The Streets of San Francisco

Ahhh....the Streets of San Francisco...where were Michael Douglas and Karl Malden when we needed them...that's what I want to know. Yes, two women walking all alone after dark amidst thug and derelict crowded streets (each taking turns pretending to talk on the phone to some important person that would magically rescue them if something were to go wrong) could have used the help of two strapping (or not) police officer/detectives. I personally wanted to walk down the middle of the street rather than through two blocks of drug deals and homeless gatherings on the sidewalk. I thought I would probably have a better chance of surviving being hit by a car but....Margaret opted for the sidewalk...and I followed. We walked fast and furious all the way back to our hotel. This was our walk home from the theater adventure we had. Ahh..the Theaters of San Francisco...what an interesting audience we sat with that night....but then again...what would one expect when one goes to the Empire Plush Room to see a drag queen impersonate Barbara Streisand? Hmmmm.....

So the rest of San Francisco went like this...the Streets (hills) of San Francisco just about did Margaret in (walked through Union Square, China Town, to the Trolley Museum, to Grace Cathedral and back again) ...and an overcrowded bus of San Francisco (there was standing room only and I was standing among tall people who were sucking all the air out of the bus) almost did me in...luckily the bus broke down at that point and most of the too-tall air-hogs got off....After that, I refused to take the bus again.







So we took a taxi (or was that a roller coaster?) to Fisherman's Wharf. Up the hill, really, really fast, Stop! Down the hill,really, really fast, Stop! Up the hill, really, really fast, Stop! Down the hill, Stop! Up the hill....ok so that's the way it was all the way to the Wharf. Fun. When we got to the Wharf we found it to be VERY crowded. Actually, we found most of SF to be crowded. We also found it to be noisy. Wow. Seattle is so quiet in comparison. Not sure if there is a law against honking in Seattle or not but people do not honk in this city. In SF they honk....alot.

So all in all we did most of the touristy things ... went to Sausilito, drove across the Golden Gate bridge, did Ghiradelli Square, ate at an Italian restaurant across from Union Square, and the numerous other things aforementioned. One of the most marvelous things about the entire trip (up the coast and all) was that the weather stayed beautiful the entire time. Even in the Redwood Forests where it was supposed to be rainy and 40 to 60 degrees, it was 74. I was amazed at how beautiful it turned out to be.

Summer...(I think you can call it that)

So summer came and went in a blur this year. What an odd summer (year) this has been. The summer itself was disappointing (the coolest we've had in a while)... and I have craved the sun and heat this year even more than others (perhaps its from getting old). I can say thankfully that there were two beautiful days (upper 80's) that I spent at the Puyallup Fair...(then Margaret went home and took the sun with her!). I am glad we got those two days!

I also had one wonderfully hot day just outside Santa Rosa, CA. We ate lunch (outside mind you) at a beautiful little winery...The Crushed Grape...(I believe that was it). Outside in the shade that day it was 102 degrees. It was the first time (in a long time) that I thought..."It's too hot out here." Of course, I could not possibly say that to Doug and Margaret (I have done nothing but whine about the lack of heat) so I kept saying "Are you sure you're ok out here, honey?" Unbelievably, he kept saying, "Yea, I'm ok". So I had to suck it up and sweat through lunch. Needless to say, I had enough heat for that day.

Aside from those few days of heat, the other great thing about this summer has been discovering the hottub. I don't know what took Doug and I so long to actually get it up and running (we kept saying "Ah, we don't care about hottubs...) but Wow! after we did, we couldn't stay out of it. For me the warm water and the smell of chlorine gave the illusion that I was actually having a summer. I kept having alternating flashbacks of summers spent in the Jacksonville Rec Center pool and of every hotel hottub we've enjoyed over the years.

Now the rains have returned and well....fall is settling in as usual. At least the hottub is covered...I can still go out there and pretend.