TRIP TO SAN FRANCISCO - SEPT. 19: Janet and I flew out to San Francisco to visit Charles and Carrie for a few days in September. We actually got there an hour early, which was amazing. It was good to be with them both to see how they're getting along. And right now it appears things are generally pretty good. We stayed in the city with Charles and found their condo to be very comfortable. The city was experiencing a heat wave when we arrived but by weeks end the temperatures moderated with sunny blue skies and ideal conditions for touring and site seeing. We got to see Charles' first attempt at remodeling (the bathroom) first hand and have to say I think he did a very good job, complete with new ceramic/stone tile flooring, black lacquer base cabinet, painting and accessories. We started exploring their neighborhood in the Mission District and discovered that the oldest building in San Francisco is just a few blocks away. That being the 1791 Mission Delora (St. Francis Assissi) which is how San Francisco got its name. This is one of the original Spanish missions that were built up and down the cost of California, each being a days walk from the next. The Pope visited Mission Delora in 1987.
On Friday, Sept 20th, we visited Alcatraz and China Town. Got word that an unseasonable outbreak of tornadoes hit Indianapolis and surrounding counties around 2 pm. We found out later that one missed our house by only a couple of blocks or just 1500 feet. That was way too close for comfort. I even found a six foot piece of wood roof decking that blew into our yard from some unfortunate building when we got back. We finally got to see my cousin Paul, who lives and has a business in the Castro area. I think it's been at least fifteen or twenty years since I've seen him. He has a wonderful house that sits up on one of the hills overlooking the bay. He had to practically rebuild it to get it the way he wanted, but I'd say it was worth it. It truly is a showplace, now. We walked to a great restaurant on Castro and had a wonderful dinner. It was good to get caught up on family and events. Thanks, again Paul for a very grand evening.
On Saturday, our first stop was to see Carrie's music studio and here a little taste of her playing. Be sure to check out the movies. She has several students that she teaches and she also accompanys a theater group downtown as well as teached in some of the schools. That's one busy girl. Afterwards, we got to experience some of the city's public transportation including the BART and trolleys. We ended up downtown around Union Square. We saw Frank Lloyd Wright's one an only building in San Francisco, an art and gift gallery. We drove to Sacramento Street in the afternoon and dropped Janet and Carrie off so they could go to some antique shops, while Charles and I took the car to scope out a few more public golf courses in the area. We also went to the Sutro Baths and Cliff House area on the Pacific coast. No time to play golf this trip, but one day I'm sure I will.
Sunday, Charles and I rode bikes up (and I mean up) to Golden Gate Park. They close part of the park to cars on Sundays and that made for a very enjoyable ride. Charles learned he has to stay behind me, because I when I see something I want to take a picture of, I just stop. We peddled all the way to the Pacific Ocean, then back through the park and just about coasted all the way back down to the Mission district. That was a lot of fun.
Monday, we toured Sonoma valley and Berkeley. Another successful trip to sunny California. Great seeing you, son!
Picture Link - Day 1
Picture Link - Day 2
Picture Link - Day 3
Picture Link - Day 4
Picture Link - Day 5
Picture Link - Day 6
Movie 1
Movie 2
Movie 3
Movie 4
Movie 5
Movie 6
Movie 7
Movie 8
Movie 9
Movie 10