Weather forecast said intermittent showers but we were not intimidated. Armed with an umbrella, we sat atop the bus that took us through the same streets again – Chinatown, Financial district, North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39. It was cloudy and the view was not the same as the previous day but we had decided to use the time for souvenir shopping. And so we did. Checked out “I love SF” t-shirts, Alcatraz “prisoner style” nightshirts for babies, magnets, key chains and hats. Aparna bought a few pairs of earrings that were unique – Murano Arte Glass, said the roadside shop, green and blue starfish, purple ovals and orange circles enclosing within its translucent shell, intricate designs of nature. A different sketch artist sat in the same spot as the one we had seen the day before, this time his umbrella helped shield him from the drizzle.
Boudins, the famous bakery that has a display of artistically made sourdough bread, beckoned us with a promise of hot soup and sandwich (how wonderful to find vegetarian options for both). The breadmakers were hard at work, shaping the dough, loading the trays, lifting fresh baked bread into the baskets, creating edible masterpieces. The soup was served in a hollowed out bread shell and was delicious, just like the accompanying sandwich. We observed the constant activity in the large eating and serving area. Overhead baskets of bread moved on a conveyor to the bakery, the empty ones refilled with fresh baked baguettes and loaves as they moved from the serving area to the bakery. Truly a San Francisco treat.
We had to cut short our shopping expedition in order to find our way to Market Street for a business meeting at 3 p.m. The tour bus did not show up on time so we had the pleasure of taking another mode of transportation, the tram. The slow moving carriage that runs on a track took us past the other piers and through the Embarcadero.
That night we went rock climbing with Jeyanthi’s kids, or more accurately, we adults watched the girls as they climbed up steep rock faces in an indoor setting, using a harness and an automatic belay (the mechanism that lets a climber come down easily as the rope drops). Aparna was apprehensive at first but within a few minutes, with active support and coaching from Pallavi and Sruthi, she climbed several steep rock faces like a monkey. The reward for this hard work was a long awaited visit to In-N-Out Burger for a cheese sandwich (what a burger becomes when you remove the beef patty), fries and milkshakes. The girls gobbled down the goodies in no time and it was time to hit the sack.
I had committed the cardinal sin of combining business on this holiday and day 5 was devoted to back to back meetings with current and prospective clients. In the times that I was away, Aparna had a few other typical American experiences, like visiting Sruthi’s schools’ annual open house, bowling, watching the girls try out for the summer swim team. The highlight of the first-hand experiences was the opportunity to mow the lawn at home!
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