Catching Up (sorry about that)
So, playing catch up. I’ve had little time and crappy internet so far. Hopefully this will improve. I managed to upload a bunch of pictures from Sacramento, but only by loading a bunch and letting it run all night. When I get better connections I’ll try to organize that mess into smaller groups and add captions. I couldn’t even do that in San Francisco, as the wi-fi kept logging me out regularly and killing the upload in the middle. Now We’re on the train to LA and I was hoping for at least a bit of wifi time for the writing, and to try and download a better uploader for the pictures, but I’ve been informed there is no wi-fi on this train (unlike the leg from Seattle to Sacramento). Here’s our impressions so far.
Sacramento was great. Small but lovely. We enjoyed the Old Sacramento area a lot, though I’m sure if we had hit there in the height of tourist season, it might not have been as pleasant. A lot of it could come off as kitsch, but the nice scenery and good eateries made up for that. The small size made it not be the kind of place for spending all your time, but the proximity to the capitol and the rest of downtown made for a great time. You simply walk under the underpass and you are right downtown.
The Capitol was incredibly beautiful. A large park around it with every kind of plant imaginable, and the most spectacular trees. If we had more time we are sure we would have enjoyed the Capitol tour, but as it was, we settled on seeing it from outdoors. All in all it was a great surprise, as had Jay not lived there and been able to visit, it was not on my list of cities to see.
Our time in San Francisco, was kind of a different story. We loved every minute there, but it was a matter of what to rule out and what we would have time to see (and the ability to get to). We had a list from some friends, and got some more great advice from the host at the restaurant the first night. We managed to do cable cars, Lombard Street (the famous twisty one), Golden Gate Park and the museum tower there, Golden gate Bridge and a bit of the Presidio, Alcatraz, Telegraph hill and Coit Tower, The Ferry Terminal Building, Dolores Mission and a bit of the Mission District, The Moscone Center, and Yerba Buena Park. And of course Yoga at Bikram’s first U.S. studio. However, you can see that leaves as many sights unseen as seen. But it wasn’t bad for 3 days on our own. We could have done a tour to see more, but less of it) but we are glad we saw fewer things, but more of them. Now we have an idea what’s there, we can come back and cover some of the stuff we missed.
We traveled by BART (light rail), Cable Cars (truly unique, but go EARLY if you want to enjoy them), Streetcars (a variety of antiques from many American and some foreign cities), Electric Trolley buses, Diesel Buses, and of course a lot of foot travel. We ate at some really nice places and some quickie places. We had great weather overall. It was a very pleasant stay. And we enjoyed a quick visit with one of our daughter Angela’s high school buddies that we don’t see much anymore. That was really fun, too.
But one thing… has anyone but me noticed that San Francisco is kind of gay? ;^] The two things that really surprised me were how many street people they have and how, unlike Seattle where you can sort of not notice the gay community when you’re away from the heart of it, in San Francisco it all sort of had that vibe. I’m guessing if we had made it into the heart of the Castro area it would have been easier to see the rest as “not so influenced” but we didn’t make it there, so that will be next time. I have to say, I’m not gay but I LOVED what they’ve done with the place. Just seemed like so much of what was around was done with a lot more flair and style than you’d find in most cities. I’m not sure, but I think maybe even some of the newer architecture has been influenced by it. All in all I think they have a better city for it, and I think all those opposed to the idea of “open” gayness should go see how much it has to offer the culture. But SF, please do more for your homeless population, it’s really getting out of hand.
We really weren’t in Oakland long enough to speak of it. We just got off the train there and came back to catch the train out. However, the “old town” part near Jack London Square seemed to be either being developed or collapsing. A lot of nice buildings, but not much in them. Could be it was in mid transition when the recession hit. But either way, it looks to have a lot of potential, and the part of the downtown we could see as we hiked from the train station to the Bart station was pretty nice as well. Though I thought they had a street people problem as well until I realize we were walking by the social services building and a halfway house. But they Police Station was right there as well, so I didn’t feel too nervous. It certainly doesn’t seem too bad in it’s downtown area. Of course, we only saw a small bit for a short while. And of course, it’s never going to compete with SanFrancisco as a tourist destination, but that can be a good thing at times. Like when the regular folk get passed by two or three streetcars in a row because ALL the tourist at Fisherman’s Wharf want to go back to their hotels at the same time.
The difference in riding a cable car early AM with commuters and families using it to get to work or drop the kids at school, and stuffing in like sardines after waiting for several cars to get a turn is night and day. I just imagine how really pleasant living downtown was before seeing a city became something tourist did. Or at least before MASS amounts of tourist did. So maybe being near a “sightseeing” city in a different nice city wouldn’t be a bad thing. And if you craved it, you could climb onto Bart for the commute and go be sardined in San Francisco any time you wanted.
So I will try to organize (and caption some) of the Sacramento pictures, and Post our San Francisco pictures, when we get into LA. Provided I have a turn of luck in the internet department. But if I have to trade the luck we’re having on the trip as a whole for the luck with the internet… no thank you. It’s been too great to complain.
Our best, R&R