San Francisco California

While I am going through my photos from previous trips, I thought I should post some pictures from San Francisco.

San Francisco was a bit overwhelming. It is a big, non stop city.

It can be a bit crazy for someone from a small country town.

Talking frankly, I do remember the first time I went to a BIG city. It was New York. I remember being approached by homeless people asking for money left and right. It was intimidating. It was very uncomfortable. I was trying to enjoy my trip, but there is that element that is heart breaking.

San Francisco had a lot of that too. I did see some people that were obviously very down on their luck.

Something else that reminded me of my trip to New York years ago were people in front of businesses trying to get you to come in. Many of the restaurants had these guys, and that was kind of cool.

We checked out the Haight Ashbury area, which was very exciting for this old fan of classic rock. I found a map to all of the old cool rock stars homes. Country Joe, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and others lived in this area. Jello Biafra and others that did not come out of the 60s era sprung out of the area too. I was surprised to learn that certain cult leaders put their time in here.

We covered all of the touristy stuff. See my other entry on Alcatraz, and the Winchester Mystery House.

There are references to San Francisco everywhere. A ton of movies and TV shows have been filmed here, or are based here. Monk is a great show.

I was very fascinated with Chinatown. We had a great time there. We found some great jewelry and souvenirs in the MANY novelty type shops. There was a guy playing one of those bowed instruments (I can't think of the name at the moment). He was playing the traditional stuff, but as soon as he saw us coming, he switched to, "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain"! I asked him if he knew "My Old Kentucky Home." He smiled. I don't think he understood my accent.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of those things that you hear about, and then when you see it you think to yourself, "man, it really is that amazing."

The fog very literally does role in. It reminds me of a creepy horror movie in a way. It also reminds me of old Scooby Doo cartoons. Its like a smoke machine. We took some really cool pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge disappearing into the fog.

We took Jim Fassbinder's Ghost walk. I have seen Jim on several travel type shows about haunted places. We had a great time on Jim's walk. Check out his website:
http://www.sfghosthunt.com/fatcow.com/Welcome.html
Jim obviously takes a lot of pride in his research, and in telling a creepy story.

We also made it out to some other notable areas, including Sonoma. I am not a big wine person, but the landscape alone was worth the drive.

So, here are my photos!