Tourists for a day

With the threat of rain looming last weekend, we shelved our plans to go to Sonoma and played tourists for a day on Sunday. Wearing brightly-colored rain jackets and carrying my DSLR camera, we lined up at Powell Station to ride the cable cars.

A woman sang operatic Christmas carols while we waited in the long line. (Google occasionally recommends the cable cars as the best route to reach Nob Hill, but they are definitely not the fastest way to travel, and we were glad to see how much public transit has progressed since the cable car days.)

We rode the Powell-Hyde line, all decked out in Christmas lights, while the conductor kept yelling at tourists to hold on to the poles and stop taking photos. Happily we got to ride for free, whereas tourists have to pay $6 per ride.

The car dropped us off at Fisherman's Wharf, where we found an In-N-Out Burger. Californians think the fast food chain is worth raving about, but our fries were barely cooked and Ben's burger was as thick as a piece of paper. We weren't impressed and won't be coming back.

We walked around Ghirardelli Square because I remembered eating sundaes there as a kid and wanted to see it again. Then, content with the fact that we can now say we've ridden the cable cars, we headed home.

We're in Boston now to celebrate Christmas with my family.

- Steph