Visitors, Executions, & the Best Cup of Coffee in San Francisco

One of my good friends from law school, Eli, and his wife Molly are in the midst of a seriously awesome honeymoon that consists of driving across the country without a strict plan and accruing an eclectic assortment of adventures as they go.  We were lucky enough to intercept them along the way and had a super fun visit for the last two days.

My cognizance to pull out a camera and record our adventures was characteristically spotty, but a few things were just too nuts/awesome to miss - and right atop that list are a few shots snapped at the Musée Mécanique - a bizarre, haunting, and oddly alluring place near Fisherman's Wharf, where they have free admission to wander about old games and mechanical entertainment from yesteryear... ranging from 80's arcade games, to "Zoltar" a-la-the-movie-Big, to multiple depictions of executions (the "British Execution" machine depict an animated hanging scene, while the French opt for decapitation - both kick off with a priest offering final blessings, and are thoroughly disturbing, though you also can't help but want to insert another quarter and be disturbed again...).  Yes, a mere few dollars in quarters get you hours of entertainment one 25¢ deposit at a time, or 50¢ for the real doozies... like "Laughing Sal" for instance:

She's a cross between Chucky's lesser-known-but-equally-frightening cousin and a maniacal bar-marm who responds to your 50¢ by erupting into a good few minutes of evil laughter - complete with smokers' cough and doubling over.  C-R-E-E-P-Y.  When you visit San Francisco - this is not to be missed, or Laughing Sal comes after you in your dreams.  You've been warned.

Molly & Eli unable to peel their eyes off Laughing Sal - though simultaneously backing away unconsciously...

 And here is a random assortment of us maximizing the possible value of a quarter:

Several "look at this naughty photo" booths peppered the museum - some more saucy than others, though all successfully making you look more-than-a-little voyeuristic.

Plenty of opportunities to test one's strength...

And one's driving abilities...

And one of my favorite little series of pictures... Kei having to face his "good guy" image:

Hoping for "Wild"

Actually "Harmless"

What can you do?

Outside of the museum, we wandered through Fisherman's Wharf, stopping briefly to allow Kei his moment of solidarity with the working gals..

And of course paid a visit to our pals, the sea lions... which Kei begrudgingly accepted since we were far from the crabbing pier.

And after Eli's research into the $20,000 cup of coffee, Blue Bottle's signature "siphon coffee" - we clearly had to go see those halogen lights, brass trimmings, and bamboo stirring rods in action.  Truth be told - the coffee was, in fact, amazing.

Kei is convinced this guy is the biggest player in San Francisco.  Probably right.

 It was so awesome having you guys, Eli & Molly!!  Happy adventures for the rest of your trip! xx