With the social aspects over, the rest of the trip could now be done at our own pace. Ken had reserved a hotel in San Francisco for the next three nights and I had made a list from Trip Advisor of sights I thought I might be interested in. A couple of those had been polished off yesterday, but there were still plenty left. I figured it would give us some variety in substance and location to fit our whim of the moment.
Since we couldn’t check in until mid-afternoon, we figured we would take the scenic route cutting across south of the bay and heading up the Pacific Coast. Our plan was to hit the Legion of Honor art museum (Ken’s pick) north of Golden Gate Park in the morning while it was still foggy. The San Francisco Marathon was today and it started in Golden Gate Park, but we figured it would be long gone by the time we were in the vicinity.
Well, best laid plans, et cetera, et cetera. Things went smoothly until we turned off I-280 on to CA-92 toward Half Moon Bay and joined a long line of traffic. We just figured there was an accident and we’d get by pretty soon. WRONG!! That last 7.5 miles to Half Moon Bay took 58 minutes stop and go all the way. There was a harvest festival in HMB, but surely that couldn’t be the attraction since there were harvest festivals in other towns, too. It will remain a mystery to us.
At least there was more time for the fog to burn off. WRONG!! The second disappointment occurred after we finally reached the coast. It was a dreary, foggy day and the marine layer never let up. As we approached San Francisco, we encountered our third fiasco. We could not get past Golden Gate Park to get to the art museum no matter how we twisted and turned. Roads were blocked everywhere. So we finally gave up and fought our way through the horrendous traffic to Twin Peaks.
Looking at a screen capture of the race route I had made in the hotel that morning, I can see I totally misread it. The race didn’t start in Golden Gate Park, it ended there. We, of course, were getting there just about peak time. I just noticed that fact as I looked at this picture again for the blog. The Legion of Honor museum is near number 9. Mea culpa.
As we drove over to Twin Peaks, we got out of the fog and into sunshine. Another beautiful day away from the coast. The sun was shining on us also since we found a parking spot up top and a public restroom! The attraction of Twin Peaks is that you can see out over all of San Francisco. The panorama shows the marine layer to the left obscuring the Golden Gate Bridge. And everywhere else sunny.
I think the bridge is where that headland is on the left. Ken also got me to pose with downtown in the background. Proves I was there, doesn’t it? The jacket felt good, it was a little windy and chilly up there.
Our next stop was (were?) the nearby Moraga Steps. I had glimpsed them as we were driving to Twin Peaks so I knew they weren’t far. And they weren’t. Some interesting driving through neighborhoods, tho. STEEP streets. They should be very happy they don’t live in snow country.
The Moraga Steps (aka 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project) consists of 163 steps from the end of Moraga St at 16th uphill to 15th Ave with beautifully tiled risers. This is a neighborhood beautification project completed in 2005. I also appreciated the garden at the base. We didn’t climb up very far so I don’t know what’s at the top.
From there, it was off to another item on my list – the Balmy Alley murals. “The murals began in the mid-80's as an expression of artists' outrage over human rights and political abuses in Central America. Today the alley contains murals on a myriad of styles and subjects from human rights to local gentrification and Hurricane Katrina.”
Here are a few:
We could have checked into our hotel by now, but there was another item on my list relatively close by. And since it was a Sunday afternoon, we figured this would be a good time to venture into downtown San Francisco (South of Market district) with a car. So off to the Defenestration building.
“Defenestration” is an art installation by Brian Goggin. It was installed in 1997 as a six month temporary exhibit in the burned out Hugo Hotel. It has lasted this long because the building owners refused to sell (or rehab) the building hoping property values would go up. This SFGate article says it’s now been taken over by eminent domain and may be demolished next year.
I had OD’d on sightseeing by now so was very happy to check in to the Travelodge by the Bay and get out of the car. I lay down for a bit while Ken stretched his legs then we went next door to Bobo’s for supper. OK food but not worth the price.
Back at the motel, we relaxed a bit while I downloaded pictures from the cameras and tracks from the GPS into the computer. We then walked down to the wharf area and the Buena Vista Café. They’re claim to fame is that Irish Coffee was (presumably) invented here. So naturally we had to have some. Another twist is that you don’t have a table to yourself. You sit down at any empty spot and introduce yourselves to your new table mates. And that’s what we did. The Irish Coffees were OK, just a bit weak in the coffee department. But there was more alcohol than I would have expected from a tourist spot. And I remember having some good conversation, I just can’t remember now anything about it!
[written 11/4/13]
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