Thoughts on San Francisco

Five weeks in San Francisco, a Northern Hemisphere Summer.

"The Barrel"

Escaping the New Zealand wet winter was fabulous.  The Barrel was walking distance to the beach, wildlife and birds were part of the landscape, and the sun shone.

Muir Beach

Culture shock for the urchins. They kept pointing out Tesla cars (they are everywhere), and guns, and weed. I mentioned to the urchins before we left NZ, that they were likely to smell marijuana in some areas of the city.

 I was surprised to smell it everywhere; plazas, malls, shops, on the sidewalk. Even when I stopped the car at intersections – the smell wafted from other vehicles.

Marin Headlands

I wanted the urchins to experience as much as possible in the time available. They did some cool things; rollerskate in a church, tried dragon's breath, played vintage arcade games, tried Augmented Reality and enjoyed a private viewing of a movie in George Lucas’s old cinema.  They also wanted to see the American way of life, that they had read about and seen on TV; a 4th of July parade, the fun of a County fair, eat McDonalds in a Walmart, and ride on rollercoasters.  Buying and trying the brands of food unavailable in NZ were also part of their discovery of California. They discovered that chemists are just like the Warehouse, but sell medicine as well. 

Alcatraz Island

Some days we played tourist; China Town, Union Square, Pier 39, rode cable cars, visited Sausalito, light houses and Japan town. A visit to an Egyptian Museum was a highlight. They even walked the Golden Gate Bridge.  A Nuclear missile site, aircraft carrier and a submarine provided an opportunity to view a side of the USA military, and how it contrasted with NZ.

Exploring the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) enabled the children to see snakes, whales, coyotes, and watch the fog roll in over the city from the top of Mt Tamalpais. The Marin Headlands, Muir Beach, and Muir Woods are part of the GGNRA. They lit fires on the beach, climbed the rocks, mountain biked, and hiked the hills.

Relaxing on Muir Beach

Other days, the children viewed the art in the Mission District, the Haight District, and the SFMOMA.

Mark Rothko, #14

Rene Magritte was showing at the SFMOMA, which was a great opportunity for the children. They also helped me find doors and portals for my 100 Day art project.

San Francisco is hilly and has narrow streets. The city and climate remind me of Wellington, NZ, but on steroids!   Driving on the other side of the road took a bit of getting used to, especially as the Saab and Volvo were manual, not automatic.

 I allowed one hour to drive into the city, (28 kms) and 1 and 1/2 hours to get back home, as we were joining other commuters in the afternoon. Shortest commute was 42 minutes, the longest nearly 3 hours, due to a crash on the Golden Gate bridge. The urchins enjoyed the half hour ferry ride from Sausalito to San Francisco, on days I didn’t feel like tackling the city traffic.  The fun part was when the children recognized streets, and landmarks from films. The city became more familiar.

Greenwich St, San Francisco

My biggest shock, was the cost of parking. Sure, petrol is cheaper than NZ, but parking in San Francisco is expensive. $US3 for 15 minutes is normal, and something I hadn’t really budgeted for. Some parking buildings were cheaper from 9am – 11am, but the shops didn’t open until 10 or 11 anyway. We would spend 4 hours minimum in the city, and of course food was expensive as well.

Mostly US$7 plus tax + tip  for an oversized roll, or wrap, that the children couldn’t eat all of it. A slice of pizza $US5, but the urchins didn’t feel like eating those all the time, extremely cheesey and not really satisfying. San Francisco isn’t really the place to be able to bring a packed lunch in a chillybin, and find a spot to eat.

The urchins remarked that while it was nice to visit, they were happy to return to New Zealand as it was cozy and safe.  Three things stood out for them:
Unknown Final Price – The shown price was not the final price. Tax and Tip. They hated the phrase “plus tax”. The $1 burger was actually $1.08.
Marijuana – Seeing it available and being used everywhere.
The Guns – Seeing guns visible, made NZ feel safe and free. The urchins voiced concerns for students, and tried to imagine going to school each day, wondering if today was the day guns would come to school.  A war zone.  If USA is the land of the free, why do they need to carry guns for protection? That is not freedom.