Delightful Designs

Since we were running late, we decided to go ahead and redeem our tickets for the cruise.  Next to the port there was a nice little, pricey cafe/gift shop.  Doug went and looked around and I got us some lunch.  Didn’t want to wander too far and we were not that hungry, so we had some berries and coffee.   We then got into line, a very longgggggggggg line.   It was such beautiful weather for SF in March, cool, no rain and clear with big puffy clouds in the sky.  We stood in line waiting to board, but the ship was a ways off. 

 We finally boarded and the upper decks were already filled so we decided to grab a seat down below.  We met a nice young couple from London, England and chatted for a bit.  Here are some pictures:

Approaching Alcatraz above.

Our dolcent for the trip. 

Since Doug is always early, he wanted to know how long the tour lasted.  Apparently, the cruise ship drops off every half hour and we thought we only had a half hour to tour this big area.  No, it turns out that it drops you off and then you can spend as long as you want on the island, as the last ship leaves at 630 pm.  So, we spent most of the afternoon, about 3 hours walking and looking, resting and listening.   We were free, unlike the inmates before, to roam around.  Instead of going into detail of Alcatraz, I’m  just going to post pictures with captions.  Also, so much to take in that I’m sure I wouldn’t do the history justice from what I remember.  Enjoy!

Oh, if you look closely at some of the pictures, you will find a few with someone’s hand with a camera in it, not mine. 

We decided to walk around first and then take the guided tour later.  Can you imagine this building as a grand area for the guards and family to have dances, and skits in?

This is the water tower:

One of the official cars from Alcatraz, and a cannon.  Did you know that Alcatraz started off as a military post?

Doug in front of where the guards were barracked. 

The common area for the prisoners and the guards’ area.

This is where the prisoners, or new fish, were processed

And then paraded down, naked, down Broadway:

Can you imagine taking a communal shower twice a week here?

These were our tour guides for the guided tour, guards who were there. 

And more pictures:

 And the most wanted of all:

 Yours truly!

For those of you wondering if Doug was able to find his favorite things, yes, he did!  Before we started the tour of Alcatraz, there was a nice sized gift shop with a lot of books.  I think he bought about 5 books on Alcatraz and a set of Alcatraz Mug Shots.   Of course, we wandered around and found yet another gift shop, a little smaller, and some of the books were on sale!  After the tour, we went into yet another, larger gift shop with an even larger supply of goodies and books.  You can guess it, his back pack was full! 

We left Alcatraz about 3 pm by boat and then walked for a bit down the piers afterwards.  Since it was a Sunday, everything was already starting to close down as the tourists were starting to leave.  We grabbed a trolley and took it back to the hotel so we could drop off  our goodies and relax before dinner.  We went to the front and asked the concierge if there was a good place close by that served chowder in sourdough bread, and she said there was a place called Boudin’s in the mall.  We went over there and had some of the best chowder in sourdough for a good price!  What a way to top off the trip to Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz.   We walked around for a bit afterwards and decided to call it a night.  Very full day of walking uphill at a steep incline and all around the piers.  Perfect day!

Monday was our last day and we were due to catch the bus at 4:55, so we had a full day before the bus would come.  We went for breakfast and then back to the hotel and decided that we had both seen enough for now and just to concentrate on getting our stuff together before leaving.  Check out was at 12, so we had about 4 hours to kill before the bus would come. 

I had asked the concierge the night before to give the beautiful bouquet to the housekeeping staff as I didn’t think the flowers would survive the trip.  We went to the Toy Store just down the street from us and bought the grandkids a couple of souvenirs!  We then went to the Wells Fargo Museum which was very interesting.  They had a stagecoach set up inside so you could look at it closely, without touching it, and had even more stuff for Doug to buy.  It’s actually in the lobby of a Well’s Fargo Bank! 

I kinda wanted to go back to Fisherman’s Wharf but my feet were too tired,  so we walked around the city some more and then went into Yerba Buena Park.  A very nice place to sit and relax and watch the artificial waterfalls.  I had my book and Doug, his MP3 player and we just relaxed for a bit.  We then walked around the park and found out that it was part of a children’s museum and there was a huge old fashioned, hand hewn carousel.  The oldest one in SF area, so we decided to go for a spin!  I love carousels and it was fun to do that again! 

We then grabbed some lunch and looked at the Amtrak bus schedule.  The earliest one was at 2:30 so we decided to see if they would take us early.  The bus stop was right around the corner from the park, and so we waited for a bit.  The bus came right at 2:30 and the driver said that he could take us, it was completely empty!  Not for long though!  Now SF isn’t all that big, but the traffic jam made up for it!  The bus stopped on Market Street, just a block away from our hotel.  I knew that it stopped on Market Street, but not so close.  Also, when I went to book our trip, it was an additional $20 to stop there and it was already completely booked.  They do this as people come on the weekend to visit, that’s a popular place to stop so they charge more than they would for the Moscone Center.  After a very quiet and train trip, hardly anyone on board, we arrived home about 10 pm.  Kathy, An and Sam were waiting for us, and we had a good chat! 

And so ends our wonderful and very memorable weekend anniversary trip!  Thank you for listening.

Note to readers:  I have been having problems with my eyes lately and haven’t been able to post.  My apologies.

Sunday dawned a little gray and drizzly, and can we all say it together, early!   Since today was our day for touring with the Duck and Alcatraz, we decided to get up early.  I was thinking of maybe sleeping in til about 730 or so.  Nope, not with early bird Doug.  Also, I don’t know about you, but I never sleep well the first night away from my own bed, needless to say in a king-sized bed.  One minute I was close to my DH, the next I was clear over on the other side of the room just by rolling over.  We also have 2 cats that sleep, not next to us, but on us, and missed that a little bit.  Naw, not really! 

We did want to leave early so as to get there in time, but Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 is a long way from the hotel.  I had decided that we should take a cab as it would be easier as they were having a street fair that day and would be closing part of that area off, and traffic would be redirected. 

Of course, you know who, had different ideas.  He wanted to ride a trolley car up there but I wasn’t sure how far it would take us or how close. Well after a quick breakfast, we decided to talk to the Concierge at the hotel and see what they had to say. 

Having never dealt with a concierge before and the service was complementary, we decided to ask a few questions.   I must say that when talking to her, it was an experience that I can only say is like talking or listening to a person who takes a deep breath and keeps talking in rapid fire succession!  Trying to get a question in sideways was not easy!   She was very helpful and reassured us that the trolley would drop us off right in front of the Fisherman’s Wharf Sign and that our Duck Tour was across the street, and for a lot less than the cost of a cab.  Doug jumped at the idea, and the trolley we needed was just one block over from the hotel.  Very handy! 

We walked over to the trolley station and having never really used it we studied the map while waiting.  It was drizzling rain and we had a cover so we sat and waited.  About 10 minutes later, a trolley came along and Doug asked if it was going to Fisherman’s Wharf, and he said yes.  How much? Free, as his meter wasn’t working!  What luck, we saved $2!   LOL!! 

After a quiet ride on the trolley car and trying to see the view through the rain, we arrived.  Right in front of the Fisherman’s Wharf Sign.  But we couldn’t see the Duck Tour.  I believed it was across the street at a little shop and Doug didn’t think so.  So, we decided to walk around for a bit.  Very quiet for 730 am on a Sunday morning and places wouldn’t open until 9 am.   There’s that darn early theme again.  After convincing my husband that it was across the street, him being the skeptic, we went across the street and there it was.  Just like I said so.  Then again, I saw the sign and he didn’t. 

Just to keep warm, we decided to walk.  Now, we were at Pier 39 where the Duck Tour begins, and we passed several other Piers on the way.  There are several that have nice shops, and then a lot of them are businesses and or warehouses.   The Alcatraz Cruise was later in the day, and we wanted to see how far and long it would take to get to Pier 33.   Believe me, there is a lot of ground between the piers to cover!  It took about 10 minutes to get there, which was good so that we would have plenty of time for lunch before boarding………  We walked around some more, down past the Embaradero and then back, and the shops were starting to come alive.  We also sat and looked out at the water and just relaxed for a bit.

For those who don’t know what a Duck Tour is, it’s a tour by land and sea of SF.  Remember the old landing boats that were used in WW2?  These are converted and used for tours with a cover and windows that you can look out.  Our tour was at 10:45.  The crew was late getting there due to a problem with the BART system.  You can imagine Doug standing there and waiting.  Me, not really a problem, I understood.  What I didn’t understand is even though we were first in line and were being waited on is that our cashier couldn’t get her computer to work, and the gal next to her had already taken care of 2 customers!  The other cashier told us to come over and took care of us.  No big deal, they weren’t leaving without us.

All Aboard for the Duck Cruise!  We had our picture taken before boarding and bought it when we got back.  We got on board and it was a small crowd but a lot of people around our age.  Our Tour Guide was Duck Rogers, very entertaining!  He had a mix of music that went along with the tour and we all had our Quackers to quack along with.  Since the city was closed off in some sections for the street fair, we went along some back areas that really had a lot of history to them.  Now, I didn’t get many pictures since as we were leaving, it started to storm and rain on us….  Thankfully that only lasted a few minutes.  But the windows are a little low, so in order to get a good picture you have to lean out half the window as there are several tall buildings. 

We sang and quacked as we went through SF and had a blast.  We saw the church where Sister Act was filmed, where Janis Joplin got her start and several other historic sites.  If you refer to the link at the beginning of my saga, you can find out more.  We were enjoying ourselves and had a blast trying to get the people on the street to sing along with us, which some of them did! 

The couple sitting across and in front of us had just celebrated their 33rd anniversary the day before and ours was tomorrow, March 21.  Sorry, didn’t get their faces in the picture just back of heads. 

This is our tour guide, Duck Rogers, well traveled and very funny! 

Some random pictures:

After  cruising through SF by land, it was time for a water cruise!  We went out on Pier 39 and into the water with a gentle splash of water.  Duck asked if there were any birthdays, nope.  But there were 2 anniversary, the couple in front of us and ourselves.  Since they had been married a little longer, they got to drive the boat.  Hence, the reason for the earlier picture.   Then it was our turn, or actually Doug’s!  Now, for those of you who don’t know, Doug was in the Navy and used to drive a aircraft carrier, so this was a piece of cake for him!

After everyone had a chance to drive around the bay, we came back on land and back to where we started.  And just in time for our cruise to Alcatraz!  Since we started late, we didn’t have as much time to eat as we originally thought.

Since we were already on Geary Street, we decided to just keep walking.  The rain was starting to slow down a bit, but still making its presence known by sprinkling now and then.  Not sure which street we were on, mainly just looking around and enjoying the walk.  We decided to go to the mall and see what was there, also Doug decided he needed a new hat.  Now, the mall that we went to is HUGE!  There are 5 floors of shops and stores to see, anything from Macy’s, Eddie Bauer to Bloomingdales!  The fifth floor does not really count, as I believe it is dedicated mainly to offices upstairs.  I didn’t really need anything, just browsed and took in all the sites! 

We went up to the third floor and there was an Eddie Bauer’s shop just as we got off the escalator.   We went inside, Doug looking for a hat.  As soon as we stepped inside, there was a sales associate ready to help us.  He asked what Doug was looking for and he helped Doug find the right type of hat, waterproof, and the size.  Well, actually they had just sold the last correct size, but the sales associate went in the back and found another one for him!  He was such a pleasant, helpful man, fairly young, very helpful and not pushy like some can be.  He asked if we had any other questions, and pointed us in the right direction.  Very pleasant experience. 

We then decided to go into China Town.  My mission was to find some Korean movies for my daughters.   Didn’t work out that way.  Oh well.  Never could find the shop that sold them. 

Going into China Town is like a whole new, or actually old, world.   English is not the main language, Chinese dominate the signs, and English is written in very small print.  I’m not sure how to describe it, there is so much to see.  Going into China Town is a series of uphill, steep, and then down again, so you’re constantly looking up and seeing a myriad of things.  We stayed on the main street as when you veer off, it’s easy to get lost, but everywhere you look, there are store fronts.  There were bakeries, vendors for T-shirts, trinkets, groceries with dressed birds hanging, postcards, cameras, everything.  Of course, being caught up in it, I didn’t think to use my camera.  It was fascinating and so much to take in.  We didn’t buy anything except some postcards.  Please don’t ask what street this was, I don’t honestly remember as Doug was navigating.

It was close to 3:30 or 4, and we were getting hungry.  I really wanted Dim Sum, Doug didn’t care but his sugars were getting low.   We came to a corner and were deciding what to do and there was a little Chinese girl, very tiny and cute, standing there handing out a coupon where if you buy one, you get the second free, for a restaurant.  We were still deep in thought, and before we knew it, she had ushered us into a restaurant.  Still not sure how it happened, but she had crooked us in between her little arms and taken us into the lobby of the Chinese Restaurant.  Don’t know the name of the restaurant, as the name was displayed in Chinese, and hard to see the English!  Remember, SF is built on hills, and so is part of China Town, and this was no exception.  Believe me, the Alps had nothing on the stairs to get into the restaurant.  We were expecting a little hole in the wall restaurant with not very good food.  What a great surprise!  It was upstairs with big windows where you could look out and down on the city.  The ceilings were inlaid wood and very light with the chandeliers recessed into the ceiling with wood framing them.  Very nice, bright and cheerful.   And they had Dim Sum!  We decided to go light on dinner as I was worried about Doug’s blood sugars, and ordered Dim Sum for 2.   They asked what we would like to drink and as neither of us drink, we ordered just water.   They looked at us as though we were odd, but still gave us excellent service.  We had shrimp, and several delicious little dumplings.  Very good food!  Of course, the coupon didn’t apply. 

After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel.  It was close to 5 and the shops were starting to close down.  What a nice walk back, downhill.  We thought about doing something for the evening but my feet vetoed that idea.   We stayed in, and made an early night of it, as tomorrow was our big day!

Before I continue, I thought that you might appreciate this map that my sister put together for us highlighting the places that we planned to visit.  If you click on the icon on the map it will take you directly to their website and you can learn more about it.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&vps=1&jsv=323a&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=201880013273745517908.00049e9cc7c42fb7cbc80

What an amazing view it was as we entered SF!  I had been to SF a few times but not by bus, and looking up at the skyscrapers, the mix of different architeture and all the people just constantly moving was exciting to watch.  By this time, Doug was watching for our stop, the Moscone Center.   For those not familiar with downtown SF, this is before you get to Market Street which will take you almost anywhere.  The Moscone Center is what is sounds like, several buildings that are convention centers for meetings.  There is a nice park just behind Moscone Center called Yerba Buena Park, with an artifical waterfall, and plenty of park benches to sit on.  A very nice area just to relax. 

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.  We arrived at the Moscone Center South, actually right in front where there was a covering since the bus stop only has a bench, and it was raining when the bus stopped.  We got off and stood under the covering, Doug pulled out his map and we started to get our bearings on which way to head to our hotel.  As we were standing there, obviously looking like tourists, much less befuddled, a youngish gentleman with dark blonde hair approached us and asked if he could help us.  Now, remember we are from Fresno and are used to people ignoring you and no offers of help, and this was a pleasant surprise!  We told him that we wanted to get to the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery Street, and he showed us the way, just a couple of blocks down and then up a bit.  Needless to say, his directions were right on target, and after a wet walk, we arrived at our destination, the Palace Hotel! 

Just a bit of history about this hotel, it was rebuilt in 1908 after the fire in 1906, and is a landmark in itself.  It’s a luxury hotel, and gorgeous inside with stain glass windows indoors.   For more information on the Palace Hotel, here is a link:  http://www.sfpalace.com/history.  This will also show you more at their website, and you can do a virtual tour online.

Boy, what a beautiful entry into a grande hotel!  There were Doorman outside in uniforms, who helped us inside, and bellhops.  Just absolutely breathtaking.  Especially for us who are used to a Motel 6!  Deep cherry colored wood, very rich looking inside, and here we were with jackets, jeans and a big backpack!  Talk about feeling under-dressed!  We have never dealt with bellhops and doormen before, we felt so special! 

Remember the theme about early?  Check-in time was at 3:00.  You can guess how early we were, about 2 hours early.  We approached the well-dressed bellhops and asked if they would hold our luggage until check-in time, and they allowed us to do so.  We couldn’t see the point of carrying that around with us while we did some sightseeing.  First things first, we went out and looked for a place to eat as we hadn’t eaten since before leaving the house.  Gee, I wonder how the kitties are doing with Kathy there.  She is NOT their favorite keeper and is allergic to cats.  Oh well, tried not to think too hard on it, and succeeded!  We found a Dell Taco, and decided to eat there.  It was right around the corner from the hotel, and inexpensive. 

While sitting there, we decided what to do while waiting for the hotel room to become available.  We decided to walk around for a bit and see the sites!  We were on New Montgomery and close to Market Street, and walked around for a bit, taking in the views.  We decided to look for a drugstore so I could buy a new hairbrush and some instamatic cameras for the trip.  What to do and where to go?  It seemed that we had a wealth of stores to visit, probably about 5 or 6 Walgreens just on Market Street alone!   And across from them, were CVAs.   Not just little stores, but huge superstores!  Every last one of them!  Take your pick, not too far from one.  That is, as long as you stay on Market Street!  Not going to find that in other parts of SF.  And each store was busy and full of people!  Amazing, how they could fit so many stores on one little street! 

Well, after gawking and searching, we finally found what we wanted and did a little more walking.  We then decided to go to the Hotel and see if our room was ready yet.   We arrived at the hotel and they confirmed that our room was indeed ready, before check-in time.  We started for the elevator and almost entered the wrong one.  That was for staff only, and we were to use the next one over.  Beautiful cherry wood interior that matched the interior of the hotel, not the plain stainless steel that you see nowadays.  Very classy!  We arrived at the 7th floor, and the floor was marble with a gorgeous carpet runner in reds and blues leading the way to our room.  As we got off the elevator, in front of us was a beautiful staircase and  a matching table in front with fresh flowers on it.  We found our room, and I got my key out.  Tried the key pad, and couldn’t get in.  Doug took it and tried.  Still couldn’t get in.  What the heck?  A housekeeper was in the hall and asked if we needed to get in, and of course, yes we did!  She let us in, and showed us the trick to getting in, allow it to beep first.  Another helpful hint! 

This is the Garden Court of the Palace Hotel!

WOW!  A beautiful room with a king-sized bed, a nice desk, a huge flat screen TV, and a bath where I could sit and soak my feet!  There was a nice big comfortable chair, and next to it, a nice table.  Wait!  On the table, was a gorgeous, generous bouquet of assorted fresh flowers waiting for us!  It was from my Dad, Candis, Tracy and JJ!  How sweet and fragrant the room smelled from the carnations, roses, and other flowers!  Very sweet of them to remember us on our anniversary! 

 

We put a few things away and as I was refreshing myself, Doug was looking around.  He found a little refrigerator with nothing in it, and we looked at the menu that they had available.  Lots of good food at high prices!  We also looked at the services they had available including the bottled water that they provided………….. at $7.00 a bottle each!  WOW!  Good thing we had brought some water of our own!  LOL!

After settling in our room and a brief rest, we decided to venture out again as it was early afternoon and we wanted to see as much as possible in a few days.   Our first stop was Geary Street, where the famous Britex is located, actually only a block or 2 away from the hotel! 

Geary Street is a world unto itself, full of amazing little shops full of all types of goodies to choose from.  For all of the Singer and other varieties of treadle machines, there was a store next door to Britex that had models of all types of treadles in the window!  Some that I was not aware of, some rare.  Doug asked about it, and a lot had been bough at yard sales.  These were just displays and not for sale.  Darn it!  Then again, could you see us bringing one of those home on the train? 

Britex is a wonderful place to shop!  Imagine a small, tall building, 4 stories high, squeezed in between several other much taller buildings.  Now, try and imagine a long but not very wide space filled to the ceiling, of each floor, with fabric of all types, weaves, textures, colors, patterns!  If you wanted fabric from the top, you needed a ladder to reach it!  Then, in between the walls, it was stuffed full of tables and tables, with shelves underneath, full of even more delicious fabrics!  Doug asked if he should wait for me, and I said I would be out sometime next month! 

I really wanted to take some pictures but they don’t allow pictures in the store.  The first floor is dedicated to fabric intended for clothing, anything you can imagine.  The second floor is full of silks, cottons, polyesters, blends, etc.  The third floor is full of buttons, fasteners, notions, and tools.  The fourth floor is all remanants.  But beware, their remanants are pricey, not what you find at Joann’s or WalMart.  They start with portions off the bolt by the yard and sold that way, no small pieces, and the prices ranged from $15 to $75, for the remanants! 

I made my way through Britex, just taking in the smell of fresh fabric, and enjoying looking through all the notions and fabric, and about an hour later I was $80 lighter!  But, what a way to spend!  I had amazing service by a sweet lady, also a quilter, who helped me find what I wanted and offered to help work on my palette of colors, cut it and set aside as I continued to shop!  Very good service and so much fun.  It seems as though if I didn’t find what I wanted, she would find it in a secret hiding space and pull out just the right color!  For me, this was my personal favorite part of the SF experience. 

Well, I’m a little tired, so will post more tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Wow, 30 years of marriage?  I hear that a lot lately.  Yep, and to the same guy.  Well, what do you do that is special for that special day??   Hmmm, party?   Nah.   Stay at home and look at each other lovingly all day?  Do that all the time.  Go on a trip?  Hmmm………. sounds good.  But where?   How about somewhere you have never been to, at least together?  Even better!  But where?  Okay, San Francisco!  And, that is how our trip began, with my planning it and booking it, with the help of my sisters.  Okay, we had it planned out, now to wait for the big day to arrive.

Well, Saturday, March 19th dawned.  Actually, it wasn’t dawn quite yet when we got up at 5 a.m. in order to catch the train.  Doug insisted that we be there early in order to be on time.  Good thing, but come on, there is such a thing as being too early.  That’s Doug, and after 30 years, you just live with it.   I like to be early, but not that early!  

Everything had been packed the night before, ok, a couple of days before.  An was set to come and take us to the Amtrak that morning.  I had everything all set out and ready to go, had fed and petted the kitties, and just about ready to leave and An showed up, early.  Now, that’s unusual for him!  Doug, as usual was anxious to go, and I was finishing in the bathroom and wanted to grab my hairbrush, but of course, with my memory, forgot it as soon as I went in there, and remembered it   in the car. 

At this time, there are no pictures, as I need to take them in and get them developed and put on CD.  My regular camera decided to go on strike, so I looked around for a good price on instamatic cameras before we left, and didn’t find any.  So, we now had 2 things to look for in SF.  A hairbrush and cameras.   Off to a good start so far.

As I was saying, An came a little early, about 5:45 am.  The train was to leave at 6:50 am.  He left Kathy and little Sam to sleep.  And we were on our way.  An really is a sweetie, and will do anything to help out.  We arrived at the train station just at 6:00 am and it was just then beginning to break into dawn.  A very cold and soon to be wet dawn, but pretty.   If you watch really closely, you will find that there is a theme here, early…..  Need I say more?

We went into the train station.  A really nice one here in Fresno that has just been redone in the past few years, nice, clean and plenty of seats.  We had already purchased our tickets and didn’t need to check in as Doug had a backpack with all our belongings, and I had my big purse and a blue carryon bag with all my makeup, etc., minus a hairbrush.  LOL!   We sat down and relaxed for a bit.  A very short bit……..  kids were starting to come in.  Turns out they were part of a church group of preteens that were going to be on the same train.  I think there were about 30 of them including adults.  We decided to move to another bench to give them room and also, they were, not intentionally, getting a little loud.  Doug has trouble hearing from being in the Navy, and really loud noises hurt his ears.  We decided to go outside for a bit and just walk around, after all, the train ride and bus  ride was going to be at least 4 hours.  It was cold out there, and I was glad to have my sweater and a jacket on, as the wind was really cold.  If you have ever been on a train, you know that they start to announce the arrival times about  15 minutes before they are due.   At first, it started off at being on time, 6:50.   Then, it slowly went to 6:51, then 6:55, 6:57, and almost up to 7:01.  Of course, it then came to 6:55, and the train arrived 5 minutes late.  LOL!  We had fun guessing if it was going to be on time or not.  

We boarded the train, thinking that we could get a seat by ourselves and it would be quiet.  NOT!!!   The train was full, and then add in 30 teenagers, plus others waiting, and ourselves, there was very little space available.  We had to go to another car to find a seat, and we wound up across from a young woman going back to university and another gentleman.  It was so full, that the conductor was threatening to charge double for people who left their baggage on the seat next to them.  We forgot to take into account that the train was one for people wanting to go to the Bay area and SF for the weekend, and catered to them.  Also, being a weekend….. (catching the theme?)

We got our stuff settled in around us, a little crowded but ok, enough room to sit but not stretch your legs.  I had given Doug an early anniversary present, an MP3 player with songs downloaded, courtesy of Kathy.  He settled in with that, and I sat and read my book that I had brought.  The train ride was otherwise uneventful, except for the teens getting up and down, people getting on and off.  I believe at the next stop, Madera, the gentleman who was sitting across from me (Doug wanted the window seat) left and we were able to stretch for a bit.  Still very full.  We had a few others sit across from us at different stops, but otherwise pretty good trip.  It rained all the way up there, it seemed that the rain decided to follow us.  A few hours later, we arrived at Emeryville, where the bus would take us to SF.  Since the bus leaves right after the train arrives (supposedly) we rushed out the station like a bunch of lemmings to the other side, outside, in the rain, to wait………..  There were dozens of us lemmings waiting for someone to tell us what bus to get on, but the bus drivers didn’t seem to know.  Oh, I forgot to mention that there was another group that were on the train with us, a tour group, and they had a chartered bus they were waiting for.  Actually 2 buses.  The church group got off earlier.  Finally, there were on board.  Now to wait for the right bus for SF.  Apparently, they have about 4 buses that go to different stops and those stops only, in SF.  We finally boarded the bus that was to drop us at the Moscone Center, and boy what a contrast to the crowded train.  Plenty of seats that were padded and leaned back, and room to sit down and stretch!  I think Doug was a little happier with that, though you couldn’t tell on the train.  He was just bee bopping along to the music.  Me, I didn’t have an MP3 player, as I have headphones all day at work, and my ears were sore from that.  We drove across the Bay Bridge into SF and tried to look at the sites, but there was a lot of rain, and the water was really rough underneath the bridge.  But there it was, SF in front of us, and just in our grasp!  It felt so good to have finally arrived!  Big sigh of  relief! 

Well, I’m taking a break from this story for a bit, but will be back soon.  I promise!

Yesterday, Saturday morning dawned bright and new and full of hope, along with dreams for a relaxing morning before starting work in the afternoon.  We had dodged the snow that was promised for the morning, and it was crisp and cold.  Kathy, An, Doug and I had an appointment at a spa for the morning at 9 a.m. sharp.  This was to be a couples day for haircuts and a mini massage, a gift from An to Kathy for Valentine’s Day and an early birthday gift for me.   We were excited to do this together, and I was hoping that they would talk Doug into getting a shave so that I could finally see his face without a beard in 15 years (0r more). 

Well, Doug and I are the kind of people who are early for everything, Doug more so than me, actually almost neurotic (for those that know us well) about it.  Drives me and others up the wall.  Just to be on the safe side, we decided to get there a little early so that we could find the place.  No problem with that, after driving around the parking lot and then finding it in the rear of the complex, still plenty of time.  Oh, and by the way, did I forget to mention that in addition, Doug keeps his watch fast, so we were actually earlier. 

Well, we pull into the driveway and we get out and check to see if it is open or not.  After all, we had a 9 a.m. appointment and they should be at least inside getting ready, or so we thought and hoped.  Nope, the door was locked.  Okay, we’re a little early and so maybe they open at 9 and were getting prepared.  Should have known better than that by looking around the parking lot.  Our car was the only one…….. there………… at all!   Well, maybe due to the parking lot and lots of open spaces, they had decided to park in the front and leave the rear parking lot open for visitors and clients.  Come on, I’m an eternal optimist and have the patience of Job.  Now, if you have met my husband, he is the exact opposite.  Makes it real fun at times! 

So, we are sitting in the car.  Good thing Little Sam was spending the night with his Grandma Pok and cousins.  Throw him into the mix with this at 9 am, a little 3 year old, not quite awake and fussy.  I was counting my blessings for that.  Okay, to make a short story long and interesting, here I go.  We sat in the car for another 10  minutes, as it  wasn’t quite 9 yet.  Kathy checked the door, no one there still.  So, we waited again.  Doug was getting upset and so was Kathy.  I figured that something had happened and they were running late and was going to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Things happen.  Now, you see why I’m glad Little Sam wasn’t there!  Finally, about 9:30, a car pulled up and a woman with some bags got out.  She shot us a not too friendly look and opened the door, but locked it again  before we could get out.   Okay, she was running late, I thought, and so did Kathy, and Doug was getting agitated and thinking the worst.  An, surprisingly, was calm and he had paid for all this. 

We waited a few minutes to see if she was getting things together and Kathy went up and knocked on the glass door to get her attention.  The owner said that they were not open until 10 a.m.    WAIT!  WHAT THE HECK!   We’ve been sitting here for almost 45 minutes for a 9 am appointment and they’re not open.  Kathy came back and told us, and then Doug went into action and went to the door with Kathy.  Now, even though Doug can be impatient and get upset, he can be surprisingly calm when dealing with people.  It’s amazing, he has the greatest people skills and can handle most situations calmly but he doesn’t like to be around people.  Now mind you, this is with other people, not me, his wife!  🙂

They went in and talked to the owner.  She said that we didn’t have an appointment and that they don’t open until 10 am on Saturdays and they were totally booked for the day and we would have to reschedule.  Kathy explained that they did have an appointment.  The owner said that the person who booked the appointment has been screwing up and she didn’t have any information on this, that he had been booking appointments when they were not open, double booking and just not paying attention at all to her hours.  This was through a call center and since they were part of a corporation, we would have to go through them.  She did apologize but didn’t offer us anything else.  Now, this is when An got upset and since he works for a corporation also, he knew what was going on and was really angry at the whole situation.  He showed her the credit card receipt and appointments and she apologized again, but nothing else.  Fairly upsetting day. 

We decided to go ahead and go to the bookstores and shop around a bit before going home.  We then went and had a nice breakfast and then An decided he wanted to go and get some sort of wire for a game.  He is a manager of a GameStop and there was one next door to where we had breakfast.  I went in as I wanted to see what they had available.  An was talking to the manager there, and Kathy comes in.   She says that one of An’s assistant managers didn’t show up for work and that the store should’ve opened an hour and a half ago.  Turns out that the AM decided that he would rather do something else for the day and left his staff there waiting  for him as he had the key.  Needless to say, there were a lot of angry customers and staff, plus An.   We headed home and let An take care of his business.  What a way to start and end a morning, Way OFF SCHEDULE!  

We did have a couple of pleasant hours in between with breakfast and doing a little shopping.  It was good to see my kids for a bit and visit.   My husband, on the other hand, may see this differently!

The eternal optimist signing off for now,

CozyQuilts