West Coast Swing

[DGS49]

I'm planning a week-long California adventure at the end of May, with the highlight being a couple days at Yosemite. Otherwise, visiting my brother in L.A., spending a couple days on PCH, and spending time in San Francisco, where I have not been for 30 years.

The question is San Francisco. Is it as bad as the Media coverage would have one believe?

As a supporter of Mass Transit, I plan to get a room in Walnut Creek and take the BART train into town, then do one formal city tour with a half day left to explore on our own. Will I need to wear my flak jacket? Be armed?

Anyone been there recently?

 

[Oddball]

I was there about 5 years ago....It's every bit as bad as advertised, and I'd expect it to be even worse today.

Was working on a Holiday Inn in the Fisherman's Wharf area...Saw everything you hear about as far as the gutters are concerned, so I won't go into the gory details...Encountered a couple shooting up right on the sidewalk, between the hotel and the cafe next door...Every weekend the smell of pot smoke was everywhere...Panhandlers everywhere...Best to have absolutely nothing in your vehicle and leave the windows open, because the crooks will smash-n-grab just to see if you have something to grab.

Wouldn't go into that city on a bet today.

 

[mudwhistle]

I'm planning a week-long California adventure at the end of May, with the highlight being a couple days at Yosemite. Otherwise, visiting my brother in L.A., spending a couple days on PCH, and spending time in San Francisco, where I have not been for 30 years.

The question is San Francisco. Is it as bad as the Media coverage would have one believe?

As a supporter of Mass Transit, I plan to get a room in Walnut Creek and take the BART train into town, then do one formal city tour with a half day left to explore on our own. Will I need to wear my flak jacket? Be armed?

Anyone been there recently?

It was bad when I was there in the 70s.

 

[mudwhistle]

 

[odanny]

So much natural beauty in San Francisco, such a shame it has turned into an American disaster story. I was there for a few days in the mid-80's and remember walking around downtown and being a clueless teenager who had only visited Chicago for a big city I was amazed by what I was seeing, the bay, the bridge, the hills downtown, it was the most beautiful city I had visited (was on the way to Hawaii and San Fran was a stop over for a few days with my classmate from the Army as we were both going to Schofield Barracks). That beautiful city remains etched in my memory, I can still remember it clearly.

Hopefully some of that beauty remains, somewhere inside or outside of the city. I don't think I'd even want to visit there today unless my trip was very well planned, with areas to visit clearly known, as well as areas to avoid. The downtown area looks completely dead today, many office buildings stand vacant.

 

[DGS49]

I finished my whirlwind trip last Saturday (June 1). It was fantastic. The only downsides were driving in the densely populated areas and the price of everything was relatively high.

Yosemite was...Yosemite. Hearst Castle, spectacular. Carmel-by-the-Sea was charming and crowded,PCH is indescribable, and the parts of San Francisco that I saw were fantastic. I started in Santa Clarita, which seemed to me to be an ideal suburb of L.A. - clean, safe, and comprehensive, with every thing and service you could want in easy reach. Far removed from the turmoil of urban Los Angeles.

The most striking thing to me was the miles and miles of cultivated farmland, my only regret being that I didn't know what the crops were. There were several signs posted by farmers complaining that too much water was being wasted and not enough set aside for farmers, which was understandable.

If I were 30 years younger I would consider moving there, in spite of all the shit that is shown on Fox News.