Cecile and I spent Saturday afternoon in San Francisco with our niece, Ilana, who is visiting from the greater Chicago area. After having lunch at Scala’s we went to the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival in Union Square Park. We were blessed with a mild, breezy sunny day.
We visited the Ma-Tsu Temple Shrine. One of the volunteers named Ming took our photo and he and I had our photo taken together in front of the Ma-Tsu Shrine. Adherents of this tradition were offering lit incense sticks and bowing their heads in reverence to the deity surrounded by her protectors. After I told him my interest in Taoism and Buddhist meditation, Ming showed me a Tibetan prayer wheel he wore around his neck and I shared my gold engraved “katah” prayer beads from Cambodia.
The Ma-Tsu Temple is a Taoist temple in San Francisco’s Chinatown, founded in 1986 by two Chinese immigrants. Ma-Tsu (or Mazu) was born Moniang Lin in the Fuquian province of China in 960 A.D. It has been said that she was very gifted and existed on a higher spiritual plain. At the age
of 13, she had a thorough understanding of all the Zen teachings. She was also known to have possessed healing powers and metaphysical abilities, controlling the weather and saving troubled ships at sea. Hence, she became known as the Goddess of the sea. At the age of 27 she ascendant to Nirvana.
As we exited the park I took a photo of Ilana in front of a colorful batik heart by artist Swann Freslon (sponsored by Genentech installed February 13, 2019). It was part of the "Hearts in San Francisco," a public art project that supports San Francisco General Hospital Foundation’s efforts to fund innovative projects and initiative’s that provide high-quality compassionate care at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. From 2004, more than 350 heart sculptures have been designed by local artists then auctioned and sold. More than 11 million dollars has been raised.
We stopped for a cappuccino and a cannoli and to rest our tired feet at Caffe Greco in North Beach. One patron was
feeding an Italian pastry to his Jack Russel terrier.
Cecile, Ilana and I then made our way through Chinatown, one of the oldest and most established in the United States. Beyond the iconic Dragon’s Gate, was a maze of streets and alleyways brimming with dim sum joints, bakeries, herbalists, souvenir shops that we browsed, ornate temples, cocktail lounges, and karaoke bars.
Afterward, we walked to Pier 39’s West Marina to see the Sea Lions. Endearingly called “Sea Lebrites” these barking, boisterous social creatures began to make their presence known shortly after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. In the beginning, they numbered from 10-50, but due to a bountiful herring supply, the available dock space and protected environmental status, they began to arrive in droves growing to 300 and then hitting an all time ,record of 1701 in November 2009.
In the backdrop was Alcatraz Island that was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, military fortification, military prison and federal prison from 1934-1963 and currently
functions as a popular tourist attraction.
We made a pit stop in San Mateo to see our daughter Michelle, Kyle and our granddaughter Lyla before heading back home.
