Mako Mark Left His Heart in San Francisco

By Becca Schwartz | Wednesday July 25, 2012

Since returning from our trip to San Francisco last week, I’ve noticed that Mako Mark’s been a little blue (he’s a Great White, so this was slightly alarming).

Katie, Mako Mark, and I all had a great time filming a series of hyper-local TravelShark videos in the Bay Area, but now that we were back in Boulder, Mako seemed a bit less—well--sharky. Finally, I realized what was going on: Mako was experiencing the all-too familiar feeling of post-travel let down.

If you’ve ever taken an amazing trip, or had the time of your life on a week-long vacation, only to come home and find yourself moping around, wishing you were still there, then you know what I’m talking about. You also probably know, then, that the best way to combat post-travel let down is to relive your trip by sharing it with those around you.

I decided that there was only one thing to do to help Mako snap out of it: recap the whole trip, with photos included, on our blog.

Day 1: Mako Mark catches his first glimpse of San Francisco (and vice versa)

We started our first day off by getting lost (word to the wise: sharks don’t make good copilots unless you’re under water) and ending up on Treasure Island, a small island east of the city that has an incredible view of both the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges. Once we made it back to mainland, we headed straight for Fisherman’s Wharf, one of San Francisco’s most iconic landmarks. It was kind of cloudy out, but Mako didn’t care—just being near the salt water (ok, brackish water) and the famous sea lions on Pier 39 made him feel right at home!

Eventually, we managed to drag him to the Mission, where we met up with Chloe Bregman, the curator for streetartSF.com. She took us to Clarion Alley, a well-known area covered with ever-changing graffiti murals. We also managed to get our hands on some bread from Tartine Bakery—yum!

Day 2: Bumbling around the city

We arrived first thing in the morning at the historic Fairmont San Francisco Hotel in Nob Hill to meet with Executive Chef j.W.Foster to talk about their dedication to the environment, and more, recently, their installation of honeybee hives. He took us on a tour of the hives in their rooftop garden, and then explained how he’s come to incorporate the honey into the hotel’s menu.

After talking about food (and Honey Beer) all morning, we were starving, so we made our way to the Ferry Building for their weekly farmer’s market. Once we’d had our full of fresh foods and gourmet goodies (Mako Mark loved the oysters from the San Francisco Fish Company in particular), Mako suggested that we go check out San Francisco’s ultimate landmark: The Golden Gate Bridge. Mako, always in love with the lime light, spent what seemed like hours posing with tourists with the Bridge in the backdrop, before asking if we could head to the bohemian Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to grab a cup of coffee and explore the remnants of the 60’s left over from the Summer of Love.

Day 3: Milk and cookies in The Castro

It didn’t take Mako Mark long to realize that, while he loves attention, he gets kind of claustrophobic when surrounded by too many adoring fans. Case in point: riding the historical cable cars up Powell Street and walking down the steps of Lombard Street, the famously “most-crooked” street in San Francisco.

Mako could only handle the attention for a couple hours before insisting we escape to the Castro. Known as the home of Harvey Milk and the Gay Rights Movement, the Castro was the perfect place for us to conduct interviews (and, as it turns out, the perfect place for some Hot Cookies).

Day 4: Mako Mark mobilizes for some good eats

By the fourth day, we were dragging a bit, but that didn’t stop us from meeting up with the Liba Falafel food truck in the design district! We spent most of the day hanging at their Thursday afternoon location with Gail, the owner and founder, and any Liba customers who came our way. While they have many locations all around town, this one in partiuclar seemed to draw a lot of regulars. Most customers were brimming with excitment as we interviewed them, and pretty soon, it became obvious why-the falafel, as well as the gourmet toppings bar and sweet potato fries were delicious!

Afterwards, at the request of Mako Mark, we agreed to go back down to the waterfront, and eventually, Ghirardelli Square (yes, sharks like chocolate too). We decided not to drive this time though: we took a couple of Cabrio Texi pedi-cabs up to Fisherman’s Wharf instead!

Day 5: A very hilly city

Our final day in San Francisco was possibly the most gorgeous: the sun was shining, the weather was mild, and lots of people were out. Katie and I needed to get some footage of all the different neighborhoods around the city, including the Castro. We also decided to make a video about the city’s steepest streets (in a city full of hills, you’d be surprised how serious some of the inclines can get). Mako, already a little sad for our trip to be ending, decided to come along—he said that driving up and down the steep, San Francisco streets in the sun made him feel like he was riding a roller coaster.

The post-travel let down has certainly been hard on Mako Mark, but after recounting all our fun experiences he seems to be in a better mood. Or maybe it was the promise of another exciting adventure soon to come…

Becca Schwartz is a chocoholic from New York City who started at TravelShark as a Content Associate last fall. She loves telling stories about how much she loves the Rocky Mountains just as much as she loves telling stories about how much she loves Central Park, but nothing compares to her love for travel.

Posted under: Travel • Team TravelShark