San Francisco

This city is one of those American cities that fervently captured my attention as a child along with New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. I have always wanted to see it with my own eyes. So, this trip could have gone in any direction...I had a long list of spots I wanted to check out.I took the early (6 am) flight out of Portland. The flight is only a couple hours so I was there by 9am. I negotiated the BART into the heart of the city and got off at the City Hall stop. I slowly, with mouth agape, made my way down to Union Square.

From there I made the obligatory journey to the Haight/Ashbury district. I saw this on the sidewalk and laughed pretty hard. There were people with dogs everywhere!

There is a massive music shop in San Francisco called Amoeba Music. I had figured out where it was prior to my trip and set aside an hour to check it out. It was huge! After looking through the jazz section, I realized it had already almost been an hour. More importantly, though, I was starving. I bought a few classic Blue Note cd's and went around the corner to find the bus top that would lead me into the Presidio. I walked around the Presidio for ages until my stomach lead me to the Embarcadero and the Ghirardelli area. I got food somewhere and suddenly spotted the streetcar rumbling past. I followed the line up towards "The Crookedest Street in the World".

Next, I had to check out Chinatown. I rambled down crowded streets until I was at the base of the TransAmerica Building. Looking up I noticed the Sentinel Building (Columbus Towers). I found the San Francisco Brewing Company caddy-corner to the Sentinel Building and decided I should sample the wares. After several small pours and a proper pint, I was not impressed.

Next, I went to the Thirsty Bear Brewery and the beer was an improvement but the clientele was not. I had a quick beer and left to meet Patty in Oakland at the Oakland Brewery. Now this place was great! Good people, good beer!

This was my friend as I enjoyed my bread bowl near Pier 39: