Things I Have Learned in San Francisco

[tealin]

1. If you want to get on a cable car, you should either go to a terminus or wait for a weekday.

2. There's a surprisingly shallow sandbar a way out from the coast and waves break on it! That's cool.

3. When the morning or evening sun isn't reflecting off the Golden Gate Bridge in a photogenic way, it is actually quite a dark red.

4. Golden Gate Park is not connected to the bridge, but is neat.

5. Things generally look awesome, probably because SF didn't consistently throw out everything over twenty years old, unlike some West Coast cities I could name; it has Flavour, and that flavour is neither Shiny nor Cardboard.

6. Joseph Conrad Square is actually a triangle.

7. This city has two science museums. TWO! No wonder it's so fantastic.

8. If every tourist trap is crowded beyond reason, the Maritime Museum is still manageable. And cool. Even when the main museum building is closed and the Balclutha is in drydock. The model of the clipper Champion of the Sea in the visitors' centre is worth a visit too.

9. The granite retaining wall on Pine and Mason is all that is left of the Hopkins Mansion, which was destroyed by fire. (yes, that fire.)

10. San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle were the first three big cities on the West Coast because they were the only places where marine commerce could get inland in any significant way; Seattle has Puget Sound, Portland has the Columbia River, and San Francisco has the bay (which goes on and on) and the rivers that drain the Central Valley.


Actually photos of the Eureka, former ferryboat. There were a lot of cool old cars on the car deck but I didn't get photos of them (yet). Most of these felt like old photos even when I was standing in them, so I obliged and aged them up a bit using my wondrous modern technology. Oh the irony! My belly shakes with merriment.

I admit a great deal of the joy I extracted from this ship was related to how exactly it matches the Martinez in the first chapter of The Sea Wolf.


I don't know what this is; it looked like it (and its mate, not pictured) might have once held a lifeboat...?


Pretty light. I like how the benches curve with the deck.








Alcatraz!


Okay, Photobucket is being a poopoo head; if you can't see the pictures, come back later?

Comments

[danicarip.livejournal.com]

Wow! You're a really great photographer :D I especially love the second and last photos <3

And I am in particular agreement with you on Point #5 ;)

[conga-chili.livejournal.com]

oh MAN, delicious photos. They smell old. Do they give tours of Alcatraz? I love San Francisco to itty bitty pieces and so wish every animation studio was located near/in it.

[alexandra-stone.livejournal.com]

the pictures are beautiful :)

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

Not one but two science museums? My word, that borders on the extravagant!

[sydpad.livejournal.com]

Beeeautiful photos!

I should go back sometime just to see the new Academy of Sciences building, it looks too cool. Have you been to San Diego yet? There's a good maritime museum there, consisting entirely of boats-- including the HMS Surprise they used for the movie!

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

So.

How long did you stand out there waiting for that cable car?

:)

>Joseph Conrad Square is actually a triangle.

Oo! That's how I want my memorial to be!: Confusing.

Is that guy in picture #4 a set piece?

Alcatraz! ...Al-ca-traz... ALCATRAZ!! ...Al...catraz... (anyone who understands why I am doing this is invited to meet with me for lunch - to explain to me why I was doing this).

I want to go to San Francisco, I want to go to San Francisco! Unfortunately, this would necessitate my entering - California.

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

Ahem, I shall take this opportunity to answer for twirly as I tend to represent her as often as I can for as long as it takes the police to climb the barricades built by my minions.

Yes she has.

And she sent me a magnet.

[barbara-the-w.livejournal.com]

You should totally listen to Mad Scientists United by Tom Smith....

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a resident of the San Francsco Bay Area, a few other places you should visit;

Take a walk across the Golden Gate. Its a long walk, and cold this time of year, but worth it.

Visit the Ferry Building. There's some really nice shops.

Pier 39, if you haven't already.

Coit Tower.

San Francisco Zoo.

[noodledaddy.livejournal.com]

Apparently one has not lived unless they have heard Twirly and Tula singing songs from "Muppet Treasure Island" at the top of their lungs with the crew members of the HMS Surprise while on board. I sadly did not, but most of the population of San Diego did on that day.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

They do give tours of Alcatraz and it is AWESOME, though not in the way you'd expect. The island is a bird sanctuary now so they only things that are really maintained are the prison (tourist destination) and a couple other things. Most of it has fallen into ruin and the ruins are covered in vines that flower in the spring. We might go or we might not, it's not as cool in the winter...

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Half an hour, according to my dad. I have little perception of the passage of time.

The guy in #4 is not a set piece, but I did have to edit out his anachronistic wife. :D

Has the state of California banished you?

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for the recs! Pier 39 was A ZOO yesterday (The San Francisco Zoo, hahaha) but I would like at least to visit the Musée Mechanique. And the Coit Tower sounds really cool.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Dude, I used to LIVE in San Diego. Which of course means that we couldn't manage to get out and do the tourist stuff ... but I've definitely gone back and visited the Maritime Museum. :D

[teshara.livejournal.com]

Go to the Exploritorium if you haven't. It's a hands on science museum in GG park.
Walk through Haight Ashbury. There are wizards afoot.
Go to the movie theatre across from city hall.
Drive down Broadway.
And hit the Castro for the best chocolate in town.
Chinatown for pork buns from a bakery where no one speaks English.
Japantown, underground. And the Sushi Boat place where they float your meal around to you. They're way cheaper than you'd think.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Jeez, now I'm homesick.

[missuscarroll.livejournal.com]

You should come to the Smithsonian! We have pounds upon pounds of science!

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

You must love me because you sent me a keychain, too.

*smug, self-satisfied look*

:D <-- *ruined by a mirthful grin*

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

We got cabin fever
No ifs, ands or buts
We're disoriented
And demented
And a little nuts

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

You were too busy flitting in between parallel realities, I am sure.

>Has the state of California banished you?

Not... yet.

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

Oooh-kaay...

*click, clack, click, clack*

Hahaha! They need to get their texting together, idiots! You are astute - this is very much to my liking. Have you heard "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton? http://www.songslide.com/ArtistDetail.aspx?ArtistID=114

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

What? Um. That's only half of the Coulton song. I am so disappointed. Don't know where to get the rest of it, either. I have the mp3. Bummer.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Haha, you know what, the Smithsonian constitutes approximately 100% of my motivation to go to Washington. Big white buildings, pah, you can have 'em. But SCIENCE! An attractive and awesome old temple to science! And history! IN ONE PLACE.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

The Exploratorium is on the menu, as is the Academy of Sciences ... apparently they are ... different things?

Got bao and a lotus ball and an egg tart in Chinatown this morning. Haven't had those since moving to LA, so it was good times.

We're going to go to 'the crazy burrito place' on Haight and something-or-other (El Beso?) which, combined with the bus trip, should constitute a walk through Haight-Ashbury. I shall keep a wary eye out for the wizards. :)

Is that floating sushi place really good? We've passed it a few times and between its low prices and odd location in the heart of Chinatown we were a little suspicious. Is this the same one you're thinking of? If memory serves it's on Grant, a block or two down from California.

[missuscarroll.livejournal.com]

You should totally come. Maybe in about a month; you can be a hapless tourist wondering if it's always this crowded!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Haha, there's NO way I'm coming in the summer. Heat + humidity + walking around a lot = cranky me. But I'm busy till May, so ... later?

[missuscarroll.livejournal.com]

Haha, sure sure. Enjoy it when you do; I'll be off to college by then and probably realize I've been taking it for granted.

[teshara.livejournal.com]

The sushi place I'm thinking of is in Japantown. I want to say it's near the Ace hardware store, but because of the recession that may be closed now :P

[ledygrey.livejournal.com]

my friend wants me to come out and live in SF with her. random factoid of the day.

those pictures are fantastic! did you just grayscale them or set the camera on some strange light setting? I'd like to visit someday, for the history.

Also, totally and completely random, Dr Horrible is nominated for a People's Choice Award, at pcavote.com. voting for him is still open. thought you should know.

[scabrendan.livejournal.com]

Let me be the 20th to say that's quite lovely photography.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Nah, my dad and sister are way better photographers than I am. Better than I used to be but still merely adequate, and good at telling what makes a good fakeo old picture.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

And they are well-loved, too - we tried visiting one today (the other wasn't open) and the line was RIDICULOUS. I cannot exaggerate the length of it. It might make it into a drawing though.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Now that I think about it, you might also want to visit the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Arts and Sciences.

I have good memories of those places.

Oh yes!

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

If tea is your thing, and I think I remember you saying so, take the cable car up from Powell Street and get off right before it makes the first turn after the first hill. Go straight and look for the tea shop on the left hand side. It has birds out in front and the sign says Imperial Tea Court.

Traditional Chinese Tea with all the trimmings. I used to work for them.

Another site to see is the Mall at the Powell Street BART, it has curved escalators. And, if you go up to the cable car side and stand on the sidewalk, you may very well see Huge Sign Guy.

Look for an Older Black Gentleman in a suit with a huge ass sign covered in homophobic religious propaganda. He's hilarious for people watching and you could probably get a few gesture sketches off him.

Another guy to keep an eye out for is Bush Guy. He has a fake bush he hides behind and then pushes it aside to scare people. He's very good. You don't see him until you're right next to him. I tipped him two bucks. He hangs out along the Embarcadero between Pier 39 and Gharadelli sqaure.

By the way, you simply must have some Gharadelli chocolate. MUST.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, um, so far, everyone else in the city has wanted to go there too. Seriously, the line at the academy was of truly monumental, nearly humourous proportions. I am sure the Exploratorium will be no different, on a day it is actually open.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

I do love me some tea but I have made a vow not to buy any more until I've cleared some room in our overflowing tea shelf at home. I did notice that shop just yesterday, though!

Haven't seen Huge Sign Guy yet (maybe they chased him away for the holidays?) but we did run into Bush Guy the other day – which is to say my sister ran into him, I was a few steps behind and was immediately suspicious at a bush randomly squatting on the sidewalk. :)

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Huge Sign Guy comes and goes. I think he's more likely to be there on weekends and Holidays, espeically in the summer, since women are more likely to wear revealing clothing and he can yell at them for being "sinful".

[pink-fairy.livejournal.com]

I love SF, I go there all the time. It's only a bart ride away. I paticularly enjoy North Beach, Mission, and the coast.
Were you able to go to the Body Museum before they left? I hope so!

[mariahgem.livejournal.com]

Wow!! Awesome! Did you drive out to Emeryville and see Pixar? O.O

[maggielisette.livejournal.com]

Great pictures! PS that is in fact a lifeboat davit. :)