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.