San Francisco, CA 2015 |
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| We went back to San Francisco in 2015 for an HTML5 work conference. It was a nice trip as Steffanie was able to come back here and see some of the things she wasn't able to back in 2009. She got this nice shot of the Golden Gate Bridge while visiting The Presidio with Gina. Many thanks to Michael, Gina and family for their generosity and hospitality. Gina took off 3 days of work to explore the city with Steffanie while I was at my conference. During those days, they visited the Japanese Tea Garden, The Castro, China Town, Haight-Ashbury and The Presidio. | ||
| Winchester Mystery House | ||
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On Sunday, we took a tour of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. What an interesting place this was.
Sarah Winchester bought this place and had a crew of carpenters continuously build onto it until her
death in 1922. This was at the advice of a medium to appease the spirits of those who were killed by Winchester rifles. Her husband, William Winchester, died in his early 40s, but Sarah lived to be 83. She inherited $20M in cash plus stock in the company. She essentially had $1K a day to spend, which in today's money would be about $25K. She used this money to build onto the house non-stop for 38 years until her death.
She did a lot of the design herself and there are many counts of 13 in the house as this was her favorite number, a number only unlucky in our culture. 13 steps, 13 panels in the ceiling, 13 crystals in windows and chandaliers, etc. The house included a large ballroom, quarters for her carpenter staff and stairs and doors to nowhere. She also had some patented ideas including a false floor for auto repair, a 360 degree auto washing system and a fruit dryer as she dried and sold fruit also. | ||
| Alcatraz | ||
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| Monday evening we went with Michael and Gina to Alcatraz for a night tour. We took a ferry from Pier 33 out to the island. This was not Steffanie's favorite mode of transportation but is the only way to get to the island. The night tour was great and offered a little more than the day tours, including a tour of the hospital which Robert "Bird Man" Stroud spent many years in due to poor health. | ||
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| It's a long zig-zag hike up to the prison from the boat landing. About 1/4 of a mile, 130' change in elevation which is the equivalent of climbing a 13-story building. | ||
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| This is infamous Cell Block D or "Treatment Block" as it was also known as. The worst inmates spent time here in isolation and solitary confinement. Cells 9-14 were known as "The Hole". They were colder than the rest of the cells and were completely dark. The image on the left shows a light flare or "orb" that not only showed up in one picture, but several that Steffanie took from different angles. | ||
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| A view from the island at night. What a beautiful view the prisoners had of the city, which made time spent on Alcatraz more grueling knowing that freedom was a short distance away, yet they didn't have it. | ||
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These are the Cell Block B cells of the three infamous 1962 escapees of Alcatraz; Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin. For months they planned their escape by making papier-mache heads and picking away around their cell wall air vents with spoons. The air vents in their cells led to a narrow utility corridor providing them access to the roof of the facility. | |
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| Cell Block B. This is the cell block where Al Capone spent his time while on Alcatraz. | ||
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| The hospital cell where Robert "Bird Man" Stroud spent 11 of his 17 years on Alcatraz. He was later transferred to a Federal Penitentiary in Springfield, MO where he died from a long illness. Although named "Bird Man" while serving time in Leavenworth and well known for his extensive study of birds, he was afforded no birds on Alcatraz. Reason being, he was sent to Alcatraz for murdering a Leavenworth guard. | ||
| Japanese Tea Garden | ||
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| The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in the US and is one of San Francisco's most popular attractions. | ||
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| Haight-Ashbury | ||
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| Haight-Ashbury, well known for its psychedelic shops and hippie life has seen many changes over the years. After its draw in the 60s to free love activists, musicians and those looking for some herbal relief, it went through a decline of more illicit drugs, overcrowding, homelessness, crime and prostitution. It has since been revitalized and cleaned up... but you can still buy drugs. | ||
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| The Castro | ||
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| Known as one of the first gay neighborhoods in the US, The Castro, as it is commonly called, is one of the leading communities of LGBT activism in the world. | ||
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In the 1970s, Harvey Milk ran this camera shop (Castro Camera) and lived in the apartment above. In this store he also held political meetings and through his involvement assumed leadership of the Castro Village Merchants Association. He was later appointed to the Board of Supervisors and was California's first openly gay elected official. Sadly, Harvey and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978 by Dan White, a recently resigned city official. Although Harvey had such a short political career, he created an overwhelming influence on gay rights. In 2002 he was quoted as "the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States." | ||
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Pink Triangle Park is a memorial to those gay men and women who were persecuted in Nazi Germany during the holocaust. The pink triangle symbolizes gay men who were forced to wear pink triangle "badges of shame" sewn into their clothing. The park's pink triangle is filled with rose quartz. Upkeep and supply of this quartz is provided by the community. Although The Castro does not contain many children by household, the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, a small alternative public school that teaches children acceptance, awareness and strives for academic excellence, is well funded by its community. | ||
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| The Presidio | ||
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| The Presidio, a California and National Historical Landmark is a former military base that overlooks San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a Spanish fort built in 1776 and seized in 1848 by the US Military. Today it is host to migrant birds, several species of trees and wildlife, community events, hikers and nature lovers. | ||
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| One of the park's interesting attractions is the Presidio Pet Cemetery. This white picket-fenced cemetery is the final resting place of pets owned by family members stationed there. Its memorials mimic grave markers found in military cemeteries. The site is well preserved but officially closed to new interments. | ||
| Fisherman's Wharf | ||
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| And of course, no trip to San Francisco is complete without a visit to Fisherman's Wharf. My one request on this trip was to visit the wharf and get my favorite clam chowder in a sour dough bowl. We went on our last night with Michael, Gina and the boys, but made a side trip to Hot Spud so Steffanie and Nick could get their spud on - something non-seafoody. Then we all went over to Boudin Bakery for their famous sour dough and chowder. | ||
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To round off the evening (and our bellies), we visited Ghirardelli Square for some tasty treats. Steffanie got a delicious Salted Caramel Sundae. So good, but so rich that we just couldn't finish it! Thanks so much to the Flack family for spending time with us. For Gina taking off work for most of the week to see the sites with Steffanie. To Michael and the boys for their train trips to the city to see us. You are a wonderful, generous and loving family and we cannot thank you enough. | ||