Relaxing in the San Francisco Bay Area
Young Chang
The Hennessys traveled to the bay of all bays last month, to a
peninsula known for its moody gray skies, its sourdough bread, its
sudden hills and cool breezes that get chillier in the shade of tall
buildings.
Over six days, Lorraine, Tom and little Tommy Hennessy trekked
through parts of Northern California including the Redwood Forest,
Mendocino and San Francisco. Lorraine Hennessy, a producer of
corporate videos, said San Francisco is the family’s favorite
vacation spot next to Hawaii and perhaps even the agreed-upon
favorite city in general.
“It just has a great combination of a great location on the
harbor, beautiful scenery, great architecture, amazing food and great
shopping, all of which we love,” she said. “And I’m never worried
about not being safe there. And there’s great people watching.”
In the Redwood Forest, the Newport Beach residents drove through
the Avenue of the Giants, as in trees, and even drove their rental
sedan through the famously huge Drive-Thru Tree.
They went next to Mendocino and stayed at a historic hotel where
they had the “best meal of their lives” consisting of
California/French cuisine and French fish stew, Lorraine Hennessy
said. The family drove from Mendocino over to wine country, where
they saw the Petrified Forest and a mini version of the Old Faithful
geyser. They went on a winery tour too, but with 7-year-old Tommy in
tow, there wasn’t too much drinking going on.
Finally, about three days into their in-state trip, the Hennessys
arrived in San Francisco.
“My son Tommy loves to ride the cable car, which is what we do all
day,” Lorraine Hennessy said. “We take the cable car everywhere, and
we stayed in Union Square, which we like, because you can get the
cable car right there.”
Tommy said he counted about five rides on the car.
“You can see the city and the bay,” he said, of why he enjoys
being cabled around.
The travelers visited Chinatown, North Beach and even found an
“amazing family-style Italian restaurant” on their own, which
happened after they decided not to take the recommendation of their
concierge.
But the highlight of the trip was watching a San Francisco Giants
baseball game at Pacific Bell Park.
“We got up early and went and stood in line at 9 a.m. Sunday
morning,” Lorraine Hennessy said. “Everyone was swapping war stories
about how it’s so hard to get tickets.”
The family ended up with four tickets, which 140 people got for
being there early, and entered the park at 11 a.m. They got bobble
heads of the players and even ended up with a souvenir Barry Bonds
baseball bat from a guy who got the family’s one extra ticket.
“Tommy was dying to go to a Giants baseball game but it’s almost
impossible to get tickets because PacBell Park is so popular,”
Lorraine Hennessy said.
* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a
historical LOOK BACK? Let us know. Contact Young Chang by fax at
(949) 646-4170; e-mail at young.chang@latimes.com; or mail her at c/o
Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.
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