Granola bar, check. Pretzels, check. Emergency M&Ms, Powerade Sports goo, Luna bar, and energy jellies, check, check and check. Was I going hiking? No. Was I running another half marathon? Not technically. In fact, I was only preparing for a day of sightseeing with Martin and his parents in San Francisco. Knowing, and being warned again by Martin, that his parents probably wouldn’t need to stop for food during our 8+ hour tour and knowing that my energy levels (and overall happiness and sanity) plummet after 4 hours without it, I packed enough snacks to get me through another 2 half marathons.
We began with breakfast at a packed Rose’s Café in my neighborhood of Cow Hollow. What everyone was doing not working on Monday morning at 9am, was anybody’s guess, although I made a mental note to figure it out and learn from their lead. My breakfast pizza (the local specialty and especially tasty) and bottomless coffee was the last meal I would enjoy until dinner with the parents later that night…I tried to enjoy every last morsel of food. And with the bill paid, we began our pilgrimage through the City by the Bay.
From Rose’s we cut across Lombard, walked through the Marina past all of the cute shops and restaurants, continued on out through Chrissy Fields along the water (stopping every few moments to take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge) and then up the killer hill in the Presidio to the pedestrian sidewalk on San Francisco’s pride and joy, the Golden Gate Bridge. At this point, I opted to take a break under the rouse of needing to send out a few critical work emails (in reality one work email, one email to friends giving them a status update and a 10 minute break to wolf down the Luna Bar). In the meantime, Martin and his parents made their way out to the middle of the Bridge in order to get the prize-winning views of the city.
After seeing and walking across the bridge, most people would consider it a productive day of touring San Francisco and head back to their hotels for lunch and an afternoon nap. Not surprisingly, Martin’s parents are not most people. From the Bridge, we retraced our 3 mile walk past the Presidio Warming Hut, back through the Marina (stopping at the Palace of Fine Arts for a quick photo op of the swans), continuing straight through Fort Mason, over the hill (and through the woods) and down into Aquatic Park and Fisherman’s Wharf.
We paused in Fisherman’s Wharf just long enough to pick up some salt water taffy (a first for the Breuer’s and a much needed sugar rush for me) and we were back on our journey through North Beach (with another quick stop for an espresso) and onto Chinatown. It was in Chinatown that we finally stopped for some food…or at least a hint of food – 15 pieces of dim sum to be exact, and yes I savored every little bite.
Thankfully Chinatown wasn’t as crazy as normal (it was Monday afternoon after all) and we were able to take our time walking through the narrow streets, checking out the various knic-knacks Grant St. had to offer including Chinese Finger Traps, meditation balls and back scratchers. And finally, from Chinatown, we walked the 3 short blocks back to Union Square (and the hotel) to drop off Martin’s parents before we ran home to change for dinner.
All in, we walked about 8 miles (5 of which were consistent with my half marathon), and I ended up with more blisters and more sore muscles than the previous 13.1 mile race. My conclusion, sightseeing with the Breuers was more exhausting and physically challenging than the half marathon… am I surprised? No, not really.
We began with breakfast at a packed Rose’s Café in my neighborhood of Cow Hollow. What everyone was doing not working on Monday morning at 9am, was anybody’s guess, although I made a mental note to figure it out and learn from their lead. My breakfast pizza (the local specialty and especially tasty) and bottomless coffee was the last meal I would enjoy until dinner with the parents later that night…I tried to enjoy every last morsel of food. And with the bill paid, we began our pilgrimage through the City by the Bay.
From Rose’s we cut across Lombard, walked through the Marina past all of the cute shops and restaurants, continued on out through Chrissy Fields along the water (stopping every few moments to take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge) and then up the killer hill in the Presidio to the pedestrian sidewalk on San Francisco’s pride and joy, the Golden Gate Bridge. At this point, I opted to take a break under the rouse of needing to send out a few critical work emails (in reality one work email, one email to friends giving them a status update and a 10 minute break to wolf down the Luna Bar). In the meantime, Martin and his parents made their way out to the middle of the Bridge in order to get the prize-winning views of the city.
After seeing and walking across the bridge, most people would consider it a productive day of touring San Francisco and head back to their hotels for lunch and an afternoon nap. Not surprisingly, Martin’s parents are not most people. From the Bridge, we retraced our 3 mile walk past the Presidio Warming Hut, back through the Marina (stopping at the Palace of Fine Arts for a quick photo op of the swans), continuing straight through Fort Mason, over the hill (and through the woods) and down into Aquatic Park and Fisherman’s Wharf.
We paused in Fisherman’s Wharf just long enough to pick up some salt water taffy (a first for the Breuer’s and a much needed sugar rush for me) and we were back on our journey through North Beach (with another quick stop for an espresso) and onto Chinatown. It was in Chinatown that we finally stopped for some food…or at least a hint of food – 15 pieces of dim sum to be exact, and yes I savored every little bite.
Thankfully Chinatown wasn’t as crazy as normal (it was Monday afternoon after all) and we were able to take our time walking through the narrow streets, checking out the various knic-knacks Grant St. had to offer including Chinese Finger Traps, meditation balls and back scratchers. And finally, from Chinatown, we walked the 3 short blocks back to Union Square (and the hotel) to drop off Martin’s parents before we ran home to change for dinner.
All in, we walked about 8 miles (5 of which were consistent with my half marathon), and I ended up with more blisters and more sore muscles than the previous 13.1 mile race. My conclusion, sightseeing with the Breuers was more exhausting and physically challenging than the half marathon… am I surprised? No, not really.
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