Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 3, the Finale

Image overload warning!!! But I need to get this birthday bash over with already, so I'm doing it all in one post. And I just don't believe in photo brevity anyway. Brevity may well be the soul of wit, but it's not the soul of a pictorial - or my blog :)

I'm still in Susanville by the way. My mom is gaining her strength back slowly but surely, and I'm caught up on all the chick flicks I've been meaning to watch! And then some. I should be going home on Monday.

Now, on to lots and lots of pictures :)

Cable car still adorned in its holiday decor. I wonder if that man is using the Nikon D-90 I've been dreaming of?

Looking down California Street from the sidewalk. The Cathay House Restaurant pagoda facade and The Bay Bridge are in view.

View of California Street from our table at The Cathay House.

We also had this to view, and also siting below this church, a little old Chinese man playing his little ehru. He was playing 'Auld Lang Syne' both times we passed him.

The Transamerica Building from Chinatown.

Matt finds souvenirs for the girls in Chinatown - soapstone Chinese zodoac stamps with their names personalized in Chinese

Hopefully, he didn't carve anything vulgar.

Grant Street

This shop looks inviting and beautiful, but most stores in Chinatown are filled to capacity with pure cheap junk - and guess where it's all made? Chinatown must hold a record for cheap junk per square foot. But it sure is festive!

The lanterns are lit at night

I could walk the streets of San Francisco all day just looking at fire escapes. I would save all the drama in my life for a fire escape if I had one. I would talk on the phone on my fire escape, read books, get a tan, think deeply, cry, be happy, commune with God, solve the mysteries of the universe, yell at the kids from it, maybe even take a nap on it - if I didn't have so many sleeping issues. After dark, it would be like The West Side Story meets Breakfast at Tiffany's west, and Matt would sneak up to see me and declare his love for me under the stars. Then we'd sing a sweet duet before he goes off and accidentally kills Bernardo while trying to stop a rumble between the Jets and the Sharks. Then I would grab a little guitar (Ella's) and sing 'Moon River', and then I would go save Cat in the rain. Then I would grab the laptop and blog about all the drama in my life from my fire escape. I don't think I would hang my laundry out to dry on it though, because I don't like hanging laundry out to dry. In fact, I don't like laundry at all.

A Street in the North Beach Neighborhood, just west of Chinatown

There was a wonderful little record store in North Beach. Do you remember that I love nesting dolls? But what I really wanted was that microphone! I could sing some pretty awesome karaoke with it!

A lovely bride with Sts. Peter & Paul Church in the background, North Beach

Pizza fans waiting their turn to eat the best pizza EVAH!

On the outside looking in (an Oingo Boingo flashback)

Can you believe he doesn't write, or even read poetry anymore? He only did that when we were dating to impress me, because he's sweet like that :)

There are no words. 'Nuff said...

An inviting alley

The next morning, on my actual birthday, breakfast was delivered to our door, Matt served it to me bed, we ate, and then took a nap :) But it was soon time to check out and go pick up the girls at Marv and Joanie's (in-laws). When we arrived in the afternoon, they had a delicious birthday meal ready for us - shrimp pasta, tri-tip, vegetables, salad and garlic bread. It was a lovely ending to a lovely weekend! Thanks Marv and Joanie for watching your grand-kids ;-) Was wonderful of you!

It's always a crap-shoot when you ask a stranger to take a picture for you

p.s. Nie Nie's new post made me cry