Back at the end of May, I went out to San Francisco for a few days as something of a birthday trip. I had not been anywhere in California since 1991 when we did a family trip to the San Diego and Los Angeles areas, and I had never been to the Bay Area before. All in all, I had a fun time. I’m going to do a full photo set about the trip, but that’s probably not going to come out for quite some time, so in the meantime, I figured that I would show you a few of the highlights beyond the one photo feature and splash photo that I’ve run so far.
The view for most of the flight out from DC to San Francisco. There was also a decent amount of turbulence on this flight, which necessitated the interruption of beverage service at one point.
Aerial view of San Francisco, with the Coit Tower in the distance.
I was surprised to find that San Francisco still had a municipal fire alarm telegraph system. This one is at the corner of 5th and Mission Streets, just up from my hotel.
A cable car crosses the intersection of Powell and Bush Streets. Surprisingly, I only photographed the cable cars, and never actually rode them. I saw the lines to board, and I decided that I could pass on it.
The San Francisco Armory, a castle-like structure at the intersection of 14th and Mission Streets.
San Francisco City Hall. Apparently, the green lighting around the dome was in recognition of Arthritis Awareness Month.
The first of several rides that I took in a Waymo car. These were fully autonomous cars that functioned as taxicabs. I enjoyed the novelty of the experience, and the price was similar to that of a conventional cab.
The Golden Gate Bridge, viewed from Crissy Field.
Aerial view of Alcatraz Island.
House at 1709 Broderick Street, which many will probably recognize from the exterior establishing shots on Full House.
The house from Mrs. Doubtfire. I walked here from the Full House house, and scaled several steep hills in the process.
The Sutro Tower, which contains the transmitters for most of the area’s television stations.
The Marina Safeway store. This is the architecture that Safeway’s “Marina-style” stores are based on, so I had to see the original.
Gas price sign at the Chevron station in the Castro District. Gas was super pricey in San Francisco. This was on the higher end of things, but I want to say that the lowest price that I saw for regular was $4.65 per gallon at the Arco station across from the Armory, and that was the cash price.
The Transamerica Pyramid, a modernist skyscraper in the downtown area.
Aerial view of Oakland, seen on the flight back home.
Woomy popped out for a moment at the end of the flight home while I was putting my computer away, and he told me exactly what he thought about the ride back. Everyone’s a critic…
So all in all, I had a fun time in San Francisco. There’s a lot of stuff that I did that I didn’t show you in this quick highlight reel, so stay tuned for the full photo set whenever that finishes. I definitely want to go again in order to explore more of the city, though I don’t yet know when that next time will be.