Two fogless days in San Francisco. What a gift!

Yesterday we walked down Polk Street to Fisherman's Wharf—a walk which includes a view of Lombard Street, the steepest, curviest block in San Francisco. We checked out all the touristy stuff at the Wharf, including Ghiradelli Square, the Salvador Dali gallery, and the Hyde Street Pier. A few trips ago we visited Alcatraz, the  infamous federal prison, bird
sanctuary, the first lighthouse on the West Coast, and the birthplace
of the Native American Red Power movement. That was a great trip.

Then we decided to take a Cable Car to Market Street and waited with tourists from all around the world for, like, a half hour while listening to one of the area's street musicians, a bluesy electric guitar player. Riding a cable car is so awesomely cool. Refurbished and equipped with new tracks, cables,
turntables and cable propulsion machinery, San Francisco’s cable
cards operate just like they did more than 100 years ago. Unfortunately we didn't get to hang onto a pole and ride from the outside of the car. Still, it's a very fun ride with great views of the hilly city and is views of the coast.

We fully intended to do something "cultural" in downtown San Francisco like go to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and walk around the Yerba Buena Gardens, but somehow we got kidnapped by the plethora of cool shops on Market Street and what is probably the world's biggest GAP store (San Francisco is their international headquarters after all).

Oh well, at least OSFO has her first-day-of-school outfit (a cool purple skirt from American Eagle, a v-necked cardigan from GAP, a pair of grey flannel flats).

Speaking of stores, on Polk Street we happened upon a store called Favor, which sells Hotcakes Jewelry. The Hotcakes Design
studio is located upstairs from their colorful, fun retail shop. They have all the jewelry currently in their line plus  lots of items you 
won't find at The Clay Pot like the Louise Brooks earrings and the Billie Holiday necklace. They also carry jewelry by other artists. What a great find!

We waited another half hour for the Powell Street cable car. This time we had the two best spots on the car, the pole at the very front. What a great ride. We hopped off at Union Street and walked the hilly way back to the apartment where we're staying.

For dinner, we ordered in from our favorite Chinese place, Tai Chi on Polk Street. We were tired from our long day in San Francisco. And OSFO just loves Chinese food.

Today: a trip to Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences and Haight Asbury. Okay. And I hope to stop in to see blogger/retailer Rena at Rare Device (a shop that used to be in Park Slope). I also hope to meet Sasha Wingate at Bell Jar, a shop in the Mission I  wrote about for the Associated Press. I also hope to make it over to the City Lights Books in North Beach.