Each day in SF, while precisely planned, revealed surprises and delights.

Our first stop today was a meet up at Mints & Honey with some of Karen's friends.

After fueling up on a delicious breakfast, we headed to an ice cream sandwich factory.
In 1928, a celebrated San Francisco tradition began. George Whitney placed a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream between two freshly baked large old-fashioned oatmeal cookies, and then dipped the sandwich into fine dark chocolate.  The delicious combination of savory sweetness was declared by all to be “IT!”
That's how the IT’S-IT Ice Cream Sandwich was born and got its unforgettable name, being sold in droves exclusively in San Francisco’s own legendary Playland-at-the-Beach for over four decades. When Playland was demolished in the early 1970s, IT’S-IT sandwiches began being individually handmade in a small shop in San Francisco’s SOMA district under new ownership.  The hunger for IT’S-IT exploded.  In order to quench San Francisco’s craving for this remarkably tasty ice cream treat, the company relocated to a larger facility in 1976 and the rest is history.
Next stop was at the surprisingly wonderful, Book Club of California, a non-profit, membership-based organization founded in 1912. The club supports book making, fine printing, design, typography, illustration, literature, and scholarship through a dynamic series of publications, public programs, and exhibitions related to the history and literature of California and the West.
We were introduced to a wonderful artist with the Club's current exhibit,  The Artistry of Mallette Dean: A Selection from the Sperisen Library.
Mr. Dean was a prolific artist whose skill in illustration was matched by his ability to tailor his artistic style to the individual project. This exhibit features illustrations executed for the Grabhorn Press, the Colt Press, and the Allen Press, along with books he designed and printed himself, including several done for the Book Club of California, all complemented by scarce ephemera and original woodcut blocks. How amazing for us to see his actual blocks and the works they produced.


And even though this prestigious club is over 100 years old, they were very welcoming to guests and had an element of whimsy I can so appreciate.
Lunch and various activities followed in Chinatown, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia, as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America.



Dim sum, sans meat, was our lunch of choice. Měi wèi!


A must for me was to visit San Francisco's legendary Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. This cool spot, down a nondescript alley, has been making custom fortune cookies by hand since 1962. It did not disappoint.

Karen suggested we visit a paper store. Anyone who knows me, knows I have a thing for paper. This was an incredibly unique opportunity for learning and ogling.
This store sold Joss paper, sheets of paper or papercrafts (suits, shoes, homes, airplanes) made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship. Worship of gods also uses a similar paper. Joss paper, as well as other papier-mâché items, are also burned or buried in various Asian funerals, "to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has lots of good things in the afterlife." In Taiwan alone, the annual revenue of temples received from burning joss paper was US$400 million as of 2014.
Some buildings just had us say "Wow". This flock of 23 illuminated books, The Language of Birds, had us pause for aahs.

We stumbled upon Maiden Lane, the old red light district of Yerba Buena. Here we found the V. C. Morris Gift Shop, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948. The store was used by Wright as a physical prototype, or proof of concept for the circular ramp at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

The V.C. Morris Gift Shop was listed in 2007 (at number 126) on the American Institute of Architects' list of the 150 favorite buildings in America. The building is one of seventeen American buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that the AIA has designated to be retained as an example of his architectural contribution to American culture.
We stumbled upon this amazing haberdashery. Paul's Hat Works was opened by Napoleon 'Paul' Marquez in 1918. The shop has been passed apprentice to apprentice since then and is still alive and well in the same location. Their blocking and hat-making techniques have been passed down through four generations of Master Hatters. This craftsmanship ensures the material is manipulated properly so the shape and fit of the hat will endure time and wear. "If you take care of your hat it can last you the rest of your life." WOW.

You Harry Potter fans should crack up at this license plate. I totally did and I'm not even a fan. Though I'm a fan of clever.
Our friend Susan, who moved to South Dakota recently, was fortuitously in town, too. She introduced us to her church, the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral, a landmark and the Russian Orthodox spiritual center of America’s West Coast.
I loved this reflection of the old church in the windows of the modern building across the street.
What fun it was to learn more about our friend's life here and there.
Completed during the earthly life of  St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco and frescoed by the renowned iconographer, Archimandrite Kiprian of Jordanville, the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, has a vibrant liturgical life, three choirs, a full-time Orthodox Academy and a Russian High School.
To conclude our day, driving The Great Highway, seeing the sunset at Land's End is a pretty great way to end any day.