San Francisco! My wallet, too! Yes, we made it to the city by the bay which completes the coast-to-coast aspect of our trip. This must be one of the most beautiful and expensive cities in the country. Catching our first glimpse of San Francisco (or “Frisco” as my dad likes to say) was exciting. Paying $6 an hour to park near Fishermans Wharf was something other than exciting. If you know my father, you know we didn’t leave the car parked long. After a few photos of Alcatraz and some souvenir shopping, we cut out. We had too much of the city to see during our 1 day visit.
We stumbled upon AT&T Field (home of the Giants), crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, crept through Chinatown, breezed through the Presidio, and snaked our way down Lombard St. After our trek through the downhill twists and turns of Lombard, we attempted to park on a steeply inclined street, but our Town and Country, the same van that crossed the Rockies, refused to back up a San Francisco hill to capture a parking space. Fortunately we found more palatable parking and hiked back up a block of Lombard to photograph others snaking down this famous Frisco landmark. (The many hills obviously help keep the San Franciscans in great shape. Everyone seemed to be running, biking, or hiking somewhere around the city.)
As we drove around San Francisco, particularly in the downtown area, we were struck by the numbers of people crowding the sidewalks. It seemed atypical of most cities’ downtown blocks to have so many folks strolling, shopping, or milling around on a Sunday afternoon. All those people meant parking was truly a premium. One lot cheerfully advertised a bargain rate of $3 an hour for parking (which was cheaper than the $5 & $6 an hour at most other lots). A few blocks away a gas station had the gall to charge $4.60 per gallon for unleaded regular. Yes, San Francisco can be more detrimental to a wallet than Las Vegas or Reno. But, it is also a city that captures the heart. As we toured I mentally reviewed my calendar trying to figure out when I can return.
We just finished a wonderful seafood dinner in Berkeley and briefly toured some of its neighborhoods and the University of California campus. Now we’re mentally and physically preparing ourselves to start heading east. We’ve got at least three long days of driving ahead of us with only a couple of sightseeing stops to make.
On the road again
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