California Adventure - Day Two

Day Two of our California Adventure began on Saturday, July 15, 2017 with a tour of San Francisco.

Aaron, our driver was amazing. I find it difficult to drive a car, and he maneuvered that big bus like it was a piece of cake. I had nine wrecks our first year in Houston, but that's another story.

Can you believe hubby and I were the last ones to board the coach? Those of you who've met Paul know he's always early. Not this day. Probably my fault, although I don't remember why now. 

Anyway, everyone had taken seats and left us the front. How about that? Arriving late this day proved to be to our advantage as we toured the city. Linda, our tour director, rotated the group each day. We had our turn at the back, but this day we had a front row seat.

Here's a picture of the beautiful San Francisco City Hall. Guess what? It's taller than the US Capitol, and it has a gold leaf dome. The first city hall was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. The architect created a beauty with this one. 

One of the advantages of motor coach travel is that the tour guides and drivers know how to move around the area and find where the ideal picture stops are. This was one of San Francisco's finest days, one with sunshine.

Even though the day held blue skies, when we arrived at the hill looking across at the Golden Gate Bridge, the fog suddenly socked in most of the well-known site. I found the towers protruding through the fog picturesque. Linda, our director and Aaron, our driver, assured us the fog was minimal this day. 

Ready for a walk through Chinatown?  

Meet Dorothy. After our lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant, this young, 83 year old lady gave us a glimpse of her neighborhood. She's lived within two blocks of her birth place her entire life. And she can out walk younger people! She expressed gratitude for the Baptist Church. They taught her to speak and write Chinese. 

Her dad came to San Francisco when he was about 14 years old. Her mother came as an indentured servant. The two met, married and had children. They lived in a tenement dwelling with other Chinese.  All the families living in the building shared a kitchen and bathroom.

During the early days of Dorothy's parents, Chinese men and women came to Chinatown and looked for the clan name on buildings. Family became the benevolent means of helping one another. After our visit with Dorothy, we boarded the coach and motored to the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39

Many of our group disembarked for a sightseeing excursion at Pier 39. Paul and thought it too crowded.  We didn't see anything too usual that day at the pier, but Linda, our director, told us about seeing 1000 naked people on bicycles on a previous tour she'd conducted.  I think we were blessed that day. The crowd we saw wore clothes.


Stay tuned for Day Three!

Mattie's Choice arrives September 15.

In the meantime, I'd like to introduce you to Sarah.

Gay N. Lewis on Amazon