Not to miss: Union Square, a vital, cosmopolitan place in downtown San Francisco. A hip, cheery place to have coffee and a lazily read in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life. Check out for exciting events on the calendar! We happened to chance on an art exhibition by the Art Guild of SF, which added much vibe to the Square. It boasted many local artists, who were right there proudly displaying their work, and eager to speak to any potential admirers. One of them told me she wished more people would be less shy about it and chat more to them about their works, haha. Well, i wasn't an avid art fan so i couldn't appreciate it as much as i wish i did!
Nearby, the renowned Chinatown of SF lay in sprawl over a wide enclave, and you can see Chinese culture (and people) squeezed desperately into tight streets, from kitsch pagodas to traditional Hongkong dim sum shops. You know it can only be Chinese when rowdy middle-aged women surreptitiously creep in front of you in the queue, speaking in Cantonese that 'those young boys have the time to wait.' Well, true. But still...
Japantown was less spectacular; it is said to have shrunk when the Japanese were wound up and interned during WWII. Did some grocery shopping and left in a huff. ( There is a Center for Asian American Media there though, and I just missed the Asian American Film Festival, Mar 10-20.)
Outside SF in Berkeley, a young, vibrant university town and home of UCBerkeley, GS and Toby recommended a cajun cuisine joint. Toby had fond memories of New Orleans in Louisiana, and especially the food there. Very, very flavorful stuff, it just sticks so well to our palates. I'll have to try its Ho'Boy next time!
The weather drizzled and we braved the fog up northwest, through the Richmond-San Rafael bridge. The bridge looked as though it led up to the sky, through a hole in the clouds. It felt surreal, like we were riding up to Heaven! Very interesting ride if you ever get a chance (and a foggy day).
Through San Rafael, Fairfax and little towns sprinkled along the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard road, we rode on. The towns had a somewhat European style, different from SF just miles away. The view... a natural woods route where streams flowed by and redwoods towered high above us.
We finally reached Point Reyes Station, where the visitor centre for the Point Reyes National Seashore was located. This is a definite starting point for all activity here. You can check out the schedules for various activities; we missed out whalewatching in the afternoon, but were in time for the lighthouse tours till 3, 4pm. We also missed out on a really interesting hiking trail to an American Indian village, Kule Loklo, due to the increasing rain.
It takes another hour-long drive through extensive pastures and ranches, where old communities and farmhouses and rickety trucks lay beside their grazing herds of Holstein cattle. The landscape gradually transforms from woods to wetlands, wetlands to plains, plains to hills.
Descending down the foggy slopes, we reached Point Reyes Lighthouse... a historic monument that has saved lives over hundreds of years guiding ships to safety. It was a fascinating look into the life of a lighthouse keeper, often cold, arduous and brutish, be it winding the light up, cleaning the equipment, or sounding the sirens. Over time, of course, the antiquated lighting device has been replaced by automated beacons, GPS and so on.
Many interesting facts popped up along the way, like how the lighthouse was built rather short, BELOW the fogline, rather than ABOVE it, as in the case of most towering lighthouses out there. This enables it to extend its light out to the seas during times of low visibility. Which is pretty important, since Point Reyes records a whopping 2000 hours of fog a year! Ha, good luck whale watching...
Don't miss out the other treasures hidden in Point Reyes Station and around, e.g. Cowgirl Creamery.
Cowgirl Creamery was unfortunately closed during our trip... it offers the freshiest of cheese and creamy delights, churned from old-fashioned ranches lying in the surrounding grasslands. Hope to come by again :)
On the way back, Shoreline Highway 1 offered some of the best road scenery around: Bayous and Bolinas Lagoon, with wild ducks swimming around leisurely and diving for fish; Breaking ocean waves on cliffs and shores, at Stinson and Muir Beaches; Woods, Mount Tamalpais, and the Valley.
Finally, Sausalito. A beautiful little marina town by the sea that combines hillside with shoreline, a residential community there thrives in both houses built on terraced hills, and in houseboats floating in the marina. We had a great, affordable dinner at Fish... lovely food and delightful atmosphere.
Come for the fresh seafood, the lively waterfront scene or the calm, soul-soothing experience in this quaint little picture of a town :)
Well, that concludes the SF side of my travels, and my first week in the US. Huge, huge thanks to GS, Toby, Gary and Co. for taking me in with warm hospitality, the fun chats and games, as well as endeavoring new experiences all over the place with me :) Hope to send them a postcard from Pennsylvania soon!
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