San Francisco, etc

San Francisco, open your golden gate
You'll let nobody wait outside your door
San Francisco, here is your wanderin' one
Saying I'll wander no more.

We just completed a fun family trip to San Francisco. We spent two days playing tour guide and showing off the sights of one of the prettiest cities in the US.

We have lived here for much of our lives and yet always find something new and interesting to photo.







We saw a lot of the City, but our adventure started in the Haight. This is the Haight-Ashbury section of SF, magnet to the hippies in the 60's. Lots to say about the Haight, and one of its best websites is here.







I was never a big fan of the Haight area; too many normal people trying too hard to show you how odd they are. The truly unique people, it seems to me, wouldn't be hanging around this over-commercialized community.











I have to admit that my visit to the Haight was probably my favorite part of the San Francisco trip. Although it tries too hard to play up its colorful past, it is fun being there. It is vibrant and has great shops, bars, restaurants, and record stores.

It reminds me of South Street in Philadelphia with it's energy, music shops, taverns, and young people.











And, there is always something interesting to see, especially the Victorians that line the streets.





And finally, there are many famous landmarks in the Haight that take one back to more youthful times. This place, founded in 1967, was one of the first of its kind and saw lots of action - mostly drug overdoses and venereal disease. Today, the clinic has two doctors and five nurses, and treats over 5,400 people a year.





Out of the Haight and off to Fisherman's Wharf, one of the most famous tourist places in the world. The Wharf is also not without its critics. This site explains why. But like everything else, its lively.





The Wharf is an extremely popular tourist spot for people from all over the world. I think that it is the best "people-watching" place on Earth.





For many, it seems to represent the "real" San Francisco, maybe in the same way that the Statue of Liberty represents (for some) the "real" New York.
These Japanese tourists were wonderful. They dressed up in their outfits and ordered crab and clam chowder on the Wharf. They sat near the Fisherman's Wharf sign, the center of the action. I love their hats.





Near Fisherman's Wharf is Pier 39, a pier that is filled with tourist shops, eateries, ice cream shops, and speciality stores. Years ago, a colony of sea lions took over the boat slips and established a breeding ground. These noisy mammals bark, fight, mate, and generally entertain the tourists. The sea lions have become as popular as anything else in the City.

Of course, feeding the pigeons is a favorite pastime of visitors. No one can resist tossing a piece of french bread to our avian friends that hang around the area.



Of course, what SF visit wouldn't include a shot of the world's most famous prison? Little known fact: In 1859 the Post on Alcatraces (Alcatraz Island) was garrisoned by the Army as the first U.S. fort on the West Coast. At its peak there were over 110 cannons mounted on the island. Now you know..

And since I'm on a roll here, here's Coit Tower from the Wharf side. Coit Tower used to be the tallest building in the City. Not no mo'. I always get a kick out of this monument to the SF firemen from Lillie Coit. In 1939, the SF Chronicle did a great story on this very interesting woman.



Off to Golden Gate Park. There are many, many things to see in this wonderful park including the big windmill near Ocean Beach. This windmill has never been operating in the 25 years I've been watching it. This Dutch Windmill was built in 1902, at a cost of $16,000, together with a Dutch Cottage alongside which was occupied by the mill's caretaker. It is 75 feet high, and 33 feet in diameter at the base.



One of the most well-known landmarks in the world is the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been in this spot many times and never tire of it. This is one cool bridge.



Among my favorite times was the New Year's Day First Run. About 300 people would gather at the bridge on Jan. 1 and run across it (and back) at 8am! They had champagne and cake at the finish line. Just what you wanted after running three and a half miles at the crack of dawn.



I've seen many bridges (as have you), but this one has always seemed special to me.



What's across the bridge? The first thing that you arrive at is the other end. The view looks south to the City and County of San Francisco. At the north end of the bridge is the lone sailor memorial, a 7-foot Bronze Statue located at the northern end of the Bridge, at Vista Point. During the evening, the memorial is illuminated. The plaque at the entrance reads "Here the sailor feels the first long roll of the sea, the beginning of the endless horizon that leads to the far Pacific." Two million bucks to build this memorial. Yep, two million clams.

Continuing north, you arrive in Sausalito, a cute (former) artist's community in Marin County. Everything about Sausalito is nice: the weather, the water, the houses, and the shops.



I like Scoma's, a bar and restaurant on the water. Nothing fancy, but it always works. I like that they painted it blue.



..and they make pretty good Cosmopolitans. Learn how to make them here.


Our visit to San Francisco included Clement St. Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park, and Ocean Beach.

Never being a fan of this politically correct city, I am always lulled by it's beauty. And, who parks a blue car in front of their blue house? Perfectly San Francisco.

Sunrise at the Trailer

No great story here, but Mellissa and I went to our lakefront vacation home for the weekend. OK, it's a trailer near a pond, but to us, it's paradise. Each morning, I look out the front window and decide if the sunrise is worth me getting my fat a$$ out of a warm bed to photo it. This is what I saw.

Incredible, huh? Usually, we are just hanging out, enjoying the lake in our little trailer and reading.

I thought this was spectacular. Be sure to click on this photo to open it full size. Every minute, the light would change and add or subtract color. After about five minutes, the clouds left and it was just morning.

See? No big story; just wanted to share a couple of cool sunrise shots.

Mt. Diablo State Park Hike

Yay! We get to go hiking again! Yanni (my trusted friend and sidekick) and I have not been hiking together for over a month or two and are glad to be out again. Yanni knows a place in Mount Diablo State Park and we set out into the foothills. I don my hiking shoes, grab my hiking stick and we're off.



It's dry and hot, but we are happy to be walking around the hills and just being out among the wilderness; the outside.



The ubiquitous vulture followed us everywhere we went. I've written often about these magnificent birds and frankly, I was glad to see them again. As ugly as they are, they are rather gentle and glide effortlessly above our heads.



As we wander up, up, up the mountain (Mt. Diablo), we get some awesome views of the valley below. Check out this house. Seems quite rich, but I like the layout. Looks like something that Madonna would have. Nice driveway.



As we hike along, the trail continues toward the mountain. It's hot and I wonder if my water will hold out for the 8 - 10 miles, but we do fine. It's late summer and we see few wildflowers, but it is quiet and peaceful. It smells nice.



And, we have friends overhead.





Another cool house. I really like this one as it wraps around the pool. We saw no one out there, figuring that if you have a house this nice, you probably have a job that requires that you are at work a lot. Still, we wanted to be invited over for a pool party, so we hang around this place for about an hour waiting for the invitation that never came.

More vultures overhead. It was beginning to look like Hitchcock's The Birds as more and more began circling above.

We continue our hike up the mountain knowing that we will have to come back down this same path.

We get hungry and decide that it's time to take a break and have lunch. Here's our little spot in Paradise: cool, breezy and restful. Wondering what's on the menu? Peaches, bananas, almonds, cheese, salami, raisins, granola bar, and my peanut butter/jelly sandwhich. Yeah, nobody starves.

Not surprisingly, we have company. Turkey Vultures always sit in one tree according to the pecking order of the flock.

Yanni points out the beauty of the valley below us. Cool REI hiking chairs, huh? These really work. Only 22 ounces and they fold up small and compact.

We head out and cross through this ridge. You can see the trial that we took. It looks more rugged than it was.

Our constant companions...

It was so hot that I needed to take several breaks. Actually I was OK, but Yanni was crying, "Please stop so I can rest. You are so strong, but I am weak." (OK, Yanni went on ahead, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

I read a story in Popular Photography about how to get a white background, so I thought I'd try it. Came out OK, eh?

After the hike, we went to a local park to have a beer and found this lovely spot.

Does it get any better? Hanging out with my bud, drinking beer, talking about the hike, enjoying the park, and looking forward to seeing my wife (after she returns from work.) No, it doesn't get any better.

Vegas, Baby!

Bright light city gonna set my soul,
Gonna set my soul on fire.
Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn,
So get those stakes up higher.
There's a thousand pretty women waitin' out there,
And they're all livin' devil may care
And I'm just the devil with love to spare
Viva Las Vegas, viva Las Vegas!



Back to Las Vegas and the beautiful Bellagio. How can a town with a nickname of "Sin City" not be a compelling place to visit? This, by the way, was the view from our room on the 24th floor.







One can go to the observation deck at the top of the Eiffel Tower and look out over the city. Always wanted to do that.
















The Bellagio is a classy hotel and has these magnificent glass flowers on the ceiling in the lobby that were done by the artist Chihuly. He has a gallery in Palm Springs with dozens of other glass designs. The Bellagio changes the lobby design often, especially when the seasons change, but it never changes the ceiling.


The rooms are big and upscale. Ours had -- get this -- his and her remotes for the TV. The beds are huge (King size) and come with 14,000 pillows, most of which you just throw onto the floor.








The popular Bellagio fountains water show (check out the video and music of the show) roars every half hour and could be easily viewed, and heard from our window. After five days, it makes you want to throw a chair through the window or blow your brains out or both.





Only one way to deal with that annoying situation: order up some Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Of course the strawberries have to come in an edible bowl of white chocolate. Nice, huh? After that, it's time to head for the pool.






(Sigh) Why does life have to be so unfair and cruel? After waiting a long time, I finally realized that my wish for "Opposite Day" was not going to come true.












Wishes aside, I decide to hang with my very cute nephew William. "Let's see...set the aperture, adjust the shutter speed, check the ISO, and oh yeah, SMILE."














Chip off his ol' uncle's block, eh?

At night, the city really lights up and comes alive. This is the time that a zillion visiting tourists decide that they should all walk around. The streets were packed.







We head for the Orleans Hotel to see The Beach Boys! Currently there are nine -- yes nine -- guys in the band, two of whom were "originals." Mike Love and Bruce Johnston were still having Fun Fun Fun, but had clearly lost the punch their voices once had. The other seven guys fill in pretty well and were probably thrilled to be called a Beach Boy.

I especially liked the lead guitarist guy whose name was, uh...the lead guitarist guy. You fellow guitarist will recognize this chord as a D7 minor capo-ed up to a C6 with a B flat twice removed.










The next morning, I have a "Bellagio Breakfast." The best part is that it actually contains all five major food groups.











Later that night, after several of those "breakfast specials", I look out the hotel window. "Hey Mellissa! Come quick!! You ain't gonna believe this S#$&!"













Here is one of the best shows in Vegas. I've seen many good shows, but I don't recall ever laughing as hard as I did seeing Monty Python's Spamalot. I am not a big Python fan, but this was a wonderfully funny musical.








On our last day, we went to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef.












This is North America's only predator-based aquarium and exhibit. It boasts sharks of all kinds, along with sawfish, giant rays, endangered green sea turtles, piranha, moon jellies and the rare golden crocodiles. In all, there are over 2,000 animals in 1.6 million gallons of seawater.






The hype is more than you actually see, but it is pretty good. It goes by faster than we expected and actually seems too short. You do get to see the fish up close like Mr. Grumpy Lionfish here, once you fight you way through the crowds of kids.







What do fish eat? That's right, Zucchini on a string!













This Spotted Eel was not happy about the Puffer coming too close to his space. The menacing "mouth open" technique worked well to move the Puffer along.









Another Lionfish. These guys have venemous spines that produce a very painful reaction when grabbed or stepped upon. I used to have a Lionfish in a saltwater home aquarium. We fed it live goldfish. Quite a show.





This Blacktip Shark is unhappy about the popularity of Shark-Fin Soup. Yes, this is the guy that ends up on the menu at many Chinese resturants.

The rare Golden Crocodile is none too happy either about belts, purses, or shoes. Cute face; this is how I usually look in the morning.

After five days, it's time to fly home and take a break from all the recent travel. Viva Las Vegas and Elvis has left the building.