Day with Paula and Min

We met Min and Paula Pang in 2010 on a cruise through the Panama Canal. When they learned we were going to be in their part of the country for an overnight in San Francisco they graciously offered to give us a guided tour.

Now they live in the Sonoma area which is a good hour’s drive from the ship. Being willing to drive in heavy traffic to get to the cruise port was amazing enough but to have a wonderful day planned down to the minute was  above and beyond the expectations of anyone.

Back to the beginning: We were up early and we had a great breakfast in the dining room. Then we returned to the room and made a call to Paula and Min. We left a message, they returned our call and said they would call when they were on the Golden Gate bridge. They did and we met them outside. We were on the sidewalk for about one minute when they arrived. There were hugs all around and then we were on our way.

Our first stop was Fort Point. Originally the area around the bridge was a fortification for the bay. We were able to tour and to climb to the top. It is a national park area now and I was able to get a stamp for my National Parks passport. At the top of the fort we saw there was a lighthouse under the bridge, very similar to the one in Vancouver.

 I was able to get a stamp for my light house passport as well . I was very pleased and happy that I remembered to bring both books. It was raining, quite hard at times, but Paula and Min thought of everything. They brought umbrellas for us. Min knew all about the history of this area and he was able to point out things we should see. Paula had grown up in the San Francisco area and she was able to add many personal anecdotes.

We returned to the vehicle and continued our tour. As we travelled Min told us about the areas we were passing. We saw the well known areas like the china town, the Coit tower, Filmore Street, Fort Mason, Golden Gate Park, the Haight Ashbury Neighbourhood, The Palace of Fine Arts, City hall, the mint,the Cliff House ,Twin Peaks and the Opera House just to name a few. I am certain I left out some . We were thrilled to see so many places and things we had heard about before.

When we were at Twin Peaks the sun broke through for just a few seconds, just long enough for us to get a quick snap shot.

When we were at the Cliff House I was able to get another stamp for my National Parks passport. We also bought magnets to commemorate the day. One was of the Cliff House and the other was of the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog.

We actually drove down the Crooked Street, Lombard, we saw places where famous movies were filmed. We saw windmills and parks and monuments. The day was a whirlwind of jaw dropping sights. It is so hard to describe and so hard to summarize in a small space.

For lunch we stopped at Max’s Opera House café. Those of you who have cruised know how amazing cruise ship food can be. Well I am telling you this equaled or surpassed that. The main difference was the size of the portions. I ordered a pear salad and it would have served everyone at the table with lots left over. I have never seen such a large salad. The desserts were spectacular. Ken ordered a brownie and after sharing it he still had to take what would have been a normal sized brownie back to the ship.

All aboard was at 4:30, we were back to the ship at 3:45. We had squeezed as much into one short day as was humanly possible.

What memories, what a treat. Min and Paula went out of their way and they treated us like royalty. Paula even brought us a gift of Sonoma lavender.

They would not let us pay for anything. We cannot thank them enough. Perhaps one day they will be in our part of the world and we will be able to repay their hospitality although they have set the bar VERY high.

We were back on board in time to change for dinner. Because we were in and out of the rain all day I had to do my hair as well.

Just as we were leaving for dinner a rainbow appeared at the end of the bridge… a perfect good bye to San Francisco.

The remainder of the evening was the usual and all we could do was remember and discuss our amazing day.

We were in rough water again last night.