We awoke to the sound of activity outside -- a LOT of activity. I couldn’t imagine what was going on. It was the sound of HUNDREDS (maybe THOUSANDS) of people arriving and setting up for the San Francisco 49ers vs. the New Orleans Saints football game. I think I already mentioned that our campground is right behind MONSTER PARK, where the games are played. Most of the people in the campground were there for the game. The parking lot across the street was filled with people preparing for tailgating parties. There were people selling 49ers souvenirs; people selling beer. There were people directing traffic (which was crazy). It was loud and hectic, to say the least.
On the way back from my shower at 10:00am, there were at LEAST 5 different groups of people throwing footballs back and forth. Were they warming up to watch the game? I am the furthest thing from a sports fan (I mean the FURTHEST), so I have never been within 50 miles of a football stadium on the day of a game. I had no idea people were this enthusiastic about the game, but I guess I should have known.
Jimmy was coming to pick us up, to bring us back to THE CASTRO for brunch. We felt terrible, because we were afraid he would hit tons of traffic, but he said it wasn’t bad at all. We drove back to town and went to HOME for their fabulous brunch.
The place is adorable, with a large front room and smaller back room (where we were seated). There is a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, which Eric did with great enthusiasm. He has always loved Bloody Marys, but many times he complains that there isn’t anything more than mix and vodka. Here, they had about 10 different kinds of hot sauce, pearl onions, celery, horseradish, olives, lemons, limes, tomato juice, and Bloody Mary mix. They give you a glass with ice and vodka and you do the rest! He made his very spicy with lots of horseradish – just how we like it!
I had a mimosa and Jim had coffee.
Jim had the croissant sandwich, with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and breakfast potatoes. I had the Eggs Florentine, with an English muffin, poached eggs, sautéed spinach, hollandaise, and breakfast potatoes. Eric had the Eggs Benedict, with an English muffin, poached eggs, Canadian bacon, hollandaise and breakfast potatoes. They also put cranberry bread and chocolate bread on the table, which was to die for.
We left – stuffed and happy (especially from the Bloody Mary and Mimosa!) and walked around THE CASTRO for a few hours, going in and out of all the stores. It was remarkably warm out today. I wore a t-shirt with a light cardigan over it, and had to take the cardigan off and put it around my waist. Eric was wearing a sweatshirt over a t-shirt and had to take his sweatshirt off. It felt like 80 degrees, but the temperature was really only about 65 degrees. The sun was just SO strong!
Some of the beautiful houses in THE CASTRO:
A fabulous three dimensional mural by COLETTE CRUTCHER painted in 1998:
Jimmy had his eye on a great pair of VANS sneakers (classic slip-ons) so we went to a shoe store and we bought them for him. We felt he deserved something special for doing so much for us over the past few days. He has not only driven us around, and shown us the sights, but he also gave us all the information about our campground, and local mountain biking.
Jimmy's fabulous new VANS:
Eric also needed a new pair of sneakers – badly – but he didn’t like anything they had at this shoe store, so Jimmy suggested that we go downtown. He said there was a DSW there, which has tons of shoes for men and women. So, we hopped on the trolley, which was really fun, and headed down to the area where Eric and I stayed on our honeymoon, in June of 1984. On our honeymoon we stayed at the St. Francis Hotel and had a view of Union Square. We stood there today and thought about how much time has passed. We had a wonderful time back then, and we had a wonderful day today, too! Jimmy told us that Union Square was renovated years ago, and it looked quite different than when we were there.
Eric at DSW trying on sneakers:
We went into DSW and Eric bought a great pair of black sneakers. We shopped around town, in H&M, Macy’s, and some other stores, and walked all over.
Eric and Jimmy at DSW. Please note that Jimmy is holding my purse. Now THAT'S a friend!
Then, we hopped back on the trolley and went back to THE CASTRO. We went up to Jim’s apartment and relaxed for a while. By now, it was dinner time, so we went to the BAGDAD CAFÉ on Market Street. Jim and I had salads and Eric had a chicken sandwich.
The Trolley!
My handsome boys:
Some of the amazing choices at Gelateria Naia:
We walked around a bit more, going into some record shops, and then went to GELATERIA NAIA on Castro Street for dessert. All I can say is, WOW! They had the most unbelievable flavors of sorbetto and gelato I have ever seen. It was hard to choose, and they said we could have two flavors in the small cup.
I got Nutella and Espresso (my favorite things – chocolate and coffee!). Eric got Banana Walnut and Madagascar Vanilla. Jim got Pumpkin and Pistachio.
They make all their gelato and sorbetto the traditional way using high-quality, natural ingredients, many of which come from Italy. Some ingredients come from local businesses; others are imported from around the world. They don’t use artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It really was fantastic. If our freezer was working better, we would have taken some to go!
By now, we were full and exhausted (and, because the sun was down and I had just eaten gelato, I was freezing!), so we piled back into Jimmy’s car and he drove us back to the campground. Fortunately, the game ended hours ago and the only remains were the tons of garbage strewn about the parking lot. It is really disgusting how much people litter and it’s horrible that they can’t clean up after themselves. We were happy to see that it was much quieter in the RV campground and there should be no rude awakenings tomorrow morning!
Jimmy's Tiny Garage:
We will be renting a car tomorrow morning, so we won’t need to bother Jimmy anymore. He has been so kind, not only chauffeuring us around, but also showing us all the sights. We really had fun last night and all day today.
We are going to investigate mountain biking in the San Francisco area and see if we can’t get Eric out on a ride. He also still wants to get the front wheels aligned on the RV (the never-ending quest for alignment!), so we have plenty to keep us busy while Jim’s at work!