declan hung out with the girls.




Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone