A Day in San Francisco

 Wednesday, February 18, 2026

The four of us began the day with breakfast in the hotel lobby. The rain was coming down steady while we ate and we took our time eating and discussing what we would do for the day. The only two things that were definitely decided were that we wanted to ride in a driverless Waymo car and Jon wanted to have sushi for lunch. I used my phone and asked AI what to do on a rainy day in San Francisco and one option was to visit the Japan Center Mall in Japantown. That was a place we had never been to so we decided to check it out. Surely we could find a sushi place there as well.

A very rainy morning in San Francisco

Jon called a Waymo that picked us up right outside the hotel. Jon sat in the front seat and Bob, Michelle and I sat in the back. It was so tight that we didn't get our seatbelts hooked right away which prompted a call from what I think was a live human telling us we had to buckle up. We had our choice of music to listen to but otherwise we just sat there and let the car do the driving. What a weird experience to go through heavy traffic with no driver!

Waiting on our Waymo ride.

Here comes the Waymo!

We made it safely to the mall and walked through a few of the stores. One store was like a Japanese Dollar Tree which I found fun. Before we had time to see the rest of the mall, Jon announced that there was a concert being held at noon in the huge Grace Cathedral. None of us were really excited to go, but since we had decided Jon would be making the plans for the day we gave in. So...another Waymo ride.

Bob found sweet corn on a rack with other snacks!

The Grace Cathedral was very impressive. We arrived at 11:40 but almost no one else was there for the concert. And that was when we realized that Jon hadn't been truthful about what was going on. It was actually an Ash Wednesday service (which he knew.) 

As we walked in, one of the ushers asked me where I was from (since it was very obvious that I wasn't a regular attender.) He said "follow me, I want to show you something." He walked me over to the far side of the sanctuary and pointed to a stained glass window very high up near the ceiling. I was quite surprised when he showed me that it was astronaut, John Glenn, in his spacesuit with a rocket in the background! 

The four of us stayed for the service (since Jon insisted!) He and Bob sat up near the front while Michelle and I found a spot in the very back row. Listening to the pipe organ and hymns being sung in Latin was so different from the contemporary non-denominational church that we are accustomed to attending each week. The service was probably not something I would have chosen to do, but interesting all the same. Midway through the service the sun came out and fully illuminated the stained glass windows...a sign that maybe the rain was going to give us a break for the afternoon!

It was after 1 pm when the service ended and Jon was still determined to find someplace to have sushi. We stood outside the cathedral in the cold wind using our phones to search for a place to eat. I suggested we find someplace close to where we were staying (instead of going further away) and we found a spot right across the street from the hotel with good reviews.

Standing outside Grace Cathedral following the Ash Wednesday service.

This time we used Uber. It was a little cheaper than Waymo and much more predictable where it was going to pick us up. 

The Kui Shin Bo Restaurant was right next door to where we had pizza last night. The fact that we were the only customers at lunch time made me wonder if we had made a poor choice. The menu was VERY extensive so it took us awhile to figure out what to order. Jon started out by ordering a couple of appetizers...garlic edamame and potsticker dumplings and then ordered sushi (shrimp tempura, tuna, salmon, imitation crab,masago, avocado, cucumber, spicy may sauce, & kabayaki sauce) for he and Michelle to share. Bob and I are not sushi lovers so he ordered udon noodles (tempura shrimp, chicken, fish cake, egg & vegetables cooked in a miso-based broth, served in an iron pot) and I got ramen (ramen noodle with crispy chicken, chili paste, egg, green onion, sesame seeds, nori, & coconut creamy soup, topped with crispy noodle). 

My bowl of soup was huge and after one bite I knew I had made a good choice. The broth was made with coconut milk and was delicious!

Card playing is always a big part of our trips with Jon and Michelle and they had forgotten to bring any. Also Michelle needed some toiletry items that she didn't want to pack from home. Rather than take another Uber, Bob and Jon decided they would walk...possibly to a nearby Walgreens.

Michelle came to our room and we watched the Olympics on TV. We tracked the guys on their iPhones and after they walked down to the shoreline near Ghirardelli Square, they walked to Target instead of a much closer Walgreens. Bob's iPhone health app showed they went over 6 miles and climbed 13 stories (because of the hills!) Bob is used to walking several miles each day but even he admitted this was a very long walk. They chose to Uber back to the hotel. 😏 Here are some of their photos...

The rain had held off all afternoon, but was just starting again when the guys returned. None of us were in the mood to go out to eat so Bob and Jon went across the street to Chico's pizza (where we ate the previous night.) Bob got us each a slice of pizza and Jon bought a calzone for he and Michelle to share. (None of us were very hungry after our late lunch.) Our plan was to eat at a table in the breakfast area of the hotel and then play some cards. But...the lobby was freezing cold and we moved to Jon and Michelle's room instead.

After we finished eating, Jon tried to move the desk away from the wall so we could sit around it to play cards. He was only able to get it moved a few inches because a power strip was attached which was connected to the lamp and TV. But what did happen was a small vinyl envelope fell to the ground from behind the desk. It had been lodged in all of the wires. Jon opened the envelope and it was filled with cash...a LOT of cash...including some foreign currency. He layed out all of the money and counted it and decided he would wait until the next day to decide what to do about it.

Without a good table, we gave up on cards and just watched the Olympics until we were all ready to call it a night.

There is a gale warning out beginning at 3:00 am tomorrow morning until 9:00 pm tomorrow night. This could make the beginning of the cruise quite bumpy. Oh...and also a high surf warning. AND...heavy rains overnight. Fingers are crossed that the rain will be over about the time we need to go to the pier. We shall see.