MSP - SFO

We are off to San Francisco for a 5-day weekend and some riding. We decided to avoid booking on Northwest Airlines, due to the odds of a travel disruption due to any one of a number of reasons. We chose to fly America West through Phoenix. We took the bus to light rail and we were at the airport in about 20 minutes.

Upon arriving we learned that our flight was delayed due to a blown tire. America West had one spare but FAA rules require that they have another spare under these circumstances. America West had asked Northwest if they could provide a spare, but they were giving America West the run-around, in typical Minnesota passive-aggressive fashion. Net-net.... America West put us on a MSP-SFO non-stop flight. Cool.

After being randomly chosen for additional security, we were on our way. Upon arrival we took BART from the SFO airport to the 24th Street station, then the 48 bus up 24th Street to our B&B. The Dolores Place B&B is where we would spend the next 5 days and 4 nights. Its a great place in the Noe Valley, which is far more low-key than other touristy neighborhoods, yet offers a number of shops, coffee and restaurants. Our room is sort of like a studio apartment and is very comfortable. (Next time it will be BART to Balboa Park and then the J Church to the room). The first picture is 25th street, where the B&B is located.



Lunch was at Savor... very good. We returned two more times during our stay. We continued our walk, and I bought a Marin County Bike map at the Bike shop on 24th Street, and then walked over the hill to the Castro to check out the old 'hood. The second picture looks at Noe Valley from Castro Street.

After freshening up at the room we headed over to Valencia Street. Valencia has changed for the better since we left the Bay Area in '93. For starters, there is a bike lane in each direction and the street seems to be the epicenter for a vibrant bike culture. There are more restaurants, shops and coffee houses, and the area seems more inviting than when we lived there. We went to Freewheel Bike where I bought a pair of Chrome (brand) Pants. They are much like the Hankster from Hypnotic, which they also had in stock but not in my size. We met our friend "J" for dinner at the Herbivore, a vegetarian restaurant that we will return to. We hadn't seen "J" in a number of years and it was great to catch up.