Day by the Bay

My nephew, the newly minted college graduate, flew in last weekend. One of the benefits of seniority is that I have over a month of accrued vacation, so I took an unplanned holiday on Monday and played tour guide. We walked south along the Embarcadero, past the renovated Ferry Building, past Cupid’s Span, to Red’s Java House.



The unpretentious Red’s is one of the few wooden structures remaining on the waterfront and serves a burger on toasted French bread, fries, and soda for about five bucks. For less than a dollar more, I could have substituted a beer for the soda, but not today: I was driving and had to set a good example for the youngsters.



We sat on the deck in the back, a slight breeze taking the edge off the heat.

After lunch we retraced our steps back to the Ferry Building and boarded the ferry for the 30-minute ride to Sausalito.



The comfortable interior of the Sonoma, with its well-stocked bar, is a civilized way to end the day for Marin County commuters. Today work was far from our mind, so we paused at the lounge only briefly before going up to the deck to take in the views of the bay.


The fire just north of the GG Bridge was quickly controlled.



Disembarking in Sausalito, we stopped for coffee and ice cream, then strolled through various art galleries and candy shops in the time-honored tradition of tourists everywhere, looking, but for the most part, not buying. My wife met us with the car, and I took the wheel and headed home. An extra large garlic pizza at Toto’s in San Bruno capped a perfect day.