The challenge? Six strong personalities in one minivan, balancing the travel priorities of a 9-year-old, a 60-year-old, and everyone in between.
Will it work? Hope springs eternal!
As usual, our travel plans will alternate between exploring civic improvements of all kinds and visiting bookstores that carry Japanese manga.
THE BEGINNING
We fly into San Francisco late one night and do the necessary....
...and then head to our room at the Argonaut hotel (yes, we choose our hotel based on a mythology reference. Instead of Jason and the Golden Fleece, it turns out to have a nautical theme.)
Our first experience of West Coast weirdness is the bottled water in our hotel room (you can be his/her friend for only $3):
In the morning, we wait in the cold and catch the terrifying cable car downtown. There, we meet with our friend Tim Freundlich, who has been busy harnessing the power of new office culture in service of social change (typical Wesleyan, right?).
Tim shows us around his most recent project, The Hub, housed in the San Francisco Chronicle building at 5th and Market. The Hub is a sort of business incubator and shared office space for organizations that are doing good, whether non-profit or for-profit.
In this photo, Tim is pointing out 6 ways to work: ameoba-like computer desks in the center, meeting rooms for 20, a loft-like nest for quietly checking email or taking a nap, privacy booths for conference calls and small meetings, dedicated offices and a cafe setting -- it's all about collaboration or maybe like atoms crashing into each other and forming new combinations that haven't been imagined yet.
Or you could think of it as summer camp for people who want to Change The World.
Plus they have a cool art gallery.
I thought this corner captured the aesthetic perfectly. Lockers that double as bleachers; clever & cheap.
NEXT STOP ASIA!
After a lunch of gluten-free pizza, we take the 38L bus to Japan.
San Francisco's Japan Town neighborhood is anchored by a three-building complex called the Japan Center. Not only does it house a Kinokuniya (the best source for manga & exquisite art books and paper supplies), but it has dozens of little shops that remind us of our trip to Japan last summer. We feast on tokidoki trinkets, anime DVD's and marvel at the unbelievable number of pastry and crepe shops. Tenzin curses the bad luck that caused him to leave his Magic the Gathering (TM) cards at the hotel, since he gets invited to a game moments after arriving at the mall.
We do know there's lots to do in San Francisco, but it's clear that we'll be spending a good chunk of time right here in the coming days.
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