Well, now it’s official. I traveled to San Francisco this weekend to find and apply for an apartment and accomplished the mission. So, now that I’ve chosen a place to live and scheduled a move-in date, one thing has been crossed off the long list of things to do. Next, I’ll be swiftly getting the other parts of my life in order over the next few weeks, starting with my going away party. I’ll be sure to share photos here, so I have a space to look back and remember a pivotal moment in my life (because moving across the country is both insane but very damn dope.)
Getting back to the idea that made me even bother to open this laptop is to 1. Share the dope ass pics I took while exploring around, and 2. To share what I did while I was there!
The accommodations
Where I stayed
I chose to stay from Sunday through Thursday at the Kimpton Alton Hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf. It was pretty central to a lot of things I wanted to walk to in San Francisco, and I got a great deal of walking in, even though it was raining for 2 of the days I was there.
What are some of my favorite things about the hotel? It was modern & funky. I loved the design, furniture, and full-body-length mirror. I also appreciated the yoga mat included in each room and access to streaming workouts, and you can connect to your streaming apps to watch on tv. The great personal touch? A record player in each room and all you have to do is swing by the front desk, and you can borrow as many as 3 records at a time. They also offer happy hour daily from 5 pm-6 pm.
What did I not like about the hotel? Valet parking was $65 a night, and a self-parking lot across the street was about $45 daily. The price seemed excessive because the parking lot was less than 200 feet from the door of the hotel, so there wasn’t too far for the valet to travel to park the car and, similarly, not far for you to walk if you parked your own car.
A little bit of fun
After checking into my room, I decided to walk around the area and stumbled across this 100+-year-old antique arcade. Inside the arcade, all the games were so old that it reminded me of an excellent backdrop for the opening of an episode of Criminal Minds. The scene would start when some creep walks up and grabs an amazed kid staring at a car game.
Other than the initial shock of how 90% of the games were older than me, I found a lot of joy in the “every play is a win” kind of game. Here’s me; way too excited about winning a rubber duck. (Jeep drivers know what’s up).
The next day, I decided to walk briskly to the City Lights Bookstore. I was SO excited as I ventured the three levels of books. They have all the genres and carried a lot of books I’d never seen nor heard of before by Black writers, and it was a real breath of fresh air. On this particular night, upstairs where the poetry books are, there was a live poetry reading. I could listen and enjoy an author reading some of her latest work.
My final stop on the tourist staples list was The Painted Ladies. Known as “Postcard row,” these houses are one of the most iconic and most photographed locations in San Francisco. Most infamously known as the houses featured on Full House.
Views of the Golden Gate Bridge
I feel like words for this are unnecessary because why go to San Francisco and NOT see the Golden Gate Bridge, ya know? I saw the bridge and took these pictures from the Golden Gate Overlook. There was plenty of parking, the weather was chilly along the water, and there weren’t many people out.
Have you ever been to San Francisco? If so, what was your favorite place to explore? Let me know in the comments below.
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