the second day started off early mainly due to jet lag. this was our only free days out in sf…and by day, i mean about 7 hours. the cousin drove us into town and dropped us off at mama’s where we would be eating brunch with a couple friends from philly who moved out here several years back- danny and clara.

the line to mama’s was long. brunch is not my favorite meal. i find brunch to equate itself with subpar food, long lines and with a population generally geared towards white people and asian females with at least undergrad degrees. why? i have no idea. but it’s unsettling. since brunch foods have been ruined for me ever since our argentina trip which led us to discover the glory that is oui oui the argentinian french restaurant that complete DESTROYS american made brunch. overall though, aside from an hour wait or so mama’s wasn’t too shabby. probably one of the better brunches i’ve been to.

we then met up with drs hannah and peter and their two kids sophia and noah and hung out at the park across the street from mama’s. after watching the hummingbirds, we went to another part of town to eat lunch part 2. we had the very well-known dry chicken wings at san tung, a korean-chinese joint. the wings were delicious and the other foods were pretty decent as well. there was a wait here too. i guess we did a lot of waiting. 

afterwards clara and danny dropped us off at my cousin’s joint and we hung out for a bit there until they left to run some errands. also, they dropped off jeannie’s phone at the restaurant we went to later for dinner since she left it in their car. thanks for going out of the way guys!

crossing the bidge again.

long wait. almost there

danny and clara

you think you’re ready to get seated, but then you just transported to another line inside where you order and pay.

the place is tiny…totally explaining the line.

i think these were the eggs benedict

the french toast

at the suggestion of the cashier, i changed my order from an omlet to the monte cristo which is sort of a fried turkey and ham and cheese sandwich. while it was good, it wasn’t spectacular. would it be bad to say that i like benigan’s monte cristo better?

the omlet was pretty good too

hannah and peter with their children. a bit shy

the weather in SF was amazing.

hanging out at the park

do not enter this swing.

san tung for the dry wings.

the dumplings were good too

the wings that everyone gets. they really were quite good.

spring break 2012 was a re-do of one we should’ve had 2 years ago. but due to my uncle’s passing during that time, we cancelled our tickets and spent it with family in north jersey. 

we eventually made our way over this year though but this time we went traveling with my mom. after a long trip from philly to ny, we flew out from jfk to sfo (yeah, we literally drove 2-3 hours to fly out from ny, but the tickets were cheap enough that it was worth it to do this). the flight out to sf went without a hitch. we flew virgin america which is a superior airline domestically. while, not as friendly as southwest, they’ve got the cool factor going with purple tinted lounge lights, 3 prong plugs and personal mini monitors. now, it they allowed luggage for free, then we’ll be talking.

 we arrived and got picked up by my cousin jae who works in sf and lives in the outskirts with his family. the weather in sf was superb. not a single cloud in the sky. high 60s low 70s. tons of sun. 

there’s a reason why people want to live here. i guess you can make the earthquake argument. and funny enough, there was an earthquake on our 2nd night in sf. i was asleep, so didn’t even realize it until the morning.

the first day was low key one. after making a stop across the golden gate bridge, we made our way to my cousin’s neck of the woods and we got to see the family and hang out. later that night we ate at a italian joint right by the water and called it an early night. 

soaking in the sights 

golden gate bridge.

SF

tourist

jae and mom

jake and connor showing off their art

and assortment of cold cuts, crackers, brie, grapes. we were famished.

from the patio.

living on the hill.

no zoom.

zoom

kids pacified with iphones and ipads.

“seafood stew”

enjoy the calm waters.

some quick cell phone pics of the journey up north through the winding mountains just for a taste of the BEST oysters i’ve ever had in my life. the winding roads were not cool- i blew chunks on the side of the road. but the views were amazing.

before we set out.

at muir beach overlook