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Mr Mink at that bridge
but facing the other way - taken by an Italian guy who I also photog'd from himTues. 8th - non-food update
no doubt your tongues are all hanging out after the last overly foody entry - so you will have to put up with the meagre gruel that represents "the rest of yesterday".
Having left the hotel pathetically late the day before, and no chance to get anywhere realistic beyond the Fisherman's Wharf tourist trap and a bit of the Embarcadero/Ferry area, thought it was time to get real on using the trasnport options available to me on the 3 day $20 "passport" - all buses, trolley and the cable car. Now forgive me, but the cable car is more of a pest than anything and I am the locals who try and get on it past the flocking tourists must be rather annoyed by it. Its just a picturesque means of transport people in a pretty limited, albeit touristic route - not many people use hte California St street as it just runs down the hill from Van Ness to the boring financial district - whereas the Powell/Union Square runs to that prime honey trap, that Wharf which need not be mentioned again. So decided to take the hotel desk suggestion about getting to the
Golden Gate 1
the wider view Golden Gate - take a 38 bus down Geary to Park Presidio and then get a 28 north to Golden Gate. I saw a Presidio (wrong one) and jumoped off - or was it the magnet of the big yellow sign for Best Buy - a huge computers/cameras/home entertainment and office works type stuff. Had been in one in San Luis Obispo to give my host Douglas the run-down on digital SLRs. This was even huger and I had a good poke around there. TVs are just getting huger and cheaper and the 32in. ones like mine are practically hidden away.
After that resumed my journey on the trolley bus down to PARK Presidio - the right one. Took a detour down a parallel street as there seemed some 'typical' houses. But the massive white columns of something further down drew me further. What is it? - a church (well it turned out it was an old Christian Science church - there was one on Akld in Symonds St the same in frontal design. Now it is the location/HQ? of archive.org - nice young guy told me about their mission to catalogue the Web - man, some job! Its
Golden Gate 2
I think the view speaks for itself a non-profit but they get funding from other organisations to take snapshots of and archive their websites. Sounds a crazy job to me, but I guess someone has to do it! From there a short wait for a normal (non-trolley) bus to Golden Gate, which sensibly terminates in the carpark at the S end. I am suitably mpressed by the San Fran public ransport system - its frequent and because of the essential grid format of most of the city mostly runs N-S or E-W so you can't (even me) get that lost for very long. The std free tourist map - although running out when you get below Market into Mission (later) - usefully has all the bus routes marked on it so you get the general drift about where you are going.
So the Gate Bridge - well it is pretty impressive and that orange colour makes it different - this was going to be temporary but the locals liked it so much it stayed that way. It has been relatively blowing a mild gale of some 15mph or so the last couple of days so I really had my hat jammed on - later in the
Alcatraz escape route
if you can swim to a passing ship... day in Mission lost it a couple of times as it blew down the street - how to get run over! chasing it. Anyway tried some shots to try and capture the atmosphere of the structure - you may or may not agree in the att. pix. Then decided I had to walk across it to at least the half way or so spot (to see if there was a sign saying "jump here" or the midway - or you are now 270ft above the water - wanna give it a go?). There were a couple of counselling/help phones though. The crazy thing - other than the raised netting in the early section to stop you throwing stuff onto the land below, and some barbwire around the end of the main suspended cable - there is only the 4 ft railing on the vast majority of its length which would not stop you jumping off at all - compare to Sydney Bridge. Coming back I had to take the hat off as wanted to keep it and too paranoid about losing it - have the new Golden Bears cap back at the hotel but.Hopped back on a bus, but this
turned out to be going the express route back to Fish*m*ns Wh**f I think so jumped off - in Cow Hollow - such a great name I took a pic of a hotel there! - headed off up the hill generally in the direction of Fillmore St which runs N-S. Couple of hills had small steps as they are kinda steep.
After a few blocks hopped on another trolley heading down Fillmore, which eventually headed E to what turned iyt yo be Mission - see snaps.
Dinner I have already blogged/. As still in my shorts headed back tothe hotel to kit myself to head over to Oakland on the BART to check out some free experimental/jazz music at the Uptown Club nr 19th Street station. It said doors at 9 - just as well I did not really get there til 10.15 or so as music did not start till about 10.30 or so. This was a 4 piece of woman on double bass (who seemed to be the leader/composer) a guitarist and sax player and drummer. The music was pretty wild and experimental alright - some worked better than others - would not say it was
improv as they were playing from charts. Lets just say some worked better than others. From squalls of sax to some pretty early John McLaughlin sounding gitar. Their Facebook page says:
<<
> (you get the idea)
They were then joined by the OAKLAND ACTIVE ORCHESTRA for the piece Myrmyr: Electroacoustic Songs (?). This was a 12 piece orch. with brass, strings etc. Once again composed by the bassplayer I think. It was good to make a hike to check out some really challenging music for free - there would likely have only been 30 people there or so (it was a school nite Tues. and late after all) in a small club room only about 20 ft wide and 80ft long. Green Day did some gig there given a big rap by NME or something. Then back to the BART for the every 20mins departure Bridge and lil boat
looks a bit rough down there with the wind! to travel 18 mins back to Civic Centre, which is about 15 mins from hotel - which costs $3.10. Had to load more on my card to even get into the station as it is min. $1.75 (the min. fare) even tho you can top up in machine at the other end to get out.
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Huddo
non-member comment
San Fran.
Hi Mike, The music scene sounds "unuiqe" what a selection. The mission theartes looked like they would have been superb in their day, lack of patronage I wonder today? Beautiful photo's on "the bridge" 4 foot only fence! You have parlayed the local transport superbly, I think I mostly taxied it in a few times, plus rail. Huddo.