Exciting Trips to San Francisco

Today I watched most of the America's Cup sailing contest in San Francisco Bay, California, U.S.A.  Although I certainly had heard of it, I never was the slightest bit interested until I sailed on the catamaran in Hawaii recently.  I loved every minute!  And these slick, sleek, fast sailboats in the America's Cup were catamarans!  The United States was racing New Zealand in a really exciting contest.  New Zealand won.

The Manu Kai catamaran with sails unfurled, Waikiki Bay, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 2013.

Catamaran from the Hilton Hotel, near the Manu Kai, out in the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

Catamarans are like two canoes or rowboats joined with braces, very stable.  It was wild fun!  The farther out we sailed, the rougher the seas were!

Seeing the America's Cup race in San Francisco Bay brought to mind two family trips there.  I'll tell you about the unhappy trip first.  In September, 1989, my mother, Adeline, was in the Presidio military hospital, scheduled for shoulder replacement surgery the next morning; it's almost directly beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  She and dad were having supper in the basement cafeteria.  Around 5 p.m., the building started terrible shaking.  Mom related, "We knew it was an earthquake and thought we were going to die."  At that very time, I was in Kentucky, viewing the World Series baseball game on TV, in San Francisco.  The TV picture started shaking.  From the Goodyear Blimp, the city (then at night) went dark except for fires from the burning gas lines.

My heart was in my stomach, I was so afraid for my parents!  That was on a Sunday.  I did not hear from Mom and Dad until Thursday.  I was so sick with worry!  Mom said that after the quake and aftershocks had settled down, the hospital building was still standing, but with major cracks everywhere.  Mom was told, "Go back to your room.  Your surgery will go on as scheduled.  Here's a flashlight.  Take three showers tonight to prepare for the surgery."

Well, the hospital had no power but my parents did as they were told.  Dad held the flashlight over the shower at three different times during the night and mom took showers.  The morning came and mom was told, "You're not having surgery.  The surgeon was up all night with emergencies."  It took them three days to reach home in Sacramento, a trip which normally would take no more than two hours.

Six weeks later mom had the shoulder replacement surgery.  She had been suffering from pain since she had fallen off a horse at age 16, a period of 54 years!  The nurse in me tells you, please don't be afraid of such surgery: it is common now!  Knee replacements especially are common (please see this blog, June 11, 2013, "All the Way Up!")

My trip to San Francisco took place in July, 1982, when I was visiting mom and dad in Sacramento.  The three of us planned to spend the day in the San Francisco area.  As we were getting ready, I noticed Mom putting three winter coats in the back of their station wagon.  "What on earth are you doing, Mom?  It's going to be 95 degrees today!"  She told me, "You'll see.  San Francisco is colder."  She was right!  We actually toured the old fort at the Presidio, on San Francisco Bay.  I saw the same hospital as we drove around the military base (Dad was retired Army).  I was very grateful for the warm coat!  It was extremely windy, about 55 degrees on the bay.

Dad drove us all around the city.  We went to the famous Ghiradelli chocolate factory, the waterfront, through the narrow streets so steep we had to hold on to keep from bending forward.  I was enchanted by the beautiful Victorian houses of many colors.  I had a very strong feeling: this is the most beautiful, most interesting, and most exciting place I've ever known.  I'd really like to just open the car door and disappear with all the other people.  I had to fight the feeling.  Love for my family in Kentucky and elsewhere kept me in the car!  We also enjoyed a Gold Mine, the Muir Woods of giant sequoia trees, the fabulous Hearst Castle, and one of the Spanish missions.

I want to go back!!