Updated September 29, 2019

Here is the deal. I have six sisters, three brothers and more nieces and nephews than I can count. Three of my sisters and one of my nieces were all born in September (It gets very cold in Nebraska in January, so people tend to stay inside and find things to do).

A few years ago, the “September” babies decided to get together and take a trip to celebrate all our birthdays. When went to Savannah, Georgia and stayed in an Airbnb. It was a great idea and a great trip, so we decided to do it again this year. Sister Rose (Sep 23) arranged for a BnB in San Francisco so we could go to places like Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and some of the fine restaurants in that great city. We also planned to take in an Oakland A’s baseball game.

Here is Nancy (Sep 20), Rose (Sep 23) and Myself (Sep 1), when we first arrived at the BnB:

Behind us is what we called the “Stairway to Nowhere” … sorry Sarah Palin. It is a spiral staircase that actually just goes up to the ceiling and stops. Weird.

Here are the Birthday people:
Me (Sep 1), My Niece Anna (Sep 14), My sister Nancy (Sep 20 ), My sister Rosemary (Sep 23) and my sister Susie (Sep (28).

Thursday, September 19, 2019

About an hour after I arrived in San Francisco, we decided to look for a place to eat. The street in front of the BnB was very narrow and there were cars parked on the street directly across from where I was parked. I totally misjudged how wide the street was and, while looking both ways for oncoming traffic, I hit a car on the other side of the street with the car I had rented.

The damage looked like this:

Being the honest person I am, I left a note on the damaged car with my name and phone number. I was not worried because I had purchased what I believed to be “full” coverage insurance on the rental car.

Turns out I did not read the insurance policy correctly. Any damage to the rental car was fully covered, but damage to other vehicles was NOT covered. That damage had to be reported to my personal auto insurance. It was covered, but I had to pay a $200.00 deductible. That was a very valuable lesson and I will be sure to read everything the next time I rent a car and purchase insurance.

Friday, September 20, 2019

This morning we went to Chinatown. That is a very famous part of San Francisco.

Here are some pictures of our time there:

On Friday afternoon we went to the Pier 39 which is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of California sea lions hauled out on docks on Pier 39’s marina.

One of the things we (at least Rosemary) tried was the “Aquamassage“. Basically what that is a quick, convenient way to get a full-body massage. Jets of water are used over a protective plastic barrier to give a relaxing massage without the need to remove any clothing, or apply any lotions or oils. No physical touching involved, the entire massage is given by the machine.

Here is what that looks like:

She said that it was “amazing”. I didn’t try it, but I wished that I had. It wasn’t that expensive. Here are the prices:

In addition to the “Aquamassage”, there were numerous gadgets designed to massage you in various ways. Nancy and Susie tried out the “shoulder massage”.

A few California sea lions began “hauling out” on PIER 39’s K-Dock shortly after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco in October 1989. By January 1990, the boisterous barking pinnipeds started to arrive in droves and completely took over K-Dock, much to the exasperation of PIER 39’s Marina tenants. The Marina Staff turned to The Marine Mammal Center, an organization devoted to the rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals, for advice about their new slippery tenants. After much debate and research, the experts from The Marine Mammal Center recommended that the sea lions stay in their newfound home.

With a plentiful supply of food from the Bay and an environment protected from predators, the PIER 39 Marina proved to be an ideal living situation for the sea lions. Within a few short months, the number of sea lions grew to more than 300 and hit an all-time record of 1,701 in November 2009.

While the number of sea lions at K-Dock rise and fall with the seasons, available food supply and natural migration patterns, the world famous sea lions always have a home at PIER 39.

Another inhabitant of Pier 39 who let me take a selfie with him/her:

Later than evening we were joined by Anna and Dustin. We went to a Sports bar and had some drinks. Then we took an Uber down to the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. If you are younger than 50 years old you probably have no idea of the history of that area.

My niece Tammi falls into the Under 50 category, so she looked it up. Here is what she sent us:

Haight-Ashbury : Birthplace of the 1960s counterculture movement, Haight-Ashbury draws a lively, diverse crowd looking to soak up the historic hippie vibe. Upper Haight Street is a hodgepodge of vintage clothing boutiques, record shops, bookstores, dive bars and casual, eclectic restaurants. Bordering Golden Gate Park, the neighborhood features many colorful, well-preserved Victorian homes, including the storied Grateful Dead House.

We took a picture at that famous intersection (with our signs, of course).

Then we had a great dinner right down the street:

I had the Tiramisu …. Mmmm ….

Saturday, September 21,2019

Anna and Dustin were busy this morning, so Nancy, Rosemary, Susie and I set out to explore the neighborhood where the BnB we were staying at was located. It was in the “Castro” District of San Francisco. In case you don’t know what that is (before I came on this trip I did not), here is what Google says about that area:

“The Castro District, commonly referenced as The Castro, is a neighborhood in The Castro District. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States.

Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through the 1960s and 1970s, the Castro remains one of the most prominent symbols of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events in the world.”

The Castro is a “thriving marketplace for all things gay” meaning everything in the area is catered to people who identify with LGBT culture and other associated meanings to the word gay. There are cafes, the Castro Theater, and many businesses that cater to or openly welcome LGBT consumers. These establishments make the Castro an area of high spending and lead to high tourist traffic. In addition to the city’s locals, people travel to visit the shops and restaurants as well as the events that take place, such as the Castro Street Fair. 

My blog is “Rated G – For General Audiences“, so I won’t go into detail or post any questionable pictures of what we saw and heard, other than to say it was a “very interesting” area.

We went to a place called Hot Cookie and had some delicious pastries for breakfast. There were other goodies for sale, but I won’t describe them. None of us purchased any of them. Here are some pics:

I was not aware of this calculation. If you take your man’s shoe size and add 2, you will get your “Drag Queen” shoe size. Who knew? I like the $69.99 shoe, but that’s just me.

On Saturday afternoon, we were joined by Anna and Dustin. Before we went to the Oakland A’s game that night, Susie, Dustin and Anna had a surprise for us. They had arranged for us to go on a Gondola ride on Lake Merritt in Oakland. It was a really a great surprise that we all enjoyed very much.

The Gondola captain was named Mike. Dustin and Anna provided champagne for everyone (Cola for me). Mike sang a few Italian songs as he rowed us around the Lake. In one of my favorite Elvis movies, Viva Las Vegas, Elvis sang an Italian song called Santa Lucia. I asked Mike if he knew that song. He said he was familiar with it, but could not sing it. Everything else was so great that I didn’t care.

Here are some pics:

After the gondola ride, we all went to the RingCentral Coliseum to watch the Oakland A’s play the Texas Rangers. Rosemary, Anna, Dustin and I are die hard baseball fans. Nancy and Susie … not so much, but they were good sports and went anyway.

Here are some pics:

As with any other event since 911 involving thousands of people, security was tight … Thank You Osama Bin Laden.

After the game (which Oakland won 12-3 … lots of home runs), fans were allowed to go down on the field and watch an excellent fireworks show:

September 22, 2019

This was the last day of our September Birthdays trip. Again, Anna had to stay home and work on her dossier, but Dustin was able to join us.

The whole day was spent in Sonoma and Napa Valley, regions known everywhere for wine making. We saw all the vineyards and visited several wineries for some wine tasting. The others enjoyed sampling all the various wines while I enjoyed hearing the wine masters tell the stories and secrets behind the various types of wines.

We started off with a delicious breakfast in Sonoma.

Then it was off to the vineyards and wineries. Everywhere we went we saw grape vines … lots of grape vines.

ONE FINAL NOTE TO END A GREAT TRIP:

In September of 1968, I was stationed near Santa Barbara, California. A good friend of mine from South Omaha was in the Navy and his ship was going to dock in Oakland for a few days. We decided to meet up in Oakland and do some sightseeing in San Francisco.

I drove up the coast from Santa Barbara and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into Oakland … at least that is what I have been telling people for the last 50 years. It turns out that to get to Oakland from San Francisco you use the Oakland Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate. Until this trip, I had never been on the Golden Gate.

To get to Sonoma from San Francisco, you do cross the Golden Gate and, on September 20, 2019, I finally was able to say I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I don’t have a picture because it was so foggy that morning that you could not even see the bridge, but I did get a T-Shirt, so I am no longer a liar.

See you all next trip.