Friday was our Mission day for a tour of murals, tasty treats, and of course Mission Dolores! Although we contemplated starting our day with an amazing breakfast at El Mil Amores (saving it for next time), instead we opted for a quick coffee from Coffee Shop (seriously, that was the name of the place) where all the firefighters were getting their coffee and a tasty taco from Taqueria el Farolito

before meeting our tour guide, Patricia, a muralist from Precita Eyes – an inner-city community based mural arts organization.

Raquel loved the mosaic entrance to Precita Eyes:

and the amazing colorful murals in Balmy Alley:

After an hour on Balmy Alley learning about the different artists and the inspiration for their pieces, we worked up an appetite for some very cheesy pupusas from La Santaneca de la Mission

then we walked down Mission Street, past a bunch of old beautiful theaters (which were mostly all shut or converted into other stores) and more murals

to arrive at Mission Dolores, which is comprised of Mision San Francisco de Asis, an adobe church built in 1791 (which is now the entrance, shop, and museum), the gorgeous stained glass adorned Mission Dolores Basilica which was built in 1918, the gardens, and the cemetery (where Raquel rescued a soccer ball and threw it back over the high fence to the school kids next door)

But one of Ben’s favorite parts was the sign at the Bi-Rite Creamery which served absolutely delicious ice cream to all people, who they love always, all ways!

And our last stop was to 826 Valencia – a “pirate supply store” which is a storefront (which satisfied a city retail requirement) for the first 826 National writing, tutoring and publishing center for K-12 students to tell their stories and amplify their voices which was the precursor for 826 Boston, where Asher volunteered and ran a big book drive to collect books for kids in Boston.