July 4: San Francisco and its fireworks

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Happy July 4 to all of you!  As it is now almost midnight, that might be a rather belated greeting, but you received my e-card sent a little earlier.  

It started out as a grand day, and got grander, even though the fog hugged the city most of the day and into the night.  This morning, Maureen and I had a breakfast of rhubarb crumble, banana, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee, all served on blue placemats with red, white, and blue napkins.    Then we prepared some items for a picnic--egg salad, various vegetables, some sea salt crackers, and different cheeses.  Then we left for Cliff House, burned several times but now an elegant destination for dining.  We also traversed the shore at Land's End and then hiked up to a lookout with a fabulous view of the Golden Gate Bridge, albeit cloaked in fog.  We also stopped at the Beach Chalet, which has some wonderful WPA murals of the Art Deco period.  It was an unexpected pleasure to find them, since I was not expecting them at all.  

From there we drove to the Presidio, in the NW part if the city, an active military garrison almost continuously for 218 years.  It closed as an Army post in 1994.  Within the 1480-acre site are historic military barracks as well as wooded areas, beaches, and expansive bay and ocean vistas.  Its boundaries encompass Fort Point, SF National Cemetery (which we visited); Fort Winfield Scott, Crissy Field (visited), the Walt Disney Family Museum, and film and animation giant Lucasfilm Ltd.  Although the latter building was closed, we did see a statue of Yoda on top of a fountain in the courtyard, as well as a Stormtrooper, a Bounty Hunter, and Darth Vader himself inside the compound.  As I have most recently been watching the "Star Wars" series once again, that was a fabulous treat.  Lucasfilm is located in a former, now renovated hospital, and blends in with the rest of the buildings very well.  

From the Presidio, we drove to the Lion Street Steps, and had lunch there in the car before exploring the area.  Many SF stairways are necessary transportation routes, and these steps connect Cow Hollow to Pacific Heights.  Going up its many steep steps provides an amazing view of the Palace of Fine Arts dome, the rooftops of the Marina district, and San Francisco Bay.  Houses on either side of the steps are very handsome, and the gardens and flowers surrounding them are absolutely breathtaking.  

As it was now around 5:00 p.m., and we were supposed to meet Lizz Klammer for dinner at Ghirardelli Square, we started to try to find a parking place, but with no luck.  After about 45 minutes of searching, we finally parked further away and took a bus to the square.  There we met Lizz in a crush of people and headed into a restaurant called Waxman's, where I had a wonderful pork meatball with pesto and goat cheese for dinner.  LIzz bought us all two desserts, which we shared: pistachio ice cream and a piece of pistachio cake, both of which were scrumptious.

Afterwards, we went down to the harbor, and after some searching secured three places to watch the upcoming fireworks.  Fog still hung over the city, and the breeze was rather cold, so we wrapped up in blankets, shawls, and extra jackets.  At promptly 9:30 p.m. they began, and they were amazing, being straight in front of us at 12 o'clock.  The presentation lasted 30 minutes and was magic and totally worth waiting for.

We have taken Lizz Klammer home, and now are home ourselves.  Maureen has just prepared a pork shoulder for pulled pork tomorrow night, as we are going to have dinner at Randy and Shu's house (of course the three I's will be there as well, and I am looking forward to that!  Great day today, and to all a good 4th!  Sincerely, Sylvia 

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas