One Day at San Francisco

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Back in 2009, I remembered when I had one day in San Francisco. I woke up earlier and rented a great car, Audi. I always love this car because they have a great machine, perfomance, and the stability. Because driving traveler should have a right car before they tarvel far and in order for their own safety, that's why I trused myself to Audi!

One balmy morning, I got up with a craving for some wood fire brick oven baked bread. And the only place I know is the Wild Flour Bread Bakery near Sebastopol in Marin.

I am sure there are other specialty bakeries closer to San Francisco. But then, what is the point of driving one mile to get a loaf of bread when I can drive 72 miles through scenic northern California Highway 1?

So, I called my friend to accompany me. We met at Crissy Field in San Francisco Marina district. Crissy Field was originally the Presidio US Army airfield. After some restoration effort, the airfield was replaced by charming landscapes of native vegetation, tidal marshes, and a lagoon. Water sparkled like diamonds in the lagoon, long-legged wading birds dug through the mud feasting on tiny crabs, and pelicans flew over the waves.

In a distance, wind surfers dotted the foreground of the radiant Golden Gate Bridge. On the other side, the famous Alcatraz Island stood courageously. After a while we engaged in coversation while enjoy the beautiful view, we decided to go Northern California Back Roads. We followed the California Highway 1 sign just north of Golden Gate Bridge. We joined the Shoreline Highway and it took us through Muir Beach and Stinson Beach. Our first exciting treats were waiting for us as soon as we entered the Mountain Tamalpais State Park. Zigzags, hairpins, elevation changes, and mesmerizing views of jagged cliffs and rocks protruding from the choppy Pacific Ocean coast line elevated our enjoyment of driving. I will never forget this experience!

We decided to make a pit stop at Point Reyes Station. This sleepy little town, founded by Northern Italian and Italian speaking Swiss immigrants, features small quaint craft shops, a cozy farmer’s market, and aromatic Californian cuisine restaurants and sandwich stores.

Cyclists in Tour-de-France outfits, Harley Davidson bikers wearing colorful tattoos, and Ducati riders in colorful leather body suits fill this sleepy town most weekends for refreshments and foods during their pit stop.

Times went really fast, when we passed the Tomales Bay oldest shellfish farm. And the thought of crustacean made us hungry. Luckily, Tony’s Seafood was not too far ahead. The over half a century old family-run quaint restaurant is famous for its mouth watering BBQ oysters, creamy warm clam chowder, and fresh generous crab salad.

After the delicious late lunch, we continued on to complete our mission. Staying on Shoreline
Highway towards Sebastopol, we were greeted by pastoral landscapes. Thin clouds scattered really high, and the late afternoon sun was providing very crisp visibility and contrast in the postcard scenery before us. I could see a herd of cows grazing on the far side of the hills. Curvy roads with fluorescence green rolling hills filled our windshield. So, I fasten the seatbelt and pulled up the car fast.

Going fast through the zigzags and followed by hair pins, we didn’t feel any understeer. Instead, the steering was very confident and precise. We consistently hit car of every hairpin and accelerated out toward more fun. We took turned driving with stops for pictures and absorbing the beautiful sceneries.

We had some much fun and realized the sun was setting when we turned into the parking lot of the Wild Flour Bread Bakery. We could smell the aroma of baking flours with the scents of cheese, mushroom, rosemary, garlic, peach, and cinnamon as we walked into the store. Behind the counter, friendly bakers were mixing dough, pulling steamy loafs of bread out of the brick oven, and attending customers

Anybody can bake breads by following various recipes. But these bakers pour their passion for baking their special recipes and utilizing their unique wood fire brick oven technique. This passion fuses into the rest of the organic ingredients and makes these sourdough breads heavenly and delectable. We ended our journey at Wild Flour Bread Bakery, but the driving experiences challenges me to try another zigzag in Germany. I enjoyed the delicious food along the way in San Francisco and the togetherness brought me powerful positive emotions within us that make me happy.

-Andreas.D

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