We can find ourselves pounding through a routine in our lives, the same stuff day after day. I'm pretty sure that isn't particularly healthy, but we can fall into doing this, what works to get us through our day, pretty easily. I know I did...
Last month I had a day where I hadn't scheduled anything. I had no meetings, no pressing tasks. I could have just stayed at home, and just done my daily routine things and perhaps caught up on cleaning and paperwork, but instead I did something I hadn't done since I was young, and went to see a beautiful floral exhibit, Japanese garden, walked around a lake, and went out to dinner by myself. I found this invigorating, to the point that I resolved to do something like this every month.
Today was the day.
I took out regional rapid transit into San Francisco early this morning, and then rode a cable car (Tourist!) over to the Fisherman's Wharf area. I had a specific destination in mind for breakfast.
I had breakfast at the Buena Vista Cafe, where Irish Coffee was invented (it says here...)! The Buena Vista is pretty much all community dining. I started my brunch at a table with a woman traveling on business who needed her breakfast and her Irish coffee on two separate bills. Ah, expense accounts.
They were replaced by a visiting couple on their way out to the airport. We chatted menu items and weather, and I complemented their timing in arriving last Thursday, when our weather turned warm, for their vacation here.
The couple at the next table, two gents from Ft Worth, thought the talk of hot weather here was funny. I had to explain normal SF weather, and how 75 F is extraordinary [emoji6]. They were surprised at my steak and eggs order and were curious how often I did that. Oh, maybe every 30 years or so...
Lots of nice conversations, relaxed wait staff, no fuss. My kind of breakfast out!
Time for a walk...
After walking through Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, and the Marina District, I'm finally visiting the Disney Family Museum. A goofy choice, but gawrsh! It's really pretty neat. The museum is largely focused on Walt Disney's life, mostly before Disneyland and television. There is a huge final display area on the parks and TV, but much is on his early life and how his career as an animator and producer went. It's a good 3 hour minimum visit, definitely worthwhile if you are interested in animation or the movie industry.
Next, a little bus ride south and another walk...
Time for a coffee break. This was Michelle's first visit to The Castro. Friendly neighborhood, lots of smiling faces. All tourists, of course. Philz Coffee for a little break, followed by Dog Eared Books. Two shelves of trans biographies and various treatment and care books. Yow!
Head to the downtown for assorted shopping then the Embarcadero for dinner...
Dinner at Fog City. Tried the Cline Indian Hills Reserve Zinfandel. Nope. Bland and oaky. Ordered chicken apple salad as entree. This is pretty darn good.
Oh, dear. Beignets on the dessert menu. With espresso. The diet is doomed. Both a chocolate espresso and a vanilla bean dipping sauce.
I suppose anything worth doing is worth overdoing. 25,582 steps today, probably too many calories, sore feet, and I'm tired.
But... Goddess, I can't stop grinning.

Do you ever schedule a day of goofing off, new experiences to try and rejuvenate or break out of a rut?
