In San Francisco, my family lived in a neighborhood called Seacliff where the majority of kids were Jewish. We played warball and rode BMX bikes up and down the block. During the holidays I sang the Dreidel Song and added "menorah" to my wish list for Santa.
I was kind of an odd child. I used to wear Converse sneakers -- one pink shoe and one blue shoe, both with green shoelaces. I was also a Girl Scout. Some of my most memorable (and mortifying) memories are from Troop 214:
1) The night I dressed up as a cowgirl and line danced to Elvira with my friend Karen.
2) The field trip to Angel Island when I dismissed warning signs and crept along the concrete perimeter of the island only to walk into a protruding pole, cut my head, and fall into the ocean.
3) The Halloween I got Poison Oak all over my skin, and my mom sent me to school dressed as "oatmeal." (If I was punny back then, I was have called myself "Oakmeal.")
All of these memories gently resurfaced on our recent family trip to San Francisco. I could go on forever with childhood nostalgia, but really, there's a lengthy queue of pictures to slog through. Enjoy!
Instead of a hotel, my family opted for a week-long house rental across of Golden Gate Park. We stayed in a creeky, 102-year-old Victorian-style house, which seemed spooky and dilapidated on first impression, but truly grew on me during our stay.
Memory lane starts here:
I spent K-5 at Alamo Elementary School.
Our first home on 31st Ave, in front of which I learned to ride a bike.
Our second home on 32nd Ave, which looks NOTHING like we left it. (New owners over the years added shingles, removed the stairs leading up to the front door and remodeled the cellar, where I used to imagine gold miners bunked.)
Walking to "Land's End," a scenic viewpoint a block away from our old house.
At "Land's End," a trail overlooking Baker and China Beach, with scenic views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
China Beach, where I used to pluck seaweed pods from the sand and whip them back into the ocean like boomerangs.
At Cliff House, overlooking a rock patrolled by seagulls.
My parents used to buy all of our family's birthday cakes at Schubert's Bakery on Clement Street. (The shop is exactly as I remember it, although I think I see it from a slightly taller angle now.)
My parents are book worms, so we spent a lot of time at Green Apple Book Store, where my book of choice used to be The Bernstein Bears. (I read the entire series.)
Toy Boat Dessert Cafe! I don't remember anything but its name.
[David and I after a few glasses of wine, and on our way to Mel's Diner.]
We used to go to Mel's pretty often. I still love the Juke box!
The following sequence of pics are not part of my nostalgic trip down memory lane; however, they fall within my "fun signs in Chinatown" collection.
On our last day in S.F., we went to the new (at least to us) Farmers Market in Embarcadero. After a few days of fog and gray skies, we finally saw sun! It was a gorgeous day!
The famous "painted ladies" on Fulton Street. (Recognize it from the Full House title sequence?)
For the full album, check out my Picasa web album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/SanFrancisco