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San
Francisco - Cable Cars and Canadians |
| Dan's friend Jessica was coming to San Francisco to see The
Tragically Hip, a very popular Canadian band, at The Fillmore on Saturday
night. Excited to see this band again after 20 years (gasp! is he really
that old?), Dan immediately scoured craigslist for tickets and came up with
two. Looks like I'm off to see a band I knew very little about! |
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June 13-14, 2009
Total Stairs: 372 +
Around the City
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View Larger Map |
Plans formed almost as quickly as they were shot down:
We'd meet Jessica in the city, parking the car somewhere; I wouldn't go
to the concert but I'd pick them up afterwards; We'd drive her back to
our place afterwards for the night; We'd go back to the city on Sunday
and then drop Jessica off at the airport later.Nothing seemed to feel
right. Then the solution was found: take the train to the city, spend
the night in a hotel, walk around the next day before taking the train
home. It was the perfect use of our time and resources.
Dan and I reached the city around 1:00 pm and made our way to the hotel,
the Stanford Court, which has been rated one of the top 99 hotels in the
country. What can I say? Dan has good taste. When we arrived at the hotel
we confirmed our reservation, but the configuration we asked for (two
double beds) was "unusual" and the man behind the desk said
with a smile that he'd have to upgrade our room. We now had a lovely view
of the city to go with our heavenly down-layered bed. Mmmm - down top
cover, down duvet and down pillows. I was down with this. |
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"I'm going to have to give you an upgrade" |
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Dan and down - it was a good night's sleep |
The view from our room |
Dan and I estimated when Jessica
would get into town from the airport and walked back down the hill to
Market St to meet her. We were met with a display of humanity only enjoyed
in a big-city environment. The surprise of the day were the dozens of
naked bicyclists that streamed by. They were a block ahead of us, so my
photo wasn't very clear. Probably a good thing. Dan commented on the famous
cable cars and how they work. I wanted to ride one, but Dan just wanted
to know more about the mechanics of them. Of course I just wanted to ride
one because it was a lot easier than walking up the hills, but for $5,
I'd be content to give my leg muscles some work. It'd be good for me.
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Alley off of Powell |
Overgrown doorways |
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Naked bicyclists! |
Creative camping |
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Dinner at Sears - good food. |
OSHA-approved ladder halfway up the church (horizontal) |
| After a quick and tasty meal
at Sears and some unwinding at the hotel, the three of us set off for
the Fillmore. We took the scenic way there, first wandering through Japan
Town. Dan and I had been here before and wanted to give Jessica a
taste of what San Francisco neighborhoods had to offer. From there we
trekked across a few more blocks until we found the very unassuming Fillmore.
We didn't even realize that we were in front of it until we were, well,
in front of it. A short line had formed for the general admission and
it was fun to pick out the Canadians as they walked by. As I said, the
band is very popular in Canada and Canadians from all over had come to
see them here.
The
Fillmore is a fairly intimate setting and the band put on a very good
show. I hadn't been to a concert in ages and was reminded why I don't
like to go to them: I value my personal space too much. By the second
half of the show I was resenting the excited dancers around me as they
poked me with their elbows and stomped on my feet. Not knowing the songs,
I didn't get into the show and decided to wait out the rest of the night
in a more comfortable area. I hooked up with Dan and Jessica afterwards
and we walked back to the hotel, first stopping by a diner for a bite
to eat. It was at least 2am by the time we got to bed. |
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Dan feeling proud to be Canadian |
Jessica and me |
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The Tragically Hip - Gordon Downie, lead singer |
The Tragically Hip |
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Proud (and loud) Canadian |
Gordy gives a good show |
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Window art
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Fillmore poster collection (one wall of many) |
The next morning Dan and I woke up, but Jessica did not. The two of
us decided to go for a walk while she slept in some more (she was on
vacation, after all). Dan and I sauntered in a direction we hadn't taken
yet, picking up some hot chocolate along the way. The day had dawned
bright and clear and I could tell that it was going to be a great day
for walking the city.
There were some nice views along the way but after an hour we decided
to head back. We were surprised that Jessica hadn't called us yet but
hypothosized that maybe her cell phone was dead. Along the way Dan spied
something completely unexpected: the Cable
Car Museum! We went directly inside and immersed ourselves in the
history
and mechanics of the San Francisco Cable Car. Truely fascinating.
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Morning views of the bay |
Looking across to Alcatraz Island |
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Coit Tower (Telegraph Hill) in the distance |
The Cable Car Museum |
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Welcome! |
Explaining how the cables work |
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The spinning drive sheaves |
Dan brushes up on his cable history |
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The Grip Guide |
The grip itself |
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Close up of the cable being "gripped" |
Cable tension sheaves - spinning, loud and fast |
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Four different lines are being powered here |
One of the original cars |
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Re-directing the cables underground |
Notice that Dan didn't stop |
We picked up Jessica (who was still sleeping when we got back - she
said that she hadn't been sleeping much so I think she was trying to
catch up) and packed up our bags. It was time to explore the city. Jessica
didn't have to catch her plane until 8pm, so we had a day in front of
us. We left out bags with the concierge and headed out into the sunshine.
The first thing we did was go back down the hill to Lori's Diner. It
had looked appetizing the day before and it proved to be as good as
it looked. After a very late breakfast we trudged back up the hill to
catch the sights from Pacfic Heights. We didn't catch the best of the
mansions in this area, but we did see some very nice homes and some
fantastic views of the bay. We then walked down to the bay, first stopping
by Ghirardelli's
for some hot fudge sundaes. Oh so tasty! Sauntering along the waterfront,
we fought weekend crowds of tourists while taking in the sights. Street
vendors, buskers and the bustle of the crowds all let to a very energetic
walk.
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Two cable cars pass at California and Powell |
Lori's Diner - good food, great ambiance |
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Inside Lori's |
Lori's Drive-In? |
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Heading for Pacific Heights |
View across the bay |
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Nice house in Pacific Heights |
Levi Park along Battery St |
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Jessica and Dan rest their feet in the park |
Family along the stairs to the top of Telegraph
Hill |
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House along the stairs |
Pathway along the stairs |
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Colorful house |
Branch support to the extreme |
Eventually we turned away from
the water and headed inland. Our energetic walk was flagging and we took
a break by a soothing waterfall in Levi
Park. Rested, we forged on, somehow letting Dan coerce us into climbing
the estimated 378
stairs up Telegraph Hill to the base of Coit
Tower. I still don't know how he managed that. Once at the top, the
cool breeze invigorated me and we took the elevator (and 40 more stairs)
to the top of the tower. Wide, sweeping views (complete with plexiglass
to block the wind and provide random reflections) greeted us for 360 degrees.
Enough photos taken, we retreated back down the tower and back down the
hill, this time heading for Chinatown. |
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Coit Tower plaque |
Lombard Street from Coit Tower |
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Golden Gate Bridge from Coit Tower |
City skyline from Coit Tower |
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Massive condo comples near the Financial District |
A shipment of small arms arrives in the harbor |
No matter how many times I walk
through this district I always find something that fascinates me. It is
as though I was literally dropped into a Chinese town (not that I'd know,
since I've never actually been to China). Everything is authentic, including
the foods displayed in the windows. I don't know if I would survive in
China if I had to eat some of the things I saw.
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Random sign on a sign |
Street festival |
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Chinatown |
Chinatown |
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Advertising - some of it just doesn't work for
me |
Girl in Chinatown posing with her new parasol |
| By the time we had wandered through Chinatown, returned up
the hill to retreive our bags from the hotel and then got Jessica to the
BART station, it had been a very long day. Jessica would be early for her
flight, but by leaving now, Dan and I would have time to relax when we got
home. And we still had to walk the 10 or so blocks to the train station.
It had been a very relaxing yet invigorating weekend, and I look forward
to returning for more. |
