San Francisco

I could live there, for maybe a year or two. I've always wanted to experience that kind of lifestyle - that cramped, New York City kind of lifestyle where you do a lot of walking and use public transportation and have so much variety all around. I want to step out of my home, walk around the corner to a coffee shop with sidewalk seating, read the paper (of course I'd have to start reading a newspaper for once in my life), and people watch. Or I'd be so inspired by all the fit, athletic types running up and down the hilly streets that I'd throw on my running shoes and join them. Maybe.


Not the best photo, but I was in the car as we headed down Lombard Street, "The Crookedest Street."

I think what I like about San Francisco is that it doesn't feel like a big, concrete, polluted city, yet it has all the positive amenities such as dining, things to do, events, etc. It feels clean and pretty. Maybe it's all that white Victorian architecture that I'm "blinded" by, or the hills or the marine atmosphere or the sunsets...I just like it. I'm a fan.


Sunset at Pier 39.

Okay, back to our trip. I had high hopes for this part of the vacation. How could anyone, especially teenagers, not be wowed by the sites and sounds of this city? I've seen the shows they watch on MTV and VH1 - San Francisco should be right up their alley! What I thought was clean and pretty, they thought was dirty and gross. What I thought was entertaining, they were offended by. Riding the trolley and the metro with smelly, obnoxious sorts was not their cup of tea. Okay, perhaps it was a little offensive when the fat old man in the cut-off shirt and protruding belly bumped into Keena and said, "Get out of the way you piece of meat!" Ouch. Or the beggars along the sidewalks of Fisherman's Wharf who yelled out profanities for reasons only their schizophrenic minds understand.

San Francisco is different, and you either appreciate those differences or are turned off by them. And honestly, after a year or two I'd probably be turned off. For now, I hope it's a place we (meaning Alan and I) visit from time to time.


If you ever go to San Francisco, you must cross the Golden Gate! It's a must-see, up close and personal. So beautiful!