San Francisco On the Way

Not many travelers would consider an eight hour layover to be a lucky thing.  You're stuck in an aiport a long and extortionate taxi ride from the interesting places.  However, my layover on the way out was in San Francisco, and you can guess the rest. I jumped on the BART (Bay Area  Transit Authority), a combination of subways and els, and was in my sister's neighborhood at the Rockridge station within an hour.  I would have been happy just to walk the streets and admire the orange tree lined, coffee shop scented, densely civilized life that is the lot of so many Californians.  I called my sister, who gallantly lied and said she would meet me in ten minutes, and then went for a walk to see the shops that I love in this area : Pendragon Books who let me use their phone, the Pomodoro Cafe, which lets you sit where you can see the  frantic scrum of cooks in action as they toss pasta and sauces and garnishes unto platters that come out looking perfect; Diesel Books, little cafes, flower shops where you can grab a bouquet to improve your chances of a warm reception and my favorite coffee place, Peaberry.
To my great surprise and pleasure, the first to show up was Marika, my sisters eldest girl who lives only a few walking blocks away.  Knowing we still had time before my sister would show, we repaired to the Peaberry for a cup of their delicious coffee and some catch up conversation.   Marika works at one of the old, elegantly retro theatres, the Fox.  She shares a small apartment and is happy living the city life, planning to return to school to pursue an old dream becoming and EMT.

My sister Patricia and her two other daughters, Anya and Katerina, soon arrived and we, all famished crowded into a nearby mexican eatery, the Cactus.  Over a jostle of delicious tacos, burritos and tamales, I learned about their dance classes, clown classes, social encounters--as much as you could tell and uncle with Mom listening in.  In all it was a wonderful, rushed visit.  Marika had to hurry off for the evening show at the Fox, ( before I remembered my camera) and I had to hurry back for the 3 hour wait for the International flight. We hugged, promised a longer visit soon. They pushed through the turnstile at the station.  I watched the full moon rise just ahead of the train that would take me to the plane to the other side of the world where the moon would still be full.