A Recent Visit to San Francisco

Jennifer Elliott • March 22, 2024

Growing up in Lake Tahoe in the 70s, there were few cultural experiences to be found, so to fill this gap, we frequently visited San Francisco on the weekends. It was in San Francisco that I was first exposed to real culture: art in museums, classical music, the ballet, and Broadway shows. Our family ate Chinese food in Chinatown, finishing the meal with fortune cookies. We were required to dress up, which was always a treat. Cable cars, the smell of both salt air from the ocean and roses from the flower stands formerly stationed on the corners at Union Square. I always looked forward to staying in the high-rise hotel or the bed and breakfast, which were just becoming all the rage. The Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park, and Alcatraz. And I can even remember the very first Cost Plus Imports store (now World Market) on Fisherman’s Wharf.

Our family would leave the lake mid-afternoon Friday and arrive in the city early evening. The city lights glowed as we crossed the Bay Bridge, and I would feel a buzz of excitement that I still feel upon entering the city.

We were just there a couple of weekends ago, the first weekend of May, and again had a magical time. Below are some of the highlights of our visit.

MUSEUMS and EXPERIENCES

There are loads of museums to visit in San Francisco, almost too many to list. We always try to visit at least one. Here are a few:

The San Francisco MOMA

Explore here >>

The Walt Disney Family Museum

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The De Young/The Legion of Honor

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California Academy of Sciences

Houses a planetarium, natural history museum and an aquarium.

Explore here >>

The Jewish Contemporary Museum

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The Asian Art Museum

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If you have young children, the Exploratorium is perfect. And a ferry ride to Alcatraz Island and tour of the landmark Alcatraz Prison is very interesting. Views of the bridge, the cold water, and squawking seagulls make the experience immersive. Dress warmly.

During our recent visit, I went to the Museum of Craft and Design. It featured an exhibition with the concrete journals of Anne Hicks Siberell. But I was most interested in her handmade accordion books.

Golden Gate Park is lovely and huge. They have a botanical garden, as well.

The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries traveling all over the bay, an office building, and a marketplace.

The Market features merchants with specialties- butchers, bakeries, olive oil, cheese, crepes, coffee, wine, cupcakes, even pudding. Yes, just pudding. A fresh farmer’s market takes place three days a week.

A view of Bay Bridge, ocean side, Ferry Building

RESTAURANTS

in addition to the Ferry Marketplace (above), of which I could happily eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Below are a few of our favorites:

  • Yank Sing is a must-eat for Dim Sum every time we visit.
  • Mission Rock Resort for Brunch and beautiful views of the Bay. 
  • We enjoyed a late lunch at the Michelin Star, Spruce. Amazing. 
  • We were also told Boulevard is fabulous.


Sears Fine Food for breakfast.

Tartine is the bakery to try.

And the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar located in the basement of the Fairmont is worth a visit for either Chinese food or just a drink and listen to the live music.

Also, it’s hard to find bad Italian food in San Francisco, but our favorite is atop Nob Hill, the Nob Hill Café.

Oracle Field hosts the San Francisco Giants. It is a great venue, sitting right along the edge of the bay.

HOTELS


I’ve been wanting to try the following:



There is no denying that San Francisco is struggling…homelessness, drug use, shoplifting, crime, an exodus of retailers, and a boatload of unleased commercial and residential spaces. A “Doom Loop” hovers like storm clouds. But despite it all, the city has spirit, and its heartbeat can still be felt.


In a high-end shop situated on Union Square, we struck up a conversation with the store manager. He was an immigrant who moved to San Francisco in the mid-1990s. He was drawn to San Francisco because of the artists and the “welcoming feeling” he described when first visiting. “I felt a freedom here I have never felt anywhere else,” he shared. He then went on to describe how the city struggled during the great recession of 2007-2009 but rebounded with vengeance in the next decade. The dot-comers flooded the city, blowing up real estate prices and forcing out the artists and creatives (of whom he was originally drawn). He shared that he hoped that those artists and creatives would return with San Francisco’s next evolution or reinvention. 


While it all unfolds, we’ll continue to visit- to experience the arts, culture, and sports, take in the ocean and bay views, have amazing meals- and, more than anything, share our support.


Jennifer Elliott

Copyright 2023

Patton Lumber

By Jennifer Elliott • March 22, 2024
Every summer I try to visit the place where I grew up, the north shore of Lake Tahoe. I realize now what a unique experience it was to grow up there. Charming, with its small-town feel, the mountain peaks surround the beautiful crystal blue lake covered with wooded forests and ski resorts carved into them- and alpine-style cabins. I hold the first property we lived in – in my mind - cradling it with special affection. The memories unfold. It was a small house next to a smooth pebble-rock beach. The beach was public. The 900-square-foot house was originally a drive-by food stand for the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley (now called Palisades). They sold loads of hot dogs to passersby. The shop owner lived upstairs and the original kitchen was all aluminum. Then converted, our family moved in. While tiny, the house seemed big to me because I was only just over two years old when we moved in. We all slept upstairs in the finished attic with slanted ceilings. The stairs to the attic bedrooms were wood and steep. I remember this because I once tripped and rolled down the staircase cutting my lip.

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