The Great Vacation: Cable Car

For the last full day in the San Francisco area I planned that we would go over to Berkeley and see the campus. But I knew JH needed to do some jean shopping and San Fran had a major Levi's store. So we ended up shopping and then heading to get in line for the cable car.

I guess no trip to San Francisco is complete unless you ride the infamous rolling cable car. These beauties are unique to San Francisco and do make for a fun ride as they go up and down the hills of the city.

...using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required.

But this attraction is definitely a tourist trap and we fell right into it on that day. We ended up waiting nearly two hours in line, just to get on one of them and find out our driver was a bit of a jerk. The line waiting was amusing, as many cable cars would pass by us and local panhandlers brought the entertainment.

 JH...the very patient tourist.

Once on it you enjoy a ride that takes you past several different neighborhoods. We took the line that rolled by Lombard street (that crooked one) although we couldn't see anything because cars were in the way.

 However, it offered other great views of downtown and reminded me of how small San Francisco actually is. Before moving to Korea I use to work at an office near the TransAm building (the Pyramid one).

We ended up at "The Cannery", which was a pier area further down from Fisherman's Wharf. It had a dock where you could walk out and take a look at some ships.

It was a good spot as it allowed JH to finally discover the "Golden Bridge". 

It seemed like we spent all day waiting in line for the cable car, but the reward at the end of the line was pretty nice.

 We caught a glimpse of Alcatraz Island.

We headed out of the area and hopped on a local bus that took us into North Beach (the Italian side of town). There we relaxed and had a scrumptious dinner over some wine and beer.

After a little dessert of frozen yogurt we headed back to the hotel. The bus ride took us through Chinatown, which looked like it was packing up for the day. I believe JH really loved his visit to San Francisco and the sites I took him to see. Trust me, there was a whole lot more I could have shown him and that we could have experienced. But I think, because of my background in the city, he was able to enjoy himself a lot.

The next day we left San Fran and headed to my dad's home, so stay tuned for that.

Poll Results: People Take Off Their Shoes

Last month I ran a poll asking, "Do you take off your shoes in the house?" This was prompted by a lesson I was giving my 6th graders before I finished at my last school. It was a lesson meant to teach Western customs and etiquette for greeting. However, the whole scenario of "taking shoes on or off" in the house seemed a bit contrived to teach. I know it is a cultural difference between Korea and America, but other western nations do take off their shoes before they enter the house. Plus the book and the CD-Rom imagery doesn't really go into much depth about why we don't take off our shoes.

I would ask my students, "Do you think we (Americans) are dirty?" And I would get a mixed result of "yes" and "no". Then I would explain why we don't, and that we actually do take them off later in our separate rooms. I made it a point to say that while I am in Korea I practice taking off my shoes at my house and when I visit other people in Korea.

All of this prompted me to put up a poll on my site. However, I can't really say where my respondents come from.

For those 4% who don't wear shoes, well I just hope you have some tough soles.

*You can check out this poll and past ones at the bottom of my blog.*

The Great Vacation: Ocean Air and Kimchi

After the trip to the museum we got back on the streetcar-Muni, and headed to Ocean Beach. I figured the guy needed to see the Pacific ocean at least once, and it turned out to be a great idea.

We both admired the fresh sea air, and vast expanse of ocean. He remarked how it was strange there weren't any sashimi restaurants nearby. As you might know, in Korea near the water's edge are usually many fish restaurants. As we strolled along the shoreline we caught sight of a seagull that was picking at a crab. Then the water rolled in and made it's catch come closer to us. The poor seagull lost it's dinner.

We left Ocean Beach on our way back to Irving street for, you guessed it a Korean meal.

With a little help from the Yelp website, I managed to find a Korean restaurant in this area called, Tofu Village.

The prices were all-right and the menu pretty extensive. However, I still think it is a bit overpriced. JH ordered Nangmyeun and I ordered bulgolgi with soup.

I have to admit that was the best bulgolgi I have had in a very long time. Perhaps even better than what I have tasted in Korea. JH liked it to along with his naengmyeon. I know it was probably silly of me to take him to a Korean restaurant in America, when he needs to experience American cuisine, but I felt it would be fun to try out some restaurants and see if the taste came close.

After dinner we were pretty tuckered out from our day at the park and beach, so we headed back to the hotel. I will post up the rest of our San Francisco trip soon along with what we did back in my parent's area.

For now, I just got back from delivering JH to the airport. He is still in the air and probably taking a nap or watching something on the screen. I have to say this was a great trip for us, as I think it was the most time we every spent together consecutively. Plus, I loved showing him around and being his tour guide. (I miss him!) Now that our trip is over I am going to focus on enjoying the rest of my vacation, and get ready for new job.

Cheers~