Spring in San Francisco

We finally made the trek back to San Francisco. The drive from L.A. was uneventful (of course, we did our patented Sunday travel – especially helpful when you’re traveling through cities. Something about 70’ of motorhome driving through busy rush hour traffic brings out the worst in those drivers trying to get to work.

We got settled and drove to the marina to see “The Boat”. Bob and Camille sold their house in Oakland and (like father, like son) decided to downsize and move into something that moves. They opted for a “land yacht”- a Grand Banks cruiser. We ended up spending many an afternoon on the boat, drinking Corona’s and noshing on Bob’s amazing concoctions. (Where that boy learned how to cook is a puzzle – John is incapable of boiling water- and Bob has become one of those remarkably creative chefs! Lucky Camille!)






Bruiser, Bob and Camille’s 85 pound Olde English Bulldog had just come back from the vet after getting “fixed”. Poor dog, but lucky us – he was a bit less rambunctious than normal. In addition to the dog, they have two beautiful cats, Frank and Guiness. The dog (and cats) enjoy fishing off the boat with Bob.

When we weren’t relaxing on the boat, Bob and Camille were introducing us to the best dives in SFO. No one understands our love of dives as much as these two and they continually astonish us with the quantity and quality of their finds. One afternoon, we were sitting with the bike messengers at the outside picnic tables at Zeitgeist (corner of Duboce and Valencia). There was the motorcycle bar, Rickenbackers, with antique motorcycles everywhere- hanging on the walls, from the ceiling. Our favorite was Malloy’s Irish Pub in Colma.
Colma was founded as a necropolis in 1924. Land in SFO was becoming too valuable to use for cemeteries, so they selected the town of Colma for future burials. In fact, the city of San Francisco sent out eviction notices to their cemeteries to remove their bodies and monuments. Colma inherited hundreds of thousands of bodies. Many of them went into mass graves as there were no relatives to pay the $10.00 for removal. Today, they have 1,500 above ground residents and 1.5 million underground. Their motto is “It’s Great to Be Alive in Colma!”

While Bob and Camille were working, we entertained ourselves – taking a food tour of SFO. With stops at the Ferry Building for coffee, Acme Bakery for sourdough bread, Chinatown for a huge tasting, North Beach for cannoli and a tacqueria at Market & 6th, we successfully ate our way through the city. We ended the tour at the Buena Vista for Irish coffee. Bob and Camille joined us and cousin Sarah (in town for the weekend) stopped by.

With all of his family research, John was able to track down a long-lost cousin and we took a drive to Portola Valley to meet with Burt, his wife, Ellen and son, Eric. Their house, deep in the redwoods, was a labor of love for them. They had built most of it themselves. It was a great day, giving John and Burt a chance to catch up over many years.