Summer City Rambles
One of my favorite memories from this past summer of 2026 was taking the train to San Francisco and using only public transportation to get around for three days. We were headed down to the city for a Belle and Sebastian concert at the Masonic, so we booked a historic hotel in lower Nob Hill called the Mayflower (which I chose based on the cute elevator) and it turned out to be a perfect location for getting around to everywhere we wanted to go.
The morning we left, Joey gave us a ride to Sacramento where we hopped on the Amtrak called the Capitol Corridor from downtown Sac to Jack London Square in Oakland. It was a fun and relaxing little train ride and then we booked it across Jack London Square with all our stuff in tow to make the ferry ride across the bay!
Arriving at the ferry building in San Francisco, we dragged our stuff around and discovered that Cholita Linda has the most incredible tofu tacos. we also figured out how very close we were to the cable car lines, so we found the route and bought day passes. It was a little hard that first time with all of our stuff, but we later dropped that off at our hotel and took cable cars that whole first day - it was a blast!
The next day was our first time visiting the Mission Dolores in the heart of the city, built in 1791, the oldest intact structure remaining in San Francisco. It was so beautiful and made me sad. Mission of Sorrows indeed. It is so heartbreaking knowing the exploitation and destruction that the California mission system wrought on the Yelamu people.
The best part was taking the bus there! The Muni system was so efficient in San Francisco; the kids ride free, and Darin and I could just tap to pay with our phones or bank card and hop on. It's 2.85 and that covers any rides within two hours. Pretty cool, cheap, useful and fun!
We walked all around the Mission. Some of our favorite stops were:
Sour Cherry Comics - coolest ever liberation-focused queer comic bookstore with super cute vibes, zines, and local homemade stuff and A CAT
Four Point Beer Hall - perfect place for a snack and refresh; David Attenborough playing in the very clean bathrooms
Valencia Street Vintage - had a pop up out front with great sale prices
Community Thrift - so hard not to buy more than we could carry!
Abanico Coffee - had probably our favorite ever coffee drink here called a Cafe con Coco y Choco
Fog City Flea at 150 Valencia - this was a long walk and worth it, but has since closed; the ferry building location is reopened!
Clarion Alley - We always love to check out the colorful and empowering murals!
Back to our hotel to get ready for the concert that night! We walked up to the Masonic, just a couple blocks away up the steep hill of Taylor Street.
It was Pride month!
Wandered Grace Cathedral first and walked the labyrinth.
Pumped after the show, which was absolutely a fine display of humanity, music, creativity, and community! It was Belle and Sebastian's 30 year album anniversary show for Tigermilk, and if you're not familiar with that album I highly recommend giving it a close listen. Stuart was so energetic, fun, and captivating both on stage and goofing around in the audience. We were right in the front and some of our audience neighbors were even welcomed up on stage to sing with the band.
There was a little store- The Mayflower Market and Deli - beneath our hotel and it was so convenient for snacks and pick-me-ups.
Heading out the next morning for coffee and more wandering!
Top of Nob Hill.
Later in the afternoon we took a very long bus ride to Golden Gate Park and eventually to Baker Beach. It was super hot for the city while we were there and the beach was crowded!
Heading out of the city the next day:
Another delightful ferry ride!
If you get a chance to visit San Francisco without your car, I highly recommend it! This trip is solidified in my memory as one of my favorite family trips because of the curiosity, freedom, and wonder I experienced wandering around the city on my own two feet and with strangers on city buses. Cheers!
Comments