We rented a car for a day to visit San Francisco. We chose Sunday to travel to San Francisco to avoid traffic problems and better weather was predicted. Before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we drove along the high bluffs overlooking the bay and the ocean.
We had to travel through a tunnel before crossing the bridge.
We drove the famous Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. It was a very steep hill with purposely switch backs within the width of the street going down the hill.
The cheapest place we found to park was $15 (weekend special). We walked to Fisherman's Wharf which was very unique.
This is where most city tours originate using a variety of conveyances (open buses, duck tours, segways, 3 wheel scooters, and walking tours. We opted to tour on our own.
We rode the cable cars to Chinatown and had lunch. When we got off the cable car we had to walk literally down steep sidewalks to Chinatown. (Oh my knees)
We just missed a dragon dance. We did not see the dragon but heard the drums and fireworks. Many people lived above the businesses. We noticed many windows open with laundry hanging out to dry even on fire escapes.
There were other forms of public transportation including buses and electric buses that were attached to electric cables from above. Some of the buses were double lengthed with accordion middle so they could turn corners.
After that we retrieved our rental car and drove to Haight-Ashbury corner.
This is the the area famous for the hippy peace movement in the '60's. Allan had visited here in the 60's when home from Vietnam and said things had changed. The street looked similar, but the hippies had gotten a lot older, about his age. There were a lot of souvenir shops. Lots of people were laying out on the grass of the parks enjoying the sun.
We can see why this city is noted for its unique architecture of multi-story houses and apartments close together built on steep hills.
We enjoyed our day and glad we did not drive the big truck. As always we take many more pictures than we post with the blog. If you care to look at these go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/EJHowardWebster
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