Sunday morning at the Destination Bakery is a busy place. Many people had made the bakery their destination – including us. Not only that, but one of the bakery’s little cafe tables had broken earlier that morning which meant there were 4-5 less places to sit with a cinnamon bun and a coffee – or water. So, we happily sat on a bench and began to enjoy our delights. My cousin, owner and operator of Destination Bakery came out to say “Good Morning” to us and other patrons and asked the lone woman at the next table if we could join her. “Why, of course,” she said. And so began a friendship that I hope will survive the distance of our miles. We had a lovely conversation and learned many things we had in common. She is an Army Brat (as am I); she loves history and loves to write (as do I), and the conversation was off and running.

We stayed far longer at the bakery than we intended the schedule to allow – and no one cared. We enjoyed the company of our new friend until another man asked if he might join our table. “Of course,” we said, we were willing to share. He listened to our continuing conversation and at one point shared in a thick Eastern European accent that the bread pudding was excellent. He promptly finished his portion and got up to get another. When he finished his second serving, he got up, asked if he could buss our plates and wished us a good day. My new friend and I continued talking! We exchanged desires for our creativity; stories of our youth; stories of our parents and their time in history; and our names and emails. We might be sitting there yet if the 62 degree sunshine and the lovely San Francisco attractions had not called us outside.

Since it was even warmer and clearer than yesterday we elected to return to Land’s End Park where we had hastily spent less than an hour on a cloudy morning when we first arrived in town. It was a challenge finding a parking place as almost all of San Francisco was at the park today. But, once we found one, we took the coastal hike from the Sutro Baths almost to the Eagle’s Point. Along the way we glimpsed the amazing beauty of the area and sights of the Golden Gate bridge – from the opposite direction we had viewed it yesterday.

The hike was rather long and upon returning to our starting point we knew we must look for a little cafe for some lunch. The first place we saw was very crowded with a long line of patrons waiting. So, we walked on in the direction of the car. The next place we saw was a little cafe connected with an older 1950’s style hotel or motel called the Seal Rock Inn. We were ushered to a seat immediately and found the food excellent. In addition, we could also enjoy the view!

Driving back across town we saw thousands of San Franciscans out walking and biking enjoying this amazing day in this amazing place.

One last adventure for the end of our day – the local variety store on Castro Avenue, named “Cliff’s.” It was a delight to behold and I felt like a child again in a true variety store that had everything from bunny ears for Easter to toilet repair supplies; toys; games; fabric; cards; jewelry making supplies; and gag gifts. What an amusement to top off the day.

I happily and proudly carried my new 18 inch metal drafting ruler back to the car and we returned to our “rooms” for the night, tired and ready to rest.