San Francisco would be the start of our Tauck tour, John Muir’s California. We’ve been to San Francisco several times, but did go back to one of our favorite spots, Fisherman’s Wharf. We walked the piers, checked out a restaurant and took pictures of Bay Bridge which connects San Francisco and Oakland.

While in San Francisco, we stayed at the St. Francis Westin. They had a picture gallery documenting some of the hotel’s history. The picture below shows the hotel’s official coin washer, Arnold Batliner, who served in this role for 35 years until retiring in 1993. When the tradition started, high fashion dictated that women wear white gloves. Dirty coins soiled their gloves so the hotel manager decided that coins would be washed before re-circulating them. The tradition continues with Rob Holson now serving in this role.

We visited Muir Woods – actually this was our fourth visit. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge by bus in the morning. It was still very foggy. Our return trip was by ferry and by then, much of the fog had dissipated.

The Golden Gate Bridge was built during the Great Depression. It took almost 4 1/2 years to build, opening in 1937. The Bridge is a six-lane roadway, 1.7 miles in length. Two main cables rest on top of the 746-foot towers. Each cable is 7,650 feet long and about 36 inches in diameter. The Bridge is painted orange, in part so it can be more easily seen in the fog. It also has fog horns and beacons that help ships navigate beneath the bridge and aircraft fly around the bridge.

We still enjoy coming to Muir Woods. There is something special about walking among these incredible trees in almost complete silence except for the sounds of nature. The owners of this small grove of coast redwoods protected it from logging. They donated it to the public in 1908 and it then became the Muir Woods National Monument. We walked along the trails among old growth coast redwoods, many over 600 years old. They are the tallest of all living things.

While waiting for our tour to begin, we wanted to see some things we hadn’t on our previous trips to San Francisco. The California Academy of Sciences was hosting a Night Life event which we were able to attend. In addition to the exhibits being open, there was food, wine and music.

We also visited the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Galleries are devoted to the art and culture of major Asian countries. There are more than 2,000 works on display in the museum galleries. Three galleries are devoted to art from Korea which is where we spent most of our time. Four of the pieces we saw are described below.

The first is a moon jar and dates back to 1650-1750. Moon jars symbolize simplicity and elegance, virtues important in Confucianism. The functions of the jars have not been identified, but they could have stored liquids or grains.

The second piece is named “Bottle with Fish Design” and dates back to 1450 – 1550. It is “buncheong ware.” The term means white-slipped stoneware. White slip is a mixture of white clay and water. Potters applied decoration over the white slip. Buncheong was used across the population, ranging from upper-class ritual vessels to the everyday wares of commoners.

The third piece is titled “Vessel in the Shape of a Duck.” People living in ancient Korea believed birds to be messengers to the spirit world because they could travel over land, water and in the sky. The opening on the back of the duck indicates it was used for serving wine or pouring purified water at special rituals and ceremonies.

The last picture depicts a modern piece of art (2012) and is a wrapping cloth created by Too Haeja. She learned traditional sewing techniques from her mother-in-law, both of whom have had their worked named an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage. This piece has a knob with three bats, symbolizing good luck. The piece is intended to cover a serving table or tray.