Who needs an official “staycation” when you’ve got a free afternoon and you live only 35 miles from a world-class tourist destination? On Saturday, Dick and I grabbed our bikes and hopped on the Caltrain’s “baby bullet” weekend service and headed to San Francisco. One of my favorite bike manufacturers, Public Bikes, was having its holiday party and I was curious to see what new bikes and accessories they might have in stock.
What we found was a delectable new assortment of colors for their highly approachable city bikes, some new bike panniers inspired by the Clarjis ones I bought in Amsterdam, and some really interesting books. I came out of there with an iPhone mounting bracket that has a few kinks I wasn’t able to work out in the five minutes I spent installing it on the sidewalk.
After the party, the plan was to shop at bit at Union Square, or at least check out the window displays. It is the Christmas season after all. But once we started rolling down the Embarcadero we didn’t want to stop. We cruised past the Bay Bridge, the Ferry Building, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Marina, and ended up at Fort Ross underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. I brought my little GoPro helmet camera, which created a bit of a stir among the tourists and natives alike, including a “thumbs up” from a limo passenger.
But the only interesting footage I got was a short piece down Lombard Street, the “world’s crookedest street.” We were disappointed to find the tourists were out in force even in the off season, so we had to share the narrow, twisty street with too many cars to be fun. It was hardly worth the steep climb to get up to the top, especially when you’re grunting up a 20% grade next to a pickup truck belching diesel-fumes. Blech!
Still, it was a great and inexpensive to spend the day as tourists in what’s practically our own back yard.
What’s your favorite tourist activity near your home? Are you saving money by taking a “staycation” this year?
