the better to beat the crowds at this popular Outer Sunset spot...
We started off the day with breakfast at Outerlands (read the full post here), recommended by my lovely cousin...
which was followed by jolts of caffeine from Trouble Coffee (full post here, thank you). This shop is another local favorite...
My Gibraltar above and Bert's mocha.
A few steps away from Trouble was our eventual dinner destination, Thanh Long (our 20th Anniversary dinner post here; I jumped around with these posts which was a bit unorthodox for me):
I am so enamored of the criss crossing street cars lines and the candy colored homes in the Sunset District...
This very same morning, we ran over some nails near our motel and didn't realize we had a flat tire until we got back to our car after our breakfast. The block near our hotel was razed the month before and there was construction debris on the streets, which sucked.
My cousin recommended the services of her friend, a mechanic at the local gas station. He recommended a tire place in Daly City. He replaced our tire with the spare but recommended we get new tires. While Bert was at the FIRST tire place, TC and I killed some time at Ranch 99.
See, cough drops mixed with candy are at every Asian market, ha ha.
We were excited to see these Filipino ice cream flavors...
We just bought some snacks (candy and chips) and went out to meet Bert who told us that it would take several hours before they could even look at it. We didn't have time to spare. It was our anniversary and we had shit to do. So, after Bert inquired about another place to go, Firestone at the Serramonte Mall, so that is where we went.
On a random not, take a look at this resusable bag which I bought at Rasputin's in Berkeley (post is here). When I bought it, I didnt' realize that there were SPERM swimming all over it! Yikes! But hey, it's the Mad Monk in the middle of the record!
While the tires were being replaced at the tire shop near the mall, we headed inside to check out Oui Oui Macaron. During our last trip to SF, this place was on our Garmin but we didn't go here. Since we were "stuck" for the next hour because of the car, we hung out here. Funnily, Bert used the mall bathroom and when he got out, he was laughing because a group of Lolo's (Filipino grandfathers) were talking shit about the lack of soap in the bathroom, cussing in Tagalog and everything). He said it was quite humorous. One of them was wearing a shirt that said, "Still getting it" (ewwwww), I actually did see that.
The shop has old fashioned hexagonal tile flooring and a calm interior (soothing mint green) and shabby chic/French decor.
Our choices:
Do I remember the flavors? I am guessing that these were strawberry, chocolate raspberry, salted caramel, pistachio, mocha and coconut. Or not. They could very well have been something else, but those flavors seem to match the colors, so there.
Up until this point last year, I had kind of given up on macarons. But since we were here, I caved and got these which we polished off while waiting for our tires to get replaced.
The gal at the tire place was super super nice. Bert told her it was our anniversary and that we were out of town. She made sure to expedite the work on the car and within an hour, it was done (we ended up sending her a thank you card with an enclosed Starbucks gift card a few weeks later).
So, the car had two new tires and we were out $200+. We were ready to resume our day. TC wanted to check out Land's end. As we headed north on the Great Highway, we passed by one of the Dutch Windmills (which we visited the previous year)...
There was still parking down near the beach.
We would have to go up the hill and pass Cliff House and the Camera Obscura...
View of Ocean Beach near the top of the hill.They have such a wide beach. The water is pretty cold and the waves are rough according to my niece who surfs here on a daily basis.
The Giant Camera Obscura was not open but there was a guy (a worker, I presume?) checking on the lense.
We will have to go here one of these days, if it's ever sunny. I'm so fascinated by these contraptions.
My other niece recommended hiking to Land's End. On google maps, it didn't look to far away but in reality, it was. But first, TC wanted to check out Sutro Baths, which are the ruins of a 19th century public swimming/bath complex. It burned down in 1966 and these ruins are all that are left. This whole area is part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area and Sutro Historic District.
There were quite a few people walking along the walls. Wimpy and hydrophobic me chose NOT to because if I would fall, I wouldn't want to deal with drowning. TC and Bert on the other hand were brave enough to explore the ruins near the water.
Nearby was a cave which we walked through...it did not lead out to anywhere since the opening was gated with bars.
We saw more people walking along some trails so we followed them through the woods, down stairs, up stairs, and so on.
The views were spectacular. It turned out that the Labyrinth in Land's End was farther than we had anticipated. I was already tired, sweaty, and cranky and not in the mood to walk even more. I know, I know. Grumpy, yes.
By this time, we had turned back at my request so we could have some lunch nearby in the Outer Richmond.
This restaurant called, Louis' was at the top of the hill (which overlooks Sutro Baths) has been there for oer 75 years!
Although we never got to the labryinth at Land's End, we would have to save that for a future trip when we had "more time". Remember, a big chunk of our morning was spent trying to get our tires fixed, which, in my opinion threw a big wrench into our morning plans. I was feeling irritated and hungry and wanted to just stop so we could eat.
99 Ranch Market
250 Skyline Plaza
Daly City, CA 94015
www.99ranch.com
Oui! Oui! Macaron
41 Serramonte Center
Daly City, CA 954015
(650) 731-4495
www.ouiouimacaron.com
Plus these links:
Ocean Beach, SF
Giant Camera
Sutro Baths
Land's End Trail
Our lunch would be an ethnic adventure in the Outer Richmond...
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