Rainy Daze

While we appreciated the winter's replenishment of our reservoirs, the wet stuff falling from the sky put a kink in our usual weekend routines.  We pride ourselves on our outdoor adventures and see the immediate benefits of fresh air, sunshine, and keeping our bodies moving.  The wet weather challenged us however, to find and visit some of San Francisco's historical gems and legacy businesses.  

The Haas-Lilienthal House is the city's only Victorian museum open for public display.  The Queen Anne style house miraculously survived the 1906 earthquake and fires, and is meticulously maintained as a San Francisco Landmark.  Stepping inside we were transported back 100 years.

A volunteer docent led us through the main rooms of the house and described how the family used the space.

Since the Haas children lived here, there were many of their original toys on display, lovingly built by the house driver.

The main staircase bares the house's only scar from the 1906 earthquake, which was deliberately left un-repaired by William Haas to remind the family of their great fortune in surviving the devastation that followed.

The boys surprisingly didn't break anything during the one hour docent led tour, and afterwards we strolled down to Tommy's Joynt.  I was there last in 2001 at the end of a long road trip with Mattias and I've been wanting to go back.  A San Francisco Legacy Business, the place prides itself on being no-frills joint that serves hot food and cold beer at super affordable prices.

After such an eventful and history-filled morning, we reward ourselves with an afternoon of video games and loafing on the couch. (That's 5 boys in the photo!)

On another soggy weekend we ventured up the famous Fillmore Steps to check out Coit Tower. For a small fee you can join the tourists and take the elevator to the top of the tower.  Even with rain the views are lovely.

The main reason I wanted to visit was to view the murals about California's industrial and agricultural history, painted in the 1930s.  After visiting Mexico City and marvelling at the murals there, I made the connection to many of San Francisco's public murals.  Indeed, the California artists trained under or emulated the styles of several Mexican muralists.  Talk about cultural appropriation...

Despite whining about the cold, these boys found lots of things to jump over or climb on.  We even bribed them to walk all the way to the Ferry Building for a picnic lunch, and on the way we learned about San Francisco's buried ships from the Gold Rush.

Spoiled by our typical climate, this winter pushed us to look for ways to spend time together in a different way and to see our environment from different angles. Exuberant precipitation also created opportunities to enjoy snow and introduce our boys to our favorite winter sport.  Coming next.