A Walk Down Embarcadero

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Angel Island again, this time as part of a picnic with some of the kids from her class in school. Since I'd seen all the sights the island has to offer during my trip earlier this month, this one was more about my daughter having fun with her friends outside of school and the delicious lunch the parents had brought.

After the ferry ride back to Pier 41, one of the parents suggested we have a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in downtown San Francisco. I was game and we started walking down Embarcadero, the long street that goes parallel to the bay. With it being Sunday, and a long weekend to boot, the street had literally come alive. It was filled with cars and the sidewalks were simply a sea of people.

Following are some of the more interesting sights I caught during the walk. I really wish I could've snapped some pictures but between carrying my daughter(who was really tired after a long day and refused to walk) and my backpack(which was still heavy with some picnic leftovers) I simply could'nt juggle a camera too in my hand. So you'll just have to use your imagination...

- A line of cars that had apparently refitted their wheels so they could adjust the height of each wheel independently. So the cars were moving at some precarious angles and frequently bobbing up and down at each stop!

- a couple of guys painted in gold & silver colors performing some nifty moves to music while standing on a box

- a guy hiding holding a couple of bushes in his hands and sitting behind them, and thrusting them in front of unsuspecting passers-by, startling them

- a homeless man holding a board that said "Need money for alcohol research"!!

- wax statues of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the entrance to the wax museum

- an animatronic crook climbing up and down a rope tempting people to enter Ripley's Believe It or Not museum

- sidewalk stores selling everything from whistles that help u make animal sounds(very realistic by the way!) to $2 t-shirts!

We abandoned the search for the restaurant midway since we were all too tired. But we then stopped at this really cute area with restaurants surrounding a makeshift open-air auditorium. We ordered some crepes from a little crepe stand. I got the veggie one which was filled with avocado, tomatoes, cheese and onions and was just really yummy(my daughter, a picky eater, loved it too). So we dug into our crepes while a high-school orchestra from Oregon played some classical tunes in the auditorium. It was what you could call a uniquely San Franciscoan experience!