Day One - On My Own in San Francisco

Today is Thomas' first full day at the conference so I am on my own to explore the city. Once I was up and dressed I spent a little time organizing things for the day. At about 8:15am I headed out. I decided I wanted to walk just to get a feel for things and get to see the city. Riding the buses is fine but you don't get to see as much. Leaving the hotel (which is on Cyril Magnin) I headed west on Eddy and walked about three or four blocks and then turned south on Leavenworth and went to the UN Plaza on Market.

City Hall

From here I walked through the Plaza and made my way to City Hall. I took a few pictures along the way and a few pictures of City Hall before going inside. After I got through security I did a self guided walking tour (they do have guided tours but the first one didn't start until 10:00am and I didn't want to wait) and took a ton of pictures.

Grand Staircase in City Hall

This building is absolutely beautiful and I ended up spending about 40 minutes there. Finally I left and walked over to the San Francisco Public Library but it wasn't open yet so I made my way back to Market Street. I followed Market southwest until I arrived at Valencia Street. My destination for the morning was the Mission District. Walking south along Valencia I enjoyed the early morning and just took my time. Eventually I came upon Clarion Alley. So I detoured here to take pictures of all the murals adorning the walls of this alley. There is some incredible art here and I enjoyed walking up and down the alley.

Clarion Alley Mural

Clarion Alley Mural

 Then I continued my walk to my goal of the area between 18th and 20th Streets. Here I was looking for letterboxes placed by Paul in SF. From some research and talking to some other letterboxers and emailing Paul I realized that not all the boxes were there. But I had my heart set on finding at least one of his boxes. It was still a little early when I arrived and most of the places were closed so I went to Javalencia Cafè and had some coffee and a bagel. When I was done I set out to find the boxes. The first I tried was closed (as in out of business - the name was still painted on the window but the place was empty) but the next place was open and I found my first (and only) Paul in SF letterbox. The guys at the counter gave me the box and I found a place to sit and stamp in. When I was done I returned the box and thanked the guys and moved on. The rest of my time on Valencia Street went like this - the next place I tried was also out of business, then the next was closed for renovations, the next had no idea what I was talking about, the next I couldn't find the place (was looking for a number in the name of the store) and the last place didn't open until later on. I was disappointed because I really wanted more of Paul's artwork but happy that at least I found one. Well it was time to move on and do more.

Mission Dolores

So I walked a couple of blocks west to Dolores Park and then headed north to Mission Dolores (Mission San Francisco de Asis). At the Mission I paid my $5 and headed in for a self guided tour. As I walked through the old mission I was taken back to Santa Fe. This building reminded me a lot of Loretto Chapel and San Miguel Mission. The tour ends in the cemetery behind the old mission and here I found Sierra Sally's Mission San Francisco de Asis letterbox. I found a nice bench to sit on so I could stamp in. It was peaceful and I enjoyed relaxing here. When I was done stamping in I had to wait about five minutes for three people to move on so I could rehide the box. From the Mission I continued my walk north back to Market Street. I then headed northeast on Market back to the intersection with Valencia. I stopped in at the FLAX store and looked around. I use to get their catalog and always thought they had interesting things. I enjoyed the store (it was huge) but I didn't buy anything - the last thing I need is more arts and crafts supplies. By this time I was tired of walking so I decided to take the bus back to the library. I took the F Market Streetcar to 8th Street and then walked to the Library. Here I was looking for Agent F-Word's Search for the Past Letterbox. I did a little research in the card catalog and then headed for the books. I think I found the right spot but did not find the box. But I did enjoy the library. It is really big and has an opening in the middle with a skylight.

After leaving the library I walked the few blocks back to the hotel and along the way I picked up a sandwich (since I hadn't had lunch yet) and took it back to the room. I ate and started this post and then made some plans for the late afternoon and evening. As I was getting things ready Thomas returned to the room and said he was going to skip the dinner with the conference and wanted to tag along with me. So we headed out and walked a little around the Union Square area and then headed to Market Street and toward the Ferry Building. Before arriving at the Ferry Building we took a detour to Sue Bierman Park to find lost sailor's Birds on a Wire.

The Bay Lights

It was a clever hide and a nice stamp and after stamping in we made our way to Pier 9 to find depotdevoid's The Instructables Letterbox! which was an easy find. After stamping in to this box and getting it back in place we walked over to the Ferry Building and had some dinner at MarketBar. We had a nice meal and relaxed and then walked out back to one of the piers and found a bench to sit on and wait for it to get dark. We sat facing the Bay Bridge so that we could enjoy the lights. We had to wait about 40 minutes to really see the lights well and after that time it was getting too cold and we decided to head back to the hotel. We were both a little tired so we decided to catch the F Market Streetcar which dropped us off a block from the hotel. Now that we are settled and I have completed this post it is time for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I think I will spend time in Golden Gate Park.