Is it a sign of an impulsive personality for a person to reserve a plane ticket on a week's notice (using miles), without calling any friends who live near her destination to see if they will even be in town? Because that's what I did tonight.
I have been yearning to get away for Labor Day weekend, which also happens to coincide with my birthday. However, a case I've been working on has a lot of deadlines in the September time frame and I feared that I would be working through pretty much every weekend in September. So, I made no travel plans, other than a quick trip to Chicago. Today my case went away and when I arrived home, the idea of a jaunt over the long weekend began forming. Because it's on my birthday weekend and because I feel I should reward myself for obtaining a fabulous result with which my client is delighted, I wanted to do something different, instead of visiting a "tried and true" favorite kind of place.
Where am I going, you ask? I will be traveling San Francisco--a place I've never visited before, but which I suspect I will love. And I could not be more thrilled! If I have any skill in life, it is the planning of interesting trips on short notice. For me, this is as essential to existence as the air I breathe.
It obviously was meant to be, as I have called my friend Mike, and he will be in town, so we will definitely get together. I also plan to visit the ex-boyfriend who stopped by Dallas recently, when we had too little time to really catch up. A college friend and her husband and kids live there, too--I am looking forward to seeing them. In between visits with friends, I want to see SF, Berkeley and the wine country (if possible). Specific stops on my now quickly-forming itinerary include the famous Chez Panisse restaurant (which I learned about from Ruth Reichl's book Comfort Me with Apples), Chinatown, the Fisherman's Wharf and Haight-Ashbury.
If any of you have suggestions for other things to do in San Francisco that are more off the beaten path, I would love to hear them! It occurs to me now that if I am actually able to visit all of the friends I have listed, I probably won't make it to the wine country, so suggestions in the SF area are especially welcome.
24 August 2005
I am nothing if not spontaneous.
Posted by Lisa at 10:38 PM
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3 comments:
lisa-
i have one afternoon in my entire life that was spent in san fran. some was walked, other was via auto. very little experience to offer, but i sure enjoyed the cable car museum/hq/terminal/thingie. coit tower also very nice. walked lombard street and had photos taken outside the building where "the real world" from mtv approx 1993 was filmed/taped; my daughters thought i was the bomb.
they were right, he said modestly.
wish i could be more help. enjoy!!
Thanks for the tips, DC!
L
P.S. I'm sure you are "the bomb"!
It looks as if you have the major sites down. San Francisco is a great town to just walk around in. Union Square is good central spot to stay if you can get a decent price on a hotel room. If you get tired of the sidewalks, the Marin Headlands just over the Golden Gate Bridge is a nice place to get some fresh air, plus on a clear day it offers spetacular views of the city.
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