Yesterday we pulled out our old snorkeling equipment and decided that it needed to be replaced. I had already bought a new snorkeling mask that has a camera (640 video and 8 megapixel stills), but the piece that holds the snorkel to both Kevin's and my masks was broken, Kevin only had bodyboarding fins, and one of my snorkeling fins had a tear in the back. My snorkeling equipment dated back to 1977 when I first started going to Cozumel, and so it is over 30 years old (hard to believe). Anyway, we went to Sports Chalet because they have the best selection of scuba equipment (and also have classes), and it was close. While there I bought a new mask because I liked the fit and color (clear with a translucent aqua stripe around the lens), a new snorkel (clear, to match the new mask), new fins (silver - don't match, but had to get what they had in my size), and then I decided to ask about a camera that we could use on our mountain bikes. I was standing in front the the display for the cameras when I asked if they had any - I often cannot see things that are right in front of me. I ended up buying a gopro camera that is also waterproof and will take 1080 HD video as well as still photos, but I plan to use it only for video. It came with a helmet mount, as well as a surfboard and handlebar mount, but I decided to order a chest mount to go with it, which was not expensive. I did have to buy the memory separately, and that was not so cheap. I had to buy memory for the mask camera as well, but I had already ordered that. I also got a couple of spare batteries. Anyway, we should be able to document our trip fairly well - similar to our trip to Taxco. Lars

I live near SF. The place we go for brunch on really special occasions is the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel at the top of Nob Hill (across the street from the Fairmont Hotel). It has a great view and a wonderfully amazing brunch -- the best I've ever seen and I have travelled a lot. For drinks, lunch or dinner, I would also recommend the revolving restaurant at the top of the Hyatt Embarcadero. I have taken out of town guests there several times. I don't remember much about the food but the view is wonderful. Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge is also fun (and still free, I think) (you will need a car or cab to get there, though, and getting a cab for the ride back could be tricky). If you decide to get a car (and San Francisco is not THAT hard to drive in) I would also recommend Guaymas restaurant in Tiberon or a stroll in Sausalito (across the Golden Gate Bridge from SF). Both have great views of San Francisco and are only a short drive from SF (assuming traffic is OK across the Golden Gate).

Thank you for your kind words. Where was your family's company located? I understand the method the Sterchi family employed very early on (they bought the land this house was built on in 1845 and passed it down) was to purchase wooded land, cut the trees and make furniture out of the hardwood and then turn the land into very productive farmland. Our house was the 3rd house built on this spot that served as the main house on a 1,500 acre estate. Of course Sterchi Brothers Furniture stores were all over the southeast. I believe there were 76 stores operating when it was sold to a major furniture chain.

Got in late on Thursday and spent the weekend recuperating from my vacation! Work is piled up to the ceiling but it was well worth the trip. First of all, that city was ridiculously packed with tourists. Mostly from Europe. Seems like a popular destination for French, Japanese and Scandinavian tourists. The weather was way warmer than I thought it would be. I took sweaters for the evenings but all I needed was a light poncho. I stupidly got a sunburn too! As for our itinerary, we did everything. We were out the door pretty early everyday and able to beat the crowds pretty much everywhere we went. Saturday -Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market: Beautiful food everywhere! We had breakfast at Boulettes Larder - really fantastic food. -Exploratorium Museum: Really neat place but we got there too late and the crowd was just too much. It was packed with unruly kids and rude parents and nephew isn't the pushy type so he didn't get to have very much "hands on" with all the cool exhibits. We did see a cow's eye dissection, so there's that! -FW/Pier 39: Aquarium - really one of the better aquariums I've been. We were early so lots of the animals were active, especially the very cute Otters; RocketBoat Cruise - super silly and touristy but oh so much fun and got to see the sea lions while on the boat; lunch of chowder in a bread bowl at Boudin which was lame but I guess an iconic thing to get at FW. -Chinatown - Didn't have dinner but walked through. Really dirty and don't need to go to another Chinatown ever. -We were so tired we order takeout sushi (can't remember from where) in our hotel room. They have a service in SF that's much like Uber but for delivers. Worked great and sushi was good but average. Sunday - Had breakfast at Waterfront Bakery around the corner from the bike rental place at FW. Very yummy French pastries at this cute little bakery. Maybe not the best choice for breakfast before a bike ride! - The GGB bike ride was awesome! Again, started off early and beat the crowds. Sister and I had to walk our bikes up two very steep hills but nephew powered through the whole thing. Really, one of the easiest parts was on the bridge. Wind wasn't bad and all the bikers were very courteous. Sausalito is a fantastic little town. We parked out bikes (valet bike parking!) and walked around town, had the best burger ever at Napa Valley Burger, laid in the grass for awhile at a park by all the sail boats while nephew flew a kite. Took the ferry back to SF in late afternoon. I clocked the bike ride at around 10 miles. Getting off the Ferry at FW and riding back to the bike rental place was a little stressful because of the crowds and cars. -Took a cable car from our hotel to Frascati on Hyde (Russian Hill) for dinner. Fantastic little neighborhood bistro. Monday -Rented a car at the hotel (free upgrade to a Mercedes was nice) and drove to Muir Woods. We arrived around 8:30am and got a parking spot in the second parking lot. Had a decent breakfast at the cafe there and walked about two miles into the forest before nephew wanted to head back. Really beautiful and peaceful. So glad we left when we did. As we were getting closer to the entrance, the woods turned into a shopping mall - people everywhere with a din of voices. There were cars parked along the road for two miles! - Drove to Point Bonita Lighthouse with the most spectacular views! Went to Rodeo Beach down the road where nephew got to fly his kite. Basically a very uncomfortable gravel beach. Wish we had thought to take a blanket. - Headed back to SF and drove around the Castro, Haight-Ashbury (found an organic hot dog place that was just okay), the Tenderloin (yikes!), drove down the iconic hairpin turns on Lombard Street. Went to Baker Beach just before sunset. Nephew was happy to jump into the bone-chilling water! Returned our car about five blocks from the hotel. We walked back to the hotel UP THE HILL. No wonder there aren't that many people walking those hills. Tuesday - Took a cable car to Union Square, had breakfast at Sears (very good hearty breakfast fare). - Went to Alcatraz, what a wonderful experience. The audio tour is awesome and there was a former prisoner in the bookstore signing his book. The island is a bird sanctuary as well so it was really cool to see all the nests and fledglings. - Got on a cable car at one of the manual turntables (nephew loved that!) near FW and went back to the hotel. - Had dinner in the Mission District at Pica Pica, a Venezuelan arepa restaurant. Not amazing, but good. Walked around a bit and headed back. Wednesday - Sister and nephew went to iFly in Union City. She said they were on the Oakland bridge in traffic for almost 45 minutes. I stayed at the hotel to take care of work. - Had dinner at Boulevard near the Ferry Building. Beautiful old building and the food was spectacular. Thursday - Travel day. Checked out the hotel a little more (rooftop garden with beehives was a joke) and had a late breakfast. Laid around a bit and headed for the airport. Really nice airport! My sister's flight was an hour before mine so I had time to get a pedicure in the salon at the airport. One of the best pedicures I've ever had. Notes: -Cable cars are hard to get with all the tourists but I found a trick. Hold up a hand with fingers showing how many people are in your party. They'll pick you to jump on every time. Showing your City Pass helped too because then the operator knows they don't have to mess around with taking money and giving change. - Our hotel sucked. Very expensive Fairmont Hotel wasn't even close to being worth it except the location was good - away from the crowds. The only good thing I can say is that the beds were very comfortable. Maid service was terrible, concierge service was non-existent, and our room was musty and smelled like smoke. They claimed they had no other rooms to switch us to and offered to bring a ionizer to the room which took them and hour to bring. Breakfast was mediocre at best. That was way more detailed than I had intended! All in all, great vacation. Loved San Francisco but wouldn't want to live there!