Chinatown, Trolley Rides and Chocolate

The folks visited San Francisco again on Saturday.  This was their third visit. The first time they drove the entire way. The second time, they took a ferry and the third time, they took the BART train.  The BART station is just a few miles from where we are staying, so it was the most convenient.  The cost was $11.50 a person.  The train had a stop right at a trolley stop, so that was convenient.  The cost to ride the trolley was $17.50 a person.  That is for an one day pass which allows you to get on and off as much as you want.  That sounds pretty good, except there were long lines to get on the trolley.  It was at least a half hour wait two times that the folks rode.  They were able to get on once almost instantly, but they had to stand the entire ride because it was so crowded.

This is the end of the line, so workers have to turn the trolley around.

Mom says that riding the trolley was very uncomfortable.  They had seats for two of their rides, but there are bars that people hang onto if they are standing and those bars hit Mom's legs.  When the trolley jerked, her legs hit the bars.  She couldn't really turn to see out the windows, so she doesn't have any pictures of the hills. Cars and trolleys share the same streets and there was a lot of traffic. The folks noticed that it took a lot of effort for the driver to stop the trolley on the hills. He kept ringing the bell to tell people to get out of his way.  It's not like the trolley can go off the tracks to avoid things.

Inside a trolley before it filled up.

The folks rode the trolley to Chinatown.  Mom was really not interested in seeing Chinatown, but Dad said they should.  Mom didn't like it at all.  It was extremely crowded.  It was not full of tourists, in fact, Mom said there were just a few. The people were there to do their shopping and the folks were in their way. Mom was pushed and shoved.  Dad was oblivious to it all.  He thought it was fun.  He said it was interesting to see people with food that was still alive.  Yes, some of the fish was still alive and flapped in the shoppers' bags.

The most interesting thing that Mom saw was a funeral procession.  She did not know anything about Chinese traditions when it comes to funerals, but she learned they are quite different from hers.  At first, she thought it was a parade because there was a brass band. She then noticed the hearse. Paper or something like it was thrown from the sunroof of the hearse.  Behind the hearse, there was a truck where the person's portrait was displayed and two sons (she assumes) sat behind the portrait.   Mom didn't take any photos because she thought that would be disrespectful. After she got home she started researching the custom and it is definitely different than ours.  She said it is very interesting.

They then caught the trolley. They had to stand the entire ride which is not easy going up and down the hills.  They stopped at Ghirardelli Square.  There are at least three chocolate stores there.  They ate lunch at a pub and then they did some chocolate shopping.

Inside the Ghirardelli store.

There were several shops in the store.  Mom liked the dog store because they had greyhound items. No, she did not buy me anything.

Mom likes the apron that says "My dog thinks I am a real chef"  Isn't she?  BOL!

This bird had fun in a puddle.

People boarding a trolley.

Ship in the bay.

Golden Gate Bridge

They had planned on checking out Lombard Street because it is one of America's crookedest streets, but they ran out of time since it took over a half hour to board the trolley.  They decided to just ride the trolley back to the train station and head home.  The trolley ride took a long time due to all the traffic.  Saturday was the Santa Claus Crawl which is where people dress up as Santa and visit all the bars.  There were hundreds of people dressed as Santa.  Unfortunately, Mom didn't get pictures that really showed large groups of them.

This is the plaza where the Santa people gathered, but you can't really see them in this photo.

The only picture of a hill that Mom was able to take. 

Mom said she enjoyed the day except for Chinatown.  We have enjoyed our stay here.  Mom said her favorite things were Alcatraz and the Winchester Mystery House.  I have enjoyed all the treats that the office ladies give me. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Happy About Leaving

Mount Diablo State Park

On Sunday the folks drove to Mt. Diablo State Park.  The park is really not far from here, but the drive up the mountain took quite a while.  Mom was nervous because the road was narrow and there were no guard rails.  She said it made her sick just looking off to the side.  I didn't get to go because Dad wanted to visit the visitors center and dogs are not allowed inside.  Mom said I wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway.  You see, they say that on a clear day, from the summit of Mount Diablo State Park visitors can see 35 of California's 58 counties. It is said that the view is surpassed only by that of 19,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. With binoculars, Yosemite's Half Dome is even visible from Mt. Diablo.  Do you want to see what they saw?

Yep, they drove up a mountain for this view.  BOL!  Mom said it was misting and cold.

Through the clouds you can see the light on the top of the visitors center.

They watched a film inside the visitors center and then drove back down the mountain.

This is inside the visitors center and it is said to be the top of the mountain.  Mom stood on it.

Coming down the mountain.

There is a spot in the park that is called Rock City.  It reminded Mom a little of Elephant Rock in Missouri, but it is not as massive.  Jack visited there with the folks.

These young people asked Dad to take their photo with their phone and Mom took a quick picture too because she thought it was a fun photo.

We have been surprised by the cool weather here in California.  The leaves change colors just like at home and yes, the leaves do fall from the trees.  We had a day last week that was windy and the leaves were flying by just like snowflakes.

Sunday night, the folks drove to Fremont and ate at Claim Jumper.  Mom was really impressed with the bread they serve.  It is a large yeast roll with cheese and garlic.  She also liked the potato patties that they serve as a side.  They are mashed potatoes with cheese that are rolled in Panko bread crumbs and fried.  She makes potato pancakes but has never put bread crumbs on them.  It is on her list of things to try now.

This coming weekend is our last weekend here.  Will the folks visit Chinatown?  They have tried a few times but the weather has not cooperated.  I have a feeling they will go this weekend even if it is cool out.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Happy About Leaving Here

Winchester Mystery House - Odd and Interesting

The folks had planned on visiting Chinatown on Saturday, but the weather was quite cool. They switched gears and decided to visit the Winchester Mystery House.  They had been dragging their feet on it because Mom had hoped to find a Groupon deal on it.  The tickets are $34 each and Mom thought that was pricey.
 

Winchester Mystery House

Sarah Winchester owned the house.  She was from Connecticut.  Her husband's father owned the Winchester Rifle Co.  Her infant daughter died which left her in a depression and then her husband died 15 years later.  She visited a spiritual medium that told her that her family and fortunes were being haunted by those killed by the Winchester rifle. The medium told her to move west and buy a house to appease the spirits by building a great house for them. She was told that as long as construction of the house never ceased, she could rest assured that her life was not in danger. Building of the house was supposed to bring her eternal life.  She found a house while visiting her niece near San Jose.  She hired a staff and over the next 38 years, work was done on the house 24 hours a day.  The work stopped on the day that she died.  If you would like to read more about Sarah Winchester and her house, click on this link: Winchester Mystery House.  It really is quite interesting. Photography is not allowed inside the house, but photos are on the website.  Mom also found several videos on YouTube that give small tours of the house.

 Before the folks took the tour, they ate lunch in the cafe.  The house is located near a mall and the traffic in that area was terrible with holiday shoppers, so they decided the cafe was their best option. They shared a plate of sliders and fries for $10.  Mom said it was good even though the bun was a little burnt.

The folks toured the garden before the tour.

These doors cost $3,000 when installed in 1906 and were unused as she did not entertain.

The tour took an hour and the guide said that they walked a mile. They did not tour the entire house. He said part of his test to becoming a guide was his ability to be able to find his way out of the house in five minutes.  His first try took him three hours.  You see the house is 24,000 square feet, 160 rooms, 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 52 skylights, 47 fireplaces, 40 bedrooms, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms, six kitchens, three elevators, two basements and one shower.  There are steps that end at the ceiling and also some that end at a wall, doors that open to walls and doors that open to nothing, just big drops.  There are steps called easy risers that are steps that are maybe just a few inches off the ground.  Mrs. Winchester had arthritis and those steps were probably easy for her to use.  However, it looks like guest are walking to a ride at Disney World watching them go up the steps because the steps had half walls around them. A ramp may have been easier.  Mom said Scout could have walked on the easy riser steps.  There is a seance room that had one entrance but three exits.  Mrs. Winchester did not sleep in the same room two nights in a row. She really wanted to confuse the spirits.   

She was very wealthy.  It is estimated that she made over a $1,000 a day and that was in the early 1900's.  She paid her staff well, but also fired them easily.  Many of the staff members lived on site.  If they had a family, they had their own little house on site. 

Mom said the stained glass windows were beautiful.  She wishes she could have taken photos.  The number 13 and spider web designs were important to Mrs. Winchester, so there was evidence of those all over.  The spider web designs were in some of the windows.

There is also a museum of the Winchester rifles.  That is included in the basic tour price.  There is a behind the scenes tour that is also offered, but the folks did not do that.  It included a tour of the basement and a few other rooms.


The folks really enjoyed the tour of the house and are still talking about it today.  The guide they had didn't seem to like his job much.  He commented that tour guides have to clean the windows, put up the Christmas trees and do five tours a day....same tour five times a day. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Glad He Doesn't Live In The Mystery House Because It Might Take A While To Find The Door To Go Outside

Garlic And Hard Water

BOL, is that a title or what? 

The folks visited Gilroy, CA which is the Garlic Capitol of the World.  They stopped at a store called Garlic World.  They sell garlic, some sauces, seasoning mixes etc.  Mom bought garlic powder and a garlic cheese powder.  She really likes the garlic cheese powder, but hasn't tried the garlic powder yet.  She cooks with a lot of fresh garlic.

While they were out, they stopped at the Camping World that is near there.  It is not the one that they drove an hour and a half to on Friday only to find it was closed for the day. They didn't buy anything.

They ate lunch at Uncle Buck's FishBowl.  It is a restaurant located in Bass Pro Shop.  It is a restaurant/bowling alley.  They ate at an Uncle Buck's in Texas, but it was not a Fishbowl.  That one was more of a steak place.  This one is decorated so that it looks like you are under the sea.

This is the bowling alley.

Last year at this time, we were in Alabama.  Mom sure misses the food there.  So, she decided to have the alligator as an appetizer.  She said it was good. 

Alligator Bites

Dad ordered the fish platter.  He said it was good.

Mom ordered the burger and fries.  She said it was good.  I had some of the fries.  Yum!

You are probably wondering why our title had hard water in it.  Well, the water here is hard.  We do not have a water softener.  Mom noticed the shower doors were getting pretty nasty. She looked on the Internet to see how much vinegar and water she should mix together to clean.  She found a "recipe" for Dawn dish washing detergent and vinegar.  She tried it and she is very happy with the results. She left it on for about twenty minutes and then wiped it with a wash cloth and then rinsed really well.  The shower doors are sparkling now.  Here is the link, if you are interested.  Dawn Vinegar For Sparking Shower Doors

 Joey,
The Greyhound Who Didn't Know Water Could Be Hard