26 years ago, I scattered my late wife's ashes in a spot under the Golden Gate Bridge, right behind Fort Point. Due to 9/11, this spot is no longer accessible to the public. But I try to get as close as possible each time I visit this city. Today's visit would be special, as I don't see myself coming back to this city for a while.
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When I got up this morning, I planned to drop by Fort Point and then visit the Swan Oyster Depot for lunch. My plans were to visit the fort first, and then take Muni (SF's Mass Transit system) to the Oyster Depot for lunch. These plans were blown to pieces early in the day, when a lady asked if she could share my table at the buffet.
This lady and I start chatting, and it was as if we had been related to each other in a prior life. We chatted from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm without stopping. She never picked up on the fact that I am not a cisgender woman, as I code shifted my conversation to refer to my life with my late wife as if she were my late husband. We talked about many of the things that only women could experience, such as "Boob Sweat" and struggles with one's bra. We talked about our late spouses. And we talked about what we liked about the opposite sex. (I can translate well in a pinch.) So, when her friend called her, I took this as a good opportunity to make my way to Fort Point via trolley car and bus.
Getting to Fort Point from Pier 27 is relatively easy. One takes the historic trolley to Fisherman's Wharf, then walks a couple of blocks to catch the 28 bus to the Golden Gate Bridge. From there, it's a walk of 0.8 miles (all downhill) to the shoreline and then to the Fort. Once I paid my respects to my late wife (for which this might be the last time), I decided to make it back to the bus station for my return to the ship. What was an "easy" 0.8 mile downhill walk was an arduous 200 foot uphill trek back (over the same 0.8 miles) to the bus stop. By the time I reached the bus stop, I felt that I needed a shower. Only one problem - it would have to be quick, because I had a 5:00 pm reservation at the ship's steakhouse and I would likely be a few minutes late.
When I arrived at the ship, I proceeded to my room, then stripped, showered, dressed (in fresh clothing), and reapplied my makeup before going downstairs to dine. I chose both the sea scallops (with salmon roe) and the French Onion Soup for appetizers before trying the veal chop. Although the veal chop was good for what it was, I found that it was not the cut of veal that I like to eat because of the texture of the meat. (Give me a good queen cut of prime rib from Peter Luger any day....) However, I don't have any regrets in trying this cut of veal, as I try to try out new things to eat whenever I can.
After dinner, I realized that I needed to rest, and I fell out for an hour or so. Shortly after waking up for a while, I exchanged a series of messages with RQS before calling it an early night.
