Streets of San Francisco, June 30-July 2, 2021
Some county fairgrounds have RV hookups, which is how we
ended up camping at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA for
several days. Campgrounds closer to San
Francisco were very expensive, which we were trying to avoid. The RV area at the fairgrounds was strictly
basic, but we did not plan to spend days there so it was fine with us, and the
price was right.
On July 1 and July 2, driving into San Francisco, we noticed the weather and temperature change. San Francisco is just as cloudy and foggy as you’ve heard and can be quite cool. On July 1 we went to the Asian Museum of Art. Situated across from City Hall in a former library, it is simply huge, with art and sculpture from a vast array of countries and periods. It seems heavy on the more ancient periods, but that could be because we simply ran out of steam and did not spend much time in the contemporary first floor. The upper stories are full of wonderful sculptures, pottery, some painting, and other artifacts, including huge statues that were originally in ruined temples, and an exhibit of artifacts that were found in several shipwrecks, some of them fastened together in the rock over time and brought up in that condition.
There is even an entire Japanese tearoom recreated, along with the storage room at the back showing where the water was heated and the various vessels stored. It was fascinating to read the stories of the pieces themselves as well as the various religious and folk allegories they represented. Some stories, of love or war, resonate across all cultures.
My favorite was a small exhibit of more contemporary (1970s
and 1980s) Chinese ink paintings. With
just a few strokes of a brush, the artists can convey peaceful water, the oars
of a boat dripping, birds in the trees and a rustling breeze. We were tired after an hour but stayed almost
4 ½ hours. One quibble I had with this
museum is that the signs explaining the works of art were hung quite low, so I
had to stoop with hands on knees to read many of them. My back was really sore the next day.
The Chinese restaurant we had been directed
to turned out to be a small, unassuming neighborhood place, serving mountains
of delicious food (catfish, vegetable fried rice, prawns with green beans) and
occupied by two groups of Chinese men. A
table of younger men appeared to be listening to a small group of four older
men, who were having an animated discussion that got louder as the participants
drank more. Clearly they were all good
friends or business associates - and getting closer by the minute.
Everywhere in San Francisco you see street people and homeless people, some apparently crazy, some just eccentric, some downright scary. There is a large encampment right next to the Asian Art Museum which was started, with help from the city and federal governments, during the pandemic because they had to close the shelters. Sanitation facilities, food and some security were provided. Though not distanced anymore (tents used to be 6 feet apart), the encampment remains in place. From the information I found online it does not appear there is any coherent plan as to what to do with the homeless once the pandemic is over. It is not the only homeless camp in the city, just the largest.
As with any large US city, there are also numerous people
with dogs, skateboarding kids, and large families enjoying the parks. San Francisco is vibrant and full of
life. It shows the evidence of hard
times, though, in many boarded-up and deteriorating buildings, some right next
to designer shops, and the sidewalks are dirty, broken and in need of
repair. In general I find the parts of
California that I have seen to fit that description – in need of repair.
On Friday we decided to take a bus tour. Driving in a strange city is always stressful; the driver does not actually get to see much, needing to concentrate, and the narrow and hilly streets of San Francisco make it even more difficult. We had bought tickets online and were about to board the bus at Pier 39, which is part of Fisherman’s Wharf. LCR bought a container of juice and went across the street to watch some break-dancers, a young man and his nephew, while I went in search of a bathroom.
When I got back it took some time to locate him, and just at that moment I got a call from Sarai. The girls had been sideswiped on the I-94 and my red Camry was wrecked. I motioned for LCR to cross the street but he continued to placidly watch the dancers, so I crossed the street to get his attention. It took some minutes for me to convey to him that the situation was serious and I really need him to focus on this. Fortunately the recorded music in use by the break-dancers was quite loud, because I believe I raised my voice quite a bit and used several unladylike expressions to convey the gravity of the situation.
We gave the girls some information they needed and boarded the bus, since we had already paid for the tickets and could not do much about the situation over the phone anyway. The girls reported that they were both all right except for a few bumps, but sent photos showing the car was indeed in bad shape. Needless to say I was quite distracted on the tour, having to take several calls during that time. Eventually the car was towed and things were okay for the nonce. The other driver, in a large black SUV, sped away while the Camry was still spinning from the impact, and the girls, focusing on survival, did not get a plate number. I was furious at the cowardice and selfishness of this anonymous driver, which added to my distraction. I am not as good at compartmentalizing my feelings as some (er, LCR), so I was dealing with distress and anger, on top of a profound gratitude that the girls had not been hurt.
It was a complicated ride. Also,
I had a sense that LCR was not enjoying it.
I learned later that he does not like double-decker buses, feeling them
to be unstable. He had heard years ago that they had a tendency to tip
over. My subsequent research did not bear this out, though.
Despite all this, it was an enjoyable tour. My main objection was that, contrary to the
website and brochure, they did not have the driver giving a live
narration. Each passenger was given a
set of earbuds which were plugged into a station with settings for 10
languages. The recorded presentation was
full of local history and interesting facts, not just a description of what we
were seeing. It was well done but I
would have preferred a live lecture. The
tour company employees told us at the beginning of the tour that the live
feature had been discontinued, and they did not know why.
We started the tour inside the bus but I felt I was missing
a lot and eventually went up to the top, dragging LCR with me. It was chilly and windy but the view of the
hilly, narrow streets and the various neighborhoods was much better from up
there. Toward the end of the tour we
crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. By this
time it was really chilly and windy. The
fog was heavy enough that we could not see the top of the bridge. I held my jacket closed at the neck with one
hand and my canvas hat pulled down tight over my head with the other. It was uncomfortable, but exhilarating to
cross the iconic bridge in the wind. The
bus stopped at the end of the bridge and turned around, crossing the bridge
again. We elected to move back down
inside the bus for the return crossing and the remainder of the tour.
I have to say that the Golden Gate Bridge, too, shows signs
of disrepair. According to the website,
it is painted constantly, but parts of it did not look as though they had been painted
in quite some time. As architecture,
though, it is really impressive.
There are some things we wanted to see but could not. There are tours available to Alcatraz Island,
but they are sold out weeks, even months in advance. There was also an art museum in Golden Gate
Park that I somehow missed in my preliminary research. It would be good to see those points of
interest if we’re ever back that way.
Physically and emotionally, it had been a long day, and we walked
down Pier 39 in search of food. The buzz
and crowds reminded me, as did the mall visit in Minneapolis, what crowds are
like, and I actually didn’t like the feeling much. The pier is a tourist’s shopping mall, full
of shops as well as pop-ups selling everything from chocolate to stuffed toys
to hot dogs. There was an entire shop
devoted to Alcatraz souvenirs, mostly (guess) black and white striped t-shirts
in every conceivable size and configuration.
(We did not stop at any of these places, because in general I try to buy
only souvenirs that are distinctly local in character and manufacture.) Of course there are many seafood restaurants,
but we chose a Mexican place called Mango’s, full of rattan furniture,
leather-covered tables and authentic food.
LCR had veggie fajitas, black beans and rice, while I had grilled sea
bass with mango salsa, the house specialty, and horchata. I was so dehydrated after the long bus ride
that I had two of the spiced drinks. It
ended up being a good time in spite of all the drama.
On to Big Sur!
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