West Meets East

The Trio of Friends

Enjoying our stroll with Peter

Chinatown

To our delight, we learned that our friend Peter would be at a music festival north of San Francisco during our stay at South Beach Harbor.  What great timing!  We were pleased that Peter drove down to spend the night with us and part of the day.  We walked the waterfront and had lunch together at the Speakeasy Restaurant overlooking the Bay.  The restaurant’s name comes from the prohibition era when people were still drinking alcohol tucked away in basements and elevated rooms.  Although our “Speakeasy” had a cute picture of bare behinds on the cover of the menu, it’s a family friendly café with good food and refreshing drinks.  We walked back to the marina and said our goodbye’s to Peter, who departed for the airport bound for Seattle and the work-a-day world.  After a short rest, we decided to walk along Market Street and through Chinatown.  San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia.  Established in 1848, Chinatown retains its own customs, languages, places of worship, and private social clubs.  It was the starting point or home for thousands of Chinese immigrants and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in San Francisco.  We visited many of the shops, herbal stores, and markets adorned with pagoda roofs and traditional motifs.  The wonderful variety of products and produce were all labeled in Chinese so we found ourselves guessing at what we were seeing, however, we did recognize a variety of Ginseng roots.  Ginseng is used for different supposed health benefits and as a stimulant.  After purchasing fruit from one of the many produce markets, we exited Chinatown through the south gate and stepped into the world from which we came.  It’s an abrupt demarcation to and from Chinatown (a town within a town) that provides a genuine look into the Chinese culture.

Dried Fish Products - Chinatown

A Variety of Ginseng Roots - Chinatown

South Entrance to Chinatown