It was 7:30 AM and our good friend Lea just drove 2 hours to meet us at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. She said it was the best time to be at the market although my sleep deprived brain shouted,…”I’m not so sure about that!” Our first mission was to find some really good coffee so we dropped into “Frog Hollow Farm to Table Cafe.” We love great farmer’s markets and this one is wonderful! This was a great start to a very full day and evening in my favorite city!

Marla and Lea are caffeined up and ready to go!

Producers from around the area set up early. You’ll find booths from local urban farms, Sonoma and Napa County, Marin, South and Eastbay, the Peninsula, Santa Cruz Mountains, and more!

Alice Waters from Berkeley’s famous Chez Panisse loves this unique farmer’s market. The colors are kaleidoscopic in their variety! 

The Cowgirl Creamery story is a fascinating one! The Ferry Building Marketplace store is stocked with a delicious array of cheese of every description. My brother Gary from Hawaii loves this place and always visits when he is in The City.

Lea was on the hunt for  “Chinese Lanterns.”

This was a tomato lovers dream come true!

Chilis from mild to nuclear!

Lea wanted to look for a book at the “Friends Of The Public Library” in Fort Mason. The store has an amazing selection of new and used books of every description. I could have spent hours scouring the stacks! Goody Cafe is next door so we had a quick lunch.

After lunch we rushed over to the Pan Pacific Exposition in the western Marina District to buy last minute tickets for the Smuin Ballet. Parking close by was non-existent so we gave up after searching for 45 minutes. San Francisco’s Pan Pacific International Exposition was held in 1915 to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal and to highlight the rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake.

The Presidio was our next stop on our amazing day in The City. One of San Francisco’s iconic places, it was a military installation from 1776 until 1994, and saw duty for Spain, Mexico and the U.S. It is now a national park with almost 1,500 acres of hiking and biking trails, beautiful beaches and stunning views. A couple of interesting hotels and restaurants are housed in former military buildings. I’m looking at a map in the Visitor Center. My dad flew into Crissy Field when he was a young military pilot.

“Here we are!”

A monument of a  Union soldier at the San Francisco National Cemetery  in the Presidio. This is a place of rest for 30,000 soldiers, family members, and other notables. With views of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, the cemetery is a place for quiet reflection.

We stopped to admire Alcatraz, the dome of the Pan Pacific exposition, and nearby forests.  I vividly remember the day I competed in the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. I’ve never had such a painful and scary experience! I did finish, though it definitely was not pretty!

The City holds volumes of memories for us! Our earliest dating days included trips to San Francisco and rock concerts at the Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom. We love sharing this special place with our children and grandchildren.

A view of the San Francisco skyline and Crissy Field.

The “Warming Hut” at Crissy Field is in an historic 1909 building and contains a little cafe.

Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands are so amazing. My mother and my grandfather walked across the bridge on opening day in 1937.

I knew Lea had a long drive back home so I suggested an early dinner in North Beach.  Walking around the neighborhood you can smell wonderful garlic in the air as you pass both touristy restaurants and little places even the locals visit. Let your imagination run free as you channel visions of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, all past denizens of the area. I remember an evening years ago at the Condor Club on Broadway watching Carol Doda. Now THAT is a memory!

As we walked up Green Street we noticed a guy right out of central casting for the Sopranos sitting on a chair in front of a restaurant. Lea asked him about the bakery which used to be across the street and the guy said…” that was my father’s place and I used to work there.” I told him I thought this looked like a restaurant Marla and I once visited in college, a place called “Green Valley.” He said “look at the sign,…it says Green Valley. This is my place.” The guy was Mark Sodini who bought Green Valley 25 years ago. Sodini’s Green Valley Restaurant is a fabulous North Beach gem and is over 112 years old!

Marla and I  and 4 other friends from college once had a 4 course dinner here for…..$2.00 each!!! Sounds crazy but it is true!

We just loved this place!

Can you just imagine the stories this bar could tell!

Early evening and it’s packed!

This was our table so many years ago in college!

Long lines in the street are waiting for a slice at Golden Boy pizza. The place is owned by Mark Sodini’s brother, Peter.

Even dogs LOVE North Beach!

We had a fabulous day in The City. I hope you enjoyed it as well!

Photos: Dick Gentry