By now I’d realized that Fred’s skill as a tour guide was grounded in his ability to come up with a daily eclectic slate of activities, designed to showcase the city he and Sat Daya call home. Day Three was no exception!

Once again, it was a sunny day so I layered my clothing, laced up my Hoka’s and off we went! First stop once we’d exited the ferry was El Porteno Empanadas in the Marketplace Ferry Building for one of the best breakfast empanadas (ham and cheese) I’d ever had.

Happily munching on these we boarded a streetcar to ride up one of the famously steep San Francisco streets (we all like to walk but there are definitely limits in this city!) It was easy to tell when we’d entered the infamous Haight Ashbury neighborhood.

Overflowing with tie-dye, the smell of pot wafting through the air, and music drifting out of open windows gives you a small taste of what the turbulent Sixties might have been like for the teens bursting out of the staid and stuffy Fifties.

If you want to add a bit of sparkle to your spring, summer, or fall check out my friends’ favorite store, Piedmont Boutique  I also fell in love with the outrageous outfits and accessories and even purchased two items, which you may see in future travel blog posts! And I can’t say enough about the helpful and obliging staff.

The Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park was our next stop. Total opposite from the neighborhood we’d just left! If you’re a person who prefers a neat, meticulously-tended landscape then this is the place for you. Trees and bushes are neatly trimmed, koi swim peacefully in their ponds, and the ambiance is serene and tranquil. Something tells me it would be the perfect place to spend an afternoon in, reading or journaling!

We ended the day at the Aquarium of the Bay, located at the edge of Pier 39. This is my favorite type of aquarium as many of the exhibits emphasize aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay, neighboring rivers, and watersheds as far away as the Sierra Mountains. Loved this Octopuses Garden…

But, without a doubt, the star of the show was Claude! When I first set eyes on him, I won’t lie it was unsettling. In fact, my first thought was that he’d make a fantastic addition to a horror film.

In a tale remarkably similar to The Ugly Duckling’s or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Claude was born in Louisiana, where he hatched out of his egg to discover he looked different from the other baby alligators. (They were green and Claude was white). His siblings avoided him, and his pale color made him more vulnerable to predators. When he moved to his San Francisco swamp, rather than condemning him for not conforming, the staff chose to celebrate his uniqueness. One example of this is, when the other alligator in the swamp refused to befriend him, Claude reached out to the giant snapping turtles in his living area and they all get along famously! You can even take Claude home with you; a huge chunk of the gift shop is devoted to him!

We ended our busy day where we’d begun it, at El Porteno. This time with a dessert empanada—banana and chocolate.

Next up

Let the train ride begin!