It had been so long since I had visited San Francisco that, when Gail and I decided to go there last fall, it felt almost like planning for a visit to a new place. The occasion for our getaway--beyond reacquainting ourselves with the Bay Area, which my younger son, Andrew, and his family had been calling home for about six months--was a Thanksgiving get-together that also included my son, Michael, and his girlfriend, who joined us from Montana.

Since my son's cramped digs in the famously expensive Bay Area left no room for visitors, the first order of business was to decide on a hotel. We considered only five of the many and diverse "hoods" that San Francisco Travel, the area's official visitors and convention bureau, lists and describes as "49 Square Miles of Endless Possibilities" on their website ( www.SanFrancisco.travel/neighborhood/): Fisherman's Wharf, ever popular with tourists; the Embarcadero/Financial District, the commercial waterfront with its bustling Ferry Terminal and waterfront action; SoMa, for "South of Market Street," the up-and-coming restaurant, fashion, and nightclub district; Nob Hill, the most upscale residential address in town, and with the most spectacular views over the Bay Area; and Union Square, San Francisco's fashionable shopping hub which sits in the middle of all those "hoods," borders Chinatown, and is pretty much within walking distance (or a short cab ride) of everything a first-time visitor might want to see and do.

July/August 2014