Taking advantage of jetlag

The first few days I'm in a new time zone, I tend to not sleep well. The great upside to this is that I am much more willing than usual to get up early and see the sights. I took advantage of that this morning, and headed out for an early start.

San Francisco is well known for its love of fresh local produce. I headed over to one of the larger weekend Farmer's Markets for a quick look, and was greeted by beautiful displays of late summer fruits and vegetables. For the first time since arriving in San Francisco, I felt its charm as I strolled through the market. Lucky for me too, the vendors were really generous with samples; I thoroughly ate my way through the market, sampling tomatoes and plums and grapes and cheese (to name just a few).

Late season tomatoes

These were so sweet, I ended up getting a pound. Each one had a
distinctive flavor and texture; I couldn't decide which one I liked the best!

Did you know peppers came in this many colors?

Multiple varieties of figs were available

Beautiful wildflower blooms for sale

Huge plump eggplants and squashes

So many kinds of cheese!

There was an indoors section as well to the market. I love the sign for
this store! 'Tasty salted pig parts'... could anything be better than that?

There's a kit where you can grow your own mushrooms!

Three tiny perfect tomatoes

I tried this cute little California-based oyster. It was called Sweetwater,
and was really reminiscent of a briny, clean East Coast oyster. It was
extremely delicate, and had a slightly sweet finish.

After I had my fill of the market, I realized that it was still so early I should head over to the Wharf to visit the aquarium. It was a very small one, but I enjoyed seeing some of the exhibits featuring local marine life. There was also the requisite shark tunnel and jellyfish display, and I spent a pleasant hour and a half there. While I walked around, I realized why I liked aquariums so much. When you first look into a tank, it's tempting to just glance at it and walk on. But if you stop for a minute and stay still, you begin to notice more and more things in the display. A hidden fish will suddenly reveal itself, or a shell would move and you'd realize that a crab lived inside of it. This is a good parallel for life; in other words, stop and smell the roses!

I never get tired of looking at jellyfish!

I just had you for dinner three nights ago!!!! 

Is it bad that I keep thinking of sushi when I look at this guy?

Amazingly, it was still early when I left the aquarium. So I decided to take a short boat tour around the bay to get a closer look at some famous landmarks.

Famous sunning spot for harbor seals. They drew quite a crowd as they
frolicked and called out to one another.

Gettin' on a boat!

The fog really settled in as we passed by the Golden Gate Bridge. This
was the clearest picture I could get!

See? Completely foggy (but so artistic-looking, no?)

Alcatraz, the island where NO ONE escapes from!

The fog disappears closer to shore. Pretty skyline of the city.

At this point, I am tired! I feel like I've had a big dent in my 'to-do' list for the city, and am going to get a good rest tonight!