Clang Clang Clang goes the Trolley

San Francisco!

Today I wandered about San Francisco. I opted to stay near the airport which saved me about $400! I figure, hell, if I lived here, I probably would have to drive into SF, so why should it be any different while I am visiting, right?

My first stop was to Haight-Ashbury where I found the smell of patchouli wafting through the air. It was cold, and I wore my jacket (the temperature is interesting in SF). I found all sorts of head shops and a neat store in which one could find pleather pants in every colour (oops, not in Canada anymore) color and pattern. They were also over $100! But it was a neat store and I would love to be rich so that I could have bought a bunch of cool things for Halloween. (I was thinking I could buy patent leather yellow pants and go as a New York taxi cab or silver pieces to go as a disco ball).

I then headed over to Pier 39 where I wandered about. I went to the Alcatraz pier (45? 41? 31?) to see about tickets for a tour to the Prison. Alas, sold out until Thursday! So I had to make due with a photo from the pier. I noticed then that a bunch of sea lions decided to chill out by the pier. They were noisy and raucous like college kids on spring break. Funny. It was soo hot at this point that my t-shirt was sticking to me. My jacket was long forgotten in my car.

I started to walk to Ghirardelli Square, but I only had two hours on my meter, so after about 10 blocks, I returned to my car and drove there. I bought myself a cone of the mocha chip (same as what I had for my birthday at Ghirardelli's in Chicago with Marci).

I wandered over to the Golden Gate bridge and walked over half of it. (Proud of me? I hate bridges, especially suspension bridges). Well, the fog was so low and so insane that you could see nothing! Seriously! Look!I do not know whose disembodied head that is. But see how the bridge just disappears into the fog? It was crazy.

I stopped for Pizza and noticed this very creative spelling of Canadian Bacon.

At 7:00PM I went back to Haight-Ashbury for a ghost tour. I joined three others and followed a tour guide around. It was soo cold that we were all shivering. I was wearing a thick sweatshirt AND a jacket. The weather here is crazy.

The tour was cool because our guide is not only a ghost hunter, he is a historian. I got a great lesson on the architecture of the Haight area, along with a history of the residents. We passed by Janis Joplin's home (well, two of them. She moved around a bit?). A 19 year old kid was shot to death in front of the one house and now people hear running there, like how it must have sounded as he was running from the crazy dude that shot him.

I am super skeptical about ghosts. I want to believe, but I simply don't. The tour was neat, though, and after we bade the tour guide adieu, the four of us settled into Trax for a brew. This place is apparently haunted by some feller that got himself shot. The staff found a photo from the origins of the bar (1940) and in it is a the guy who many of them had seen haunting the place. I, however, saw no one. Not even a server. We had to go to the bar (which was fine, the bartender was adorable. I asked him about the ghost and he said he did not want to see him. I personally think the bartender would scream like a cheerleader and run out of the room*). It was fun talking to the group I was with. The one guy was local, married and expecting his first kid in February (Shh, don't tell anyone. He said he had not yet told anyone). He is also an author: freelance and books. The other two were from Houston and were attorneys. They had twin sons and were married. They seem to be connoisseurs of ghost tours. Me, this was my first. It was neat.