Day One: San Francisco

In the summer of 1980, I made my first trip to California. For the Commander Supreme and me that was a before kids trip.

A highlight of that trip was a drive up the coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco. My sister-in-law, Abby, was our tour guide.

Three years ago, we were all set to fly to San Francisco to attend the wedding of the Commander Supreme’s niece, Ashley. The day before we were scheduled to fly, thinking she had a sinus infection, the Commander tested positive for COVID-19.

Obviously, we canceled the trip, but the Commander was able to hang on to the flight for the future.

So on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, we boarded a Breeze Airways Airbus A-220 in Richmond and flew direct to San Francisco.

By 6:00 a.m. we were in the car and driving toward the Richmond airport.

Other than a van driver from the extended stay parking lot who didn’t know the details of his job, we had no challenges getting into the terminal.

We cleared all of the screening hurdles. Our walk to the gate was leisurely. Knowing that we would be sitting for a long time, I walked a lot in the terminal.

Eventually, the plane arrived from Charleston.

The boarding process went quickly.

The A220 seating configuration is three seats and two seats. The Commander booked us a two seat reservation with extra leg room. This arrangement was a nice surprise from the normal sardine box.

Even though, we boarded quickly, we sat too long on the tarmac before heading to the runway.

The captain of the plane told us to expect a few bumps as we settled in for the cross country flight.

Breeze is a no frills airline. No monitors on the back of the seats for watching movies. I had to hope I could download their wireless access correctly.

For now, I focused on the landscape out my window for a distraction. I love how the topography of America changes as we fly west. The hills, east coast mountains, the flat plains, the snow covered Rockies, wide sections of deserts, more hills, and finally the coastal plain heading into San Francisco.

Early in the flight, I nodded off for some nano naps. Read from Richmond editor and writer, Tom Allen’s second book—“Roll With It: encountering grace, grins, gridlock, and God in everyday life.” After a few chapters of Tom’s book, I switched over to Tristan Gooley’s The Secret World Of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop (Natural Navigation).

At some point, I opened up my laptop computer and started to write. For a long stretch, this was a good distraction.

The bumps, the turbulence on the flight were minimal.

Gradually, the plane slowed. We were notified that our descent into San Francisco had started.

I made sure everything was securely in my backpack. Then, I was glued to my window tracking the landscape changes.

The plane made a graceful landing. We departed the plane easily. The next hurdle was finding our way in the pretty San Francisco airport.

With adequate signage guiding us, we exited the terminal to a line of taxis. We were assigned to the first taxi in line. The driver helped us with our luggage, the Commander gave him the hotel’s address, off we went.

Our driver was very good. He skillfully maneuvered us through traffic, patiently answered questions, and never appeared rattled by wacky moves from other drivers.

He even explained Waymo to us. Waymo is the driverless Google car.

At the Alton Hotel, the driver dropped us in the perfect spot, helped with our bags, and we wished him the best.

The Commander’s detailed planning made for a seamless checkin and a surprise room upgrade.

We settled quickly into our and room, and promptly left heading to the In and Out Burger a block away from the hotel.

Until Saturday morning The Alton would be our home. Located in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of the city, the hotel still had a new construction feel to it.

We arrived just in time at In and Out. By minutes, we beat the daily lunch hour surge. The In and Out chain is a West Coast staple. If you’ve never had one of their burgers, don’t turn it down.

As soon as we finished our burgers, we hit the pavement.

One thing you quickly learn about San Francisco is the terrain. Maybe the reason Tony Bennett “left his heart in San Francisco” is that it died walking up one of its hills.

The contrast from the relative flatness at Fisherman’s Wharf to the extreme steepness of the hills on either end of Lombard Street is significant.

Our first stop was the Coit Tower. The tower sits on the top of Telegraph Hill.

The walk up to the tower is a heart thumper. But the vistas from the park at the top, and the views at the tip of the tower are worth it.

Coit Tower was built from 1932-33. It has 234 steps to the top. The tower is also graced with fresco murals.

From Coit Tower, we walked back toward Lombard Street. To get to the other end of Lombard Street requires another steep decent and climb.

This side of Lombard Street is known as the “Crookedest Street In The World.” It is interesting to watch cars handle the sharp turns along the well maintained lawns and gardens.

We shifted our walk into the North Beach neighborhood. Here a mix of houses and business caught our attention. Pretty cathedrals against a blue sky backdrop were hard to miss.

Even on the first day of vacation, I could not resist going into Cole Hardware. Founded in the 1920s, the store and its contents are very appealing. Maybe this motto explains the sustained success of the store: “There are no strangers here, just friends we haven’t met.” The store even has a cooler of pies from The Pie Company based out of Ripon, California.

Next, we worked our way to the famous City Lights Bookstore. Founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, this is one of those special independent bookstores that has managed to beat the odds. If you love books, you must stop.

Then, we took a brief walk on the fringes of Chinatown. Lots of shop owner energy was present among the diverse merchandise with customers haggling for the best price. ‘

As we started our walk back to the hotel, Italian food shops tempted us with their aromas and displays, but we kept moving.

At the hotel, we collapsed, but made sure we were up and heading toward the free happy hour in the lobby at five. A nice glass of wine for the Commander and a California Blonde Ale from the Eel River Brewing Company for me helped to bring our busy day to a close.

For dinner, we made the short walk from the hotel to Cioppinos, an Italian restaurant. The food and the service were good.

After our filling dinner, we were really ready to collapse. The Commander’s “fit bit” had us over eight miles with most of those steps recorded during our afternoon trek.

At the end of the day, I’m remembering the architecture as our taxi driver drove us further into the city. No part of a plot of land is wasted. Homes and businesses are stacked up on every hillside throughout the city.

We saw lots of pretty gardens and shrubs along the way. Blooms of all shapes, sizes, and colors added to the charm and character of the neighborhoods.

At the end of our first day, I’m thankful for my Commander Supreme. If the remainder of the trip is as good as the first afternoon, then we’re going to be remembering this trek for a long, long time.

A tour of Alcatraz awaits us on Thursday.