Sunday, February 3, 2013

Great Distances

Today pre-dawn I was listening to Mark-Almond's very sweet version of Mr. B. Joel's "New York State of Mind", remembering my time in busy Manhattan and moments later I received an email from the company that two years ago, I had reserved a shuttle with at the airport in San Francisco.  Back then our daughter was flying from Cleveland to S.F. for an audition and wondered if I'd like to meet her in the City.  I sorely needed a quick mid-winter break and decided that it would be fun to meet her out there for a weekend, even though I wasn't at all qualified to hold her music stand, let alone assist her in any way.

So, Manhattan to the opposite corner in a matter of minutes, a Great Distance indeed.  Couple that with the recent gathering in the Bay Area by some of our Blog friends forced me, absolutely forced me, to go back and revisit our trip to the west coast almost exactly two years ago.

Hotel Whitcomb, near the Conservatory......


Two M/C Policemen standing out of the rain down by The Market.  We talked, or rather I asked questions and they a bit reluctantly shared some City Riding tips.  Our kids have reminded me that I sometimes look like a terrorist so that may have been part of the officer's unease.








Next morning it had snowed overnight, the hills across the bridge in Sausolito were white up top.












City Hall ( County offices?).....can't remember


An entire team of fish-cleaners....



A Honda Elite, just like the one I had....


Bashful daughter....


There was a preponderance of kayaks and swimmers ....




An In-and Out was absolutely mandatory....




Even Silver's and Gold's get hungry....




Some of the trolley cars were brought over from Italy....



Symphony Hall......


San Francisco Music Conservatory......she's in there somewhere warming-up.....


Oak Street and Van Ness.......


A truckload of chickens......


Golden Gate Park, this near the de Young Museum....

Highway 1, looking north to Golden Gate Park.....


This is that Big Bridge....















There was a Sherpa Guide walking around the chocolate shop.....




Walked up the hill (again) for dinner and was VERY ready for it as well as to sit down


Dinner on the top floor of the Mark Hopkins Continental Hotel.  I didn't really belong there but I went anyway, the view overlooking the city everything Mark said it would be.  Another trek back down the hill to Market St., enjoying the hustle and bustle under the city lights and then on to the Whitcomb Hotel for a rest.


A huge snowstorm in Minnesota and a closed MSP airport forced me to spend another very tough day in S.F.  Daughter flew back to Cleveland, the next day I flew home via a 4 hour layover in Portland with Alaska Air.

Came home to this at the Park and Ride......



8 comments:

  1. I've been to SF twice! Loved it! We toured the USS Pampinito submarine, walked the hills, rode the cable cars, shopped for chocolate.... Great fun. Thanks for the pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think this time was my fifth, only the second time with someone else and I hope you can tell I enjoyed myself. Again, how could anyone not enjoy a visit there?? Normally I'd rent a car just because that's what I do but based on my last time there, I knew we'd do well without one. I walked my foots off and that extra day there was far from an ordeal even though it hadn't been part of the plan.

      Delete
  2. A nice collection of photos. I've been to SF maybe forty times over the years and have taken only a handful of pictures. I think I have no imagination....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Richard. I can relate to no imagination and often feel the very same way about myself. I see things that make me smile, make me feel good and hopefully both. Pulling the camera out of my pocket is the part that takes discipline....I keep trying. Other Masters have been good inspiration.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for another tour of SF.

    We've been there only a handful of times and everything we've gone the Golden Gate has been shrouded in fog so we don't have any pics of it.

    I am glad you had some sunshine after those rains too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trobairitz, you are very welcome for another tour. I felt very fortunate for all of that early morning sunshine and knew from experience how rare it was, at least based on my history there. Tempted to walk all the way across the bridge, I decided against it satisfied with standing as close to the half-way hump as I could.......there were still a lot of other steps to take towards other destinations.

      Delete
  4. Coop:

    some of your photos have a familiar look to them, almost like I knew where you were. You even captures the Mojito (scooter), I like those. They don't sell them up here.

    You had great weather and I don't notice many tourists.

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bob, I suffer from Early Morning, disease; it gets worse on the West Coast. I was out early in many of the photos plus my delayed flight had me touring the city on a Feb. Monday.....many people were being more productive than I that day.

    ReplyDelete