San Francisco!

Wow! Our trip is off to a roaring start with a nonstop run of the major sites of beautiful San Francisco. We took off in our rental car- John did a really fabulous job of negotiating through the one way, very steep, narrow, streets while we all gawked like the tourists we proudly are. He even went through a tremendously crowded Chinatown a second time so I could get a shot of this really cool building.

We, of course, had to see the famous "Golden Gate" from a few angles...it was a bit windy and chilly the first day we were there, but I love this picture below of John grabbing an image on his phone. See, I am not the only one fascinated with picture making!! The daily fog had not burned off yet, but it adds a certain personality to it.

We parked and hiked around a little near The Presidio and I grabbed this shot.

We stayed north of the city with friends who live there and he knew some really cool places we would have missed out on. He directed us to the Exploratorium. An outrageously cool place! We had sensory overload! The kids loved it and I was trying to take shots of things I can make for my classroom. Really fantastic.
The next day he drove us around The Highlands near the bridge. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area had some awesome views-lots of car commercials are shot there because of the layout. You can see the city in the far background and Alcatraz to the left of the second pillar.

We parked at the Embarcadero Center and walked to the wharf. After lunch at awesome Taylor's Refresher, we walked to Giants Stadium for a tour. Really, very cool. We sat in the dugouts, walked on the edge of the field, saw the locker rooms and more. Much to John's chagrin, our son is now a S.F. Giants fan. At least for the moment! ;) It always depends on who is winning!

This shot below was off of one of the terrace around the staduim during the tour, but I really like it. It shows the skyline, a cable car, the bay bridge and good weather. To say the least, that is quite an accomplishment!

We had to be total tourists and ride the trolley up and down California Street-I wish pics could really show how steep these streets were!!! Of course I stood on the side for some shots. In the far background is the Bay Bridge and heart of downtown. Some streets are so angled, the sidewalks beside them are just made of all steps! Our kids were wondering where everyone learns to ride their bikes!

We took the Ferry from S.F. to Sausalito and had this view off the back deck. Alcatraz to the left, and the city in the background. The sailboats were having a ball. The wind was pretty strong, but we toughed it out.

As our stay in S.F. ended, and we headed to Tahoe, we continued our tour of race tracks and breeezed past Infineon Speedway. The layout is pretty cool. Usually on road courses, much of the track is hidden from sight, so you are only seeing bits and pieces, but this one was done for great viewing. There were a few cars testing-John thought had better visit it soon for a race...just to see how the viewing really is.

On to Tahoe- we have already had a few days here, so I will try to catch up...but it is really wonderful. We are about 40 miles from the fires, and you can smell the smoke. There is a bit of haze, but today isn't too bad.
Thanks for visiting!
Cheers!