Monday, December 17, 2012

brunch, bikes, bowling, and sensory deprivation


On Saturday, Ryan planned a surprise urban date.

We began the adventure by biking to Mission Beach Café.  Great food, great coffee, great breakfast cocktails, all equate to a great big line.  Although Ryan urged me to be ready to head out the door for a 9am arrival, I just couldn’t manage to get out of my snuggly bed.  We strolled up to the café at 9:30, only to be greeted by a massive cluster of early risers.  Our hour wait allowed us to catch up, enjoy a latte, and do some Mission people watching. 

Lesson learned: get to Mission Beach Café right at opening, or make online reservations.

Following our brunch of granola and baked eggs, we jumped back on our bikes for stop #2: Presidio Bowling.

Although the Mission Bowling Club is fancy bowling, Presidio Bowl is cheaper bowling.  It’s the kind of bowling alley that you used to do bumper bowling at when you were a kid.  Nothing fancy, just lanes, cheesy bowling animation, and a bad juke box.  Two rounds of bowling and shoe rental set us back $34.  I also had the added pleasure of buying a new pair of $2 bowling socks.

It’s kind of amazing how terrible I am at bowling.  My original goal, to break 100, seemed ludicrously high reaching after my first final score of 50.  Ryan, on the other hand, was quite successful.  There isn’t a sport that he doesn’t excel at.


Bowling complete, and we were on our way to the Exploritorium to hit up the Tactile Dome.  A friend of Ryan’s was able to get us entry to the Exploritorium, as well as tickets to the Tactile Dome.  So a $75 excursion became free. 



I’ve been dying to go to the Tactile Dome for years, but it is always sold out.  You really have to plan in advance, something I’m not always the best at.  We pushed our way to the back of the Exploritorium and queued up for our turn.  The Tactile Dome is essentially a maze in complete darkness.  Your eyes do not adjust, you must squeeze through small spaces, crawl, slide down unseen slides, and muddle through pits filled with rocks.  It sounded amazingly terrifying.  And amazingly, I was terrified.  I crawled into the deep dark hole, and I immediately felt claustrophobic and panicky.  Ryan, however, stuck right by me and talked me through the whole dome.  The Tactile Dome, moving to the new Fisherman’s Wharf location, is a must do for any San Franciscan or visitor. 

Kudos to Ryan for planning a fabulous city date, he really knows how I would want to spend my day. 

Bikes: Free
Brunch: $45
Bowling: $34
Exploritorium and Tactile Dome: Free


Total: $79 for two

No comments:

Post a Comment