Category: Dining Out

Travels with Eileen

My featured image is one taken on the patio next to my building on campus, which is two years old. The dear dragonfly landed on wet concrete, lost his life, but left a lovely image that one can enjoy when sitting on the table next to it. The dragonfly lives on…

This long read functions as my trip diary. My summer began on May 13, 2023. The graduate school has its ceremony on the second Friday in May, so the next day, I headed to Colorado, to celebrate Mother’s Day. On Monday the 15th, my sister, Eileen, and I boarded the California Zephyr to head to San Francisco. I love riding the train, which I do quite often. It was my sister’s first time on the Amtrak. The train departed at 4:10 pm, and away we went. Before we embarked, I mixed a cocktail for us to have a toast to our journey. We settled for paper cups since I had no access to proper glasses.

Some of the beauty seen along the way includes the magnificent Colorado River, fabulous geological structures, and brilliant colors. I care not for the rafters on the Colorado that insist on showing the Zephyr passengers their breasts and butts! None too impressive.

We had lovely meals on the train, as per usual. The meals come with the roomette, which is for two passengers. One of my favorite things about train travel includes permission to self to sit and enjoy the ride. I usually bring a book for the return ride, but my sis and I talked the whole way, both directions. I love meal times, too! There are four to each dining table, and when one’s party is two, one gets to meet two other people to be dining partners. This was my 10th train trip on the Amtrak system in the U.S., and I still think that the most friendly people ride the train. At least those remains my experiences in the dining cars and in the observation cars.

We arrived in Emeryville 24 hours from embarking in Grand Junction, CO. Passengers heading to San Francisco must take a bus across the Bay Bridge to get to the City. We lodged into our hotel by 6:00 p.m., cleaned up, and went hunting for our first dinner in SF. Not far from our hotel, at the entrance to China Town, we found a lovely Asian bistro, called, NOMA. Great staff, and great food. Here’s a glimpse:

We turned in early for a big day on our first, full day. I like to travel with a bit of food, just in case, so we made coffee in the room, and we ate energy bites that I made for the trip. One little “bite” has oatmeal, raisins, cinnamon, honey, and almond butter. Mix all the ingredients and form into spheres about the size of a golf ball. They taste delicious, and just one makes a great breakfast with a hot beverage. That gave us energy for a long morning until lunch.

Our hotel was not too far from Pier 1 on the Embarcadero, so we went the opposite direction on Bush to head toward The Golden Gate Bridge on the opposite side. We walked by retail spaces, auto repair and sale garages, beautiful homes, and tourist attractions. We walked past the homes on Nob Hill and the area surrounding Lombard street. We checked on the prices of those homes for sale. Even the most “simple” homes were priced at 9 million! We marveled at the gardens (a.ka. “yards”) in front of the homes with fruit trees, wild growing rosemary and fennel, and tropical plants. Once we gazed at the Golden Gate Bridge, we began to descend the many stairs toward the Palace of Fine Arts.

Travels with my sis, Eileen, proved to be a most marvelous time, because she is curious and interested in her environments of flora and fauna. We loved the beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. From there, we could see most of the peninsula that is San Francisco. All this walking, and a little bit of foraging on the edible flora, we became hungry, so we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.

One of my favorite things about the Wharf is the Maritime Museum of once active sea-going vessels, such as the Balclutha, which was closed for “safety concerns.” Years back, I attended several Sea Shanty Sing-alongs, but those were not happening this time either! Of course, we enjoyed the sea lions at Pier 39, too. On to the food…

Fisherman’s Wharf’s fame lies in its many food and local memorabilia. We found one of my favorite open-air fish market/dining places that serves clam chowder in a sourdough boule hollowed out to make a bowl for the chowder. Delicious! Then we wandered over to Ghiardelli Square to chocolate. Most of it was closed for remodeling, so we just saw the small retail store selling the famous chocolates. The walk prepared us for the Hotel Buena Vista for Irish coffee and a most friendly bartender!

After the coffees, we headed to Columbus Ave to visit City Lights Bookstore, as I do on every visit to SF. As per usual, City Lights Bookstore was a haven for readers, and the second floor dedicates itself to the Beats and their literary progeny. We found some books, some by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the father of City Lights. Sadly, the clerk that waited on us was one of the most sour individuals I’ve ever met! I wondered why he was so rude and dismissive. What is a person like this doing in this haven for literature? I thought maybe he was having a rough day, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Nope! We returned two days later only to find the rude guy waiting on us again. He was pleasant to look at, but he, apparently, has a black heart! On to purchase dinner…

After City Lights and a picture-taking opportunity of Vesuvios (Featured in Mike Myers, So I married an axe murderer) we found Molinari deli with the most beautiful assortment of Italian cured meats, locally made mozzarellas, in-house made bread, and many delights.

We procured a lovely supper of meats, cheeses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, bread, and wine to enjoy on our hotel’s roof top. Oops! I failed to mention that we stayed at the Orchard Hotel near the entrance of China Town. It has a lovely roof top with tables, chairs, and views of San Francisco! We took our lovely dinner to the rooftop where we enjoyed a chilly evening with great food and wine.

We had leftovers, which we enjoyed at the train station in Emeryville while we awaited our east bound Zephyr on Saturday morning. We retired to bed after a day’s walk of 12 miles, great food, and breath-taking sights. On to Thursday’s adventures…

Early to rise, and after a small breakfast of my energy bites (1 cup oats, 1/2 cup honey, 3/4 cup raisins, 1 cup almond butter, all mixed and formed into a golf ball sized sphere!) and coffee before heading to the Embarcadero, Pier 31, to board the vessel that took us to Alcatraz.

My main interest in visiting Alcatraz was to honor the “Indian” occupation in the 1970s. We were protesting the generations of erasure pursued by congress. We are still here! From Alcatraz, one can only imagine the gorgeous vistas from this place of imprisonment for crimes ranging from theft of fewer than $100 to murder, all in the same place. Yes. People should be held accountable, but some who have done worse are still walking free.

Back to Pier 31 by noon, we were ready for finding food! Luckily, The Ferry Building is near Pier 1, and though it was a bit of a walk, it was worth it! The Ferry Building, now the Ferry Building Marketplace, was built in 1898. While it had some decades of decay, it stands in a state of continual renewal and reimagining. It hosts vendors in an enclosed “farmers’ market” style of booths ranging from caviar to fungi, and all foods in between. For two foodies, it was hard to settle on one cultural food choice, so we combined different taste profiles. For some reason, I didn’t get pictures of our meal, only our desserts: cheesecake with caviar and Aztec chocolate with marshmallow! Yum!

After lunches, desserts, and drinks at the Ferry Building, we headed out for more walking. We ascended the steps to Coit Tower, walked around in surrounding neighborhoods and headed back to the hotel after we took pictures with the Transamerica Building.

Since Eileen’s husband is a rabid Denver Nuggets fan, we had to find a place to watch one of the playoff games, and we found an Irish Pub with the game. We ate corned beef and cabbage with a nice Guiness while we watched the game. The Nuggets went on to become world champs!

After 9 miles of walking, we retired to sleep eager for our final, full day in San Francisco.

Friday, being our final day, we opted for public transportation since the cable and street cars are moving museums. First we went to the Castro District. Sadly, the theater was dark that week. We walked around, and had a snack.

Then we rode the street car back to a point to catch the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf, for some memorabilia. After much walking and site seeing, we headed to Columbus Ave. for our final big meal at the Mona Lisa, known for their Sicilian Caviar, which is garlic baked in butter and olive oil. I can just imagine how we reeked!

We returned to our hotel, packed our suit cases to prepare for our return trip, and fell into restless slumbers for an early morning departure on a bus from SF and across the bay to Emeryville to board the California Zephyr east bound.

When we arrived in Emeryville, we learned that the train would be six hours late. That’s okay. I love the train! Since we were in for a long wait, we savored a nice breakfast of leftovers from Molinari and Boudin Sourdough, and I made bloody marys with tomato juice from the snack stand. It was a great feast! Is this a travel or a food blog?

We boarded the Zephyr and recounted the great stories of our adventure. Eileen is the best of travel companions. We compliment eachother’s travel styles. She does research on prospective experiences, and I fly by the seat of my pants! Here are some of our final sites.

Thank you for coming along on our trip!

The Wonders of Traveling to the City – Los Angeles

We landed at LAX, the international airport of Los Angeles, California today.  I love traveling.  Yes.  There are delays, many personalities, and some inconveniences.  Those little “bothers” dim when compared to the phenomenal wonders of witnessing the human experience in the process.  There are those who are laid back, as I tend to be, because we know we cannot hold back the tide, such is air travel.  There are those who appear to be stressed and uptight, perhaps, because they have no control over time and space, such is travel.   And there are those who appear to be oblivious to the process of travel and other life realities, in general.   

On the flight from Colorado to LAX, I had the pleasure of observing all three.  First, there was my seat mate who was traveling to LA to meet up with friends at Disneyland.  She amused me, not because she was unaware of direction in her home town of Colorado Springs (I mentioned that Cheyenne Moutain is always on the west, and if she faces it, her right would be north, and her left would be south.  To which she replied, “I don’t know what that means”.  Okay.  I get that, I think.  She appeared to be a nice young lady, no matter how unaware of her surroundings.  The great perplexing thing was that, once we landed, she did not know how she would get to Disneyland.  She thought of taking an Uber or Lyft for the 35 miles to Disney.  I suggested public transportation.  We were glad to help her get there, through a little research.  I was glad to help an elderly lady get her three big bags to the curb queue for waiting on family to fetch her. 

What I enjoyed the most, was the train ride to Pasadena.  Los Angeles has a very nice light rail.  On the ride, I spoke with homeless people who rode the rail for most of the day.  I interacted with some who were suffering from untreated mental illness, and with hard-working folk who toiled long, hard days to support their families in jobs that contribute to the economy, put food on our tables, and tend toward jobs that most of us do not want to do, nor do we raise our children to do such jobs.   

On the train in LA

I loved watching a little girl explaining to her mother, in Spanish, about her Russian Nesting Dolls, which she received as a gift from her teacher at school in the first day.  The little girl explained to me, the origins of her gift, in perfect English.  She was about 9 years old and very bright.

Little girls with nesting dolls on train

The first train from LAX takes us to Union Station, built in 1939 as a Passenger Terminal.  Called the “Last of the Great Railways, LA Union Station gained notoriety in 1980 by being place on the National Registry of Historic Places.  When we took the train from Kansas City to Los Angeles two years ago, we had the pleasure of departing from a great Union Station and Arriving at an equally great Union Station.  If only the walls could speak! 

The ride from LA Union Station to Pasadena afforded the observer with great contradictions.   Hibiscus “hedges” lined the streets while on those streets were small microcosms of tent “villages” inhabited by homeless people.   My heart breaks for the many circumstances that render one homeless, , and I believe we can learn much from them, because I witnessed great survival skills and resourcefulness in those with whom I’ve interacted.   

By the time we reached our destination of Pasadena, CA, I had spoken to 15 people each with a story to tell.  If we, but, listen, the voice of humanity shines, and we walk away a little smarter for the experience.   

Not only does the city offer the continuum of the human experience, I like to go to grocery stores to see what the locals purchase.  I like a well-stocked grocery with a wide array of ethnic ingredients, and Los Angeles does not disappoint!  Opportunities for dining out are fabulous!  One of my favorite hamburger spots is In-n-Out Burgers!  Opened in 1948 by the Snyders, the franchise boasts that it has no freezer or microwave.  Each “store” provides a viewing window, where we wait and watch each burger assembled.  The “double-double” has two freshly cooked patties that are place on buttered-toasted buns, freshly sliced onion and tomatoes and a chunk of lettuces pulled from the freshly broken head.  The fries come from a potato placed in a chopper directly into the hot oil.  All this is washed down with a sparkling cola.  There are even items from a “hidden” menu such as “animal fries” and a patty cooked for your dog! 

In and Out

After sitting with my brother-in-law, as he received chemo-therapy infusion, we treated ourselves to a snack of “inari-sushi” from a “stand” that has been in existence from Dale’s (my spouse) childhood. He’s 69 years old, so that Inari-Sushi stand has been around for a while.  One orders from a window, and the person brings the order to the car.  Inari-shushi is sushi rice, sesame seeds, with seasoned rice vinegar tucked into a tofu pocket.  Eaten with soy sauce and pickled ginger, it’s a taste explosion you won’t soon forget.  Now, I’m on the hunt for recipes on making the tofu pocket!   

Thank you for reading.