San Francisco, California

Lombard, America's crookedest street. This section consists of around half a dozen sharp hairpin turns zigzagging down a steep hillside. After deciding that there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, I was unwilling to attempt this in our rental car.



Pier 39

Pier 39 is the home of Bubba Gump Shrimp. That's right, like the movie Forrest Gump. (Far be it from me to burst your bubble by informing you that Bubba Gump Shrimp came after the movie, not the other way around.)



San Franciscans have some interesting and unique ways of getting your attention. :)



Street performers are ever-present at Pier 39 on the weekends. Everybody wanted to see this one do his fire-eating routine. But for some reason, lots of people left when he started pounding a 4-inch nail up his nose. Hehe.



The Bay Bridge

San Francisco, California - the Golden Gate Bridge

Plaque reads:

To span the Gate, Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss had to contend with wind, fox, ocean waves and tidal currents, and a 19th century fort located where the south end of the bridge should be.

Construction began January 5, 1933. Strauss spared Fort Point by placing the South Pier 1,125 feet from shore in 65 feet of water.

Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 28, 1937, but the work is never finished. To prevent corrosion, the steel has been painted continuously since opening day with the reddish hue known as International Orange.

Length of main span: 4,200 ft.
Length of suspension bridge (including anchorages): 6,450 ft.
Total length of bridge and approaches: 8,981 ft.
Height of towers above water: 746 ft.
Depth of tower piers below water: 110 ft.
Number of main cables: 2
Diameter of main cables: 36 3/8 inches
Number of wires in each cable: 27,572
Total length of cable wire: 80,000 miles
Weight of cable, wire and fittings: 24,500 tons
Total estimated weight of superstructure: 83,000 tons
Maximum height (under bridge to water): 220 ft.
Roadway width: 60 ft.
Traffic lanes: 6
--------------------------------------
On its broad decks in rightful pride,
The world in swift parade shall ride,
Throughout all time to be;
Beneath, fleet ships from every port,
Vast landlocked bay, historic fort,
And dwarfing all - the sea.

From The Mighty Task is Done, a poem written by Chief Engineer Strauss upon completion of the bridge in 1937.

San Francisco, California

Civic Center



Golden Gate Park - hey, an indoor merry-go-round!



Peeking inside the windows...



View of downtown, from the hills

San Francisco, California - F Market street car

Some of the street cars are even more romantic than the others. Lit by glass fixtures and richly furnished with gorgeous wood everywhere, these are hard to beat!

San Francisco, California

The Civic Center.



The Castro, aka The Gayest Place on Earth. :)



Found in a shop in the Castro district. Hee hee!



Having actually been to Canada, however, I can't really say this is accurate. Just for starters, its beauty takes your breath away and its people are an utter joy to meet. So while I won't deny that the lack of ol' "W" leading its government is indeed a powerful attractant, the fact of the matter is that there are lots of other, more important reasons for Canadian citizenship.

This button is more for someone who has never been there and doesn't know what they're missing! :D

San Francisco, California - steepest street

At a 31% grade, the steepest street in San Francisco.

Can I remember the name? Of course not! Maybe Nickie will come to my rescue here.



This reminds me of a... let's call it an "incident" ... recounted to me by my parents. We were parked on a hill here in San Francisco, facing uphill, and I was 3 or 4 years old. They got out and stood by the car discussing something, for reasons they can no longer remember. Suddenly the parking brake gave way and the car began rolling backward down the hill, with me still in it, picking up momentum far too fast for my panicked running parents to catch up. Fortunately, it wasn't long before another car obstructed its backward path and brought things to a halt. They checked the back seat for me, fearful of what they might find. There I was, still happily playing and blissfully unaware of any danger. I can only imagine their terror at the time, but now it's something we still joke about to this day.

San Francisco, California - the Palace of Fine Arts

The Exploratorium is at the Palace of Fine Arts. So once you've been dazzled by fascinating demonstrations of physics, perception, and life sciences, get ready to be wooed by dramatic architecture built around the same wetland lagoon that was originally found here at the time of development. Swans and migrating waterfowl still populate the lagoon.

San Francisco, California - the Exploratorium

Nickie electrifies plasma, causing it to glow, and then waves a magnet underneath to watch it distort the flow of electricity.



There are some seriously cool exhibits here!