Amateur Tourist

So once my conference ended Thursday afternoon, I killed time by shopping around downtown and texting Scott "yes or no?":

The jacket got an over-ride yes from me, although Scott still thinks it looks baby poop brown

Then I enjoyed a sweet reunion with one of my favorite kindred spirits:

One morning we waited a reeeeeally long time for brunch; while it was good,
we probably won't wait that long again. But waiting in line with Britt was a treat in and of itself.

While the non-tourists went to work on Friday, I went for a run to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Unfortunately, this was all I could see due to the incredible fog all weekend:

But I at least high-fived the hopper's hands for good luck.

On the way back I stopped by this gem, the Palace of Fine Arts:

Shout out to the nice Asian tourists for taking a picture for me.

I also enjoyed some great scenery on the run, which paralleled the water the entire time:

Once I got back, I did what anyone would do: eat a cupcake leftover from the place around the corner we stopped by the night before.

This one was a s'more cupcake, slightly warmed in the microwave. Perfection.

Before the worker bees got home, I did the lame stuff, like stop by Lombardi Street with 438290 other tourists:

I must note that to get to there, I had to truck it up and down this crazy hill. Holy steep, Batman:

Thankfully, I rocked the hill and made it home just before my pal. We detoured our trip to Golden Gate Park (and all the fog made it pointless, anyway) to this random museum with a ton of Rodin:

I promise this is the last photo dump. On Saturday, we went all over: Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, Mama's (the brunch place mentioned above), and we finished up with an insane Dicken's fair. We sampled free chocolate, enjoyed the sites, and even stopped to purchase some fresh, warm sourdough bread from Boudin. At this time I'd like to take a break from my travelogue to share an excerpt from a poem my friend wrote describing what followed next while walking along:

Imagine the two of us strolling the pier,

Clueless to what's overhead.

Toasted to perfection, we're enjoying our samples

of Boudin sourdough bread.

 

Then suddenly...flapping, flapping & squawks,

A seagull is right in our face

Our water goes flying as arms go flailing

with squeals all over the place!

 

Then as quick as he came, that beast disappeared,

and Mare was left checking for poo.

Though she was clean, her bread was no more; he had captured it,

Yes, it is true!

 

And so from his perch, that seagull enjoyed

the spoils from going in for the kill.

Onlookers laughed and will always remember

Mary's battle of Boudin - what a thrill!

Yes, folks, it's true. This gigantic, possessed seagull totally attacked me from behind and swiped my bread right out of my hand. It had barely even left my mouth, considering I just took a bite. The scene was nuts, and definitely one for the books.

 

Now for the fair... this place names were the most off-the-wall, in-your-face recreation of Dickens' London. The places were clever, but the people... oh man, THE PEOPLE! They were incredible characters. They sang, danced, caroled through out the entire fair, some of the men got a little handsy, and the child catcher was completely detestable. There even little scene rooms set up just for the actors to portray a dinner party, ball, or scientific discovery. Shops lined the various paths, selling homemade candles, feather-tipped fountain pens, and handmade leather masks. It totally rocked my world.

Needless to say, San Francisco was one of the highlights of my year. I reconnected with a great friend, ate some amazing food, shopped in some great stores, and made unforgettable memories. I'm thinking I don't ever want my friends to move, because I need to make this trip at least once year. Here's what I'm thinking to all of you Double or Nothin' gals... San Fran reunion 2011. What do you say??