• Intercontinental Hotel Sign Changing Colors

    16Mar
    Categories: Food, Hotel, Outdoor, SOMA, Silly Click Here to Leave a Comment

    OK, maybe this is too tame to post, but I think it’s cool. Hotel signs these days are either cheesy or very plain Jane, but this one is tasteful, subtle and fun. OK, maybe I’m loosin’ it, but somehow this one fascinates me and every time I walk by (at night), I have to stop and watch it go through the whole range of colors. Now, thanks to the modern age of technology, you can too. Ha, ha.

    This little video shows the whole range of colors, but honestly (and you know I’m always honest with you) it looks better in person.

    One thing to know … if I haven’t mentioned it already … the bar food there is pretty darn good, and not a bad value either. Steak and fries is only $18, which is just enough for light dinner; so you won’t feel guilty about over eating or eating red meat. They also have two pappardelles that are good – one seafood and one short rib. The short rib, wild mushroom version is only $14.

    I have another entry on this blog with photos of a few of the bartenders there, if you want to say HI and feel like a local. Tell them Randy sent you. Just use the search box in the upper right and click GO.

    NOTE: YouTube videos ALWAYS look better when you click the HQ (High Quality) button on the lower right of the YouTube video frame.

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  • Stairway Walk in Castro

    07Oct
    Categories: Adventure, Architecture, Art, Cheap Fun, Culture, Excursion, Free Fun, Fun, Kids, Outdoor, Photo Opp, Tourist Activity, View Comments: 1

    As you may know, I love the stairway walks here in San Francisco. They’re good exercise, fun to explore and many have amazing views. I also recommend the book (see the link here from Amazon) Stairway Walks of San Francisco. It’s loaded with a variety of walks, all over the city. There are 27 listed in the latest 6th edition of this fun book. Each walk has a map, nice drawings, and step-by-step directions.

    The Castro walk is one of the easier ones and covers areas that take you high above the city for some great views, and also past some beautiful Victorian homes. Coming back, you’ll also see Sutro Tower, which is the tower that houses all the major radio and TV broadcast antennas for the city. I think it’s a huge eyesore, but I suppose it’s better to have one large ugly tower, rather than 5 or 6 smaller ugly ones.

    At the end of your walk, you’ll end up in the Castro district, which is one of the largest gay neighborhoods in the world. If you’re not gay, don’t worry, it’s a very friendly neighborhood, loaded with restaurants and shops, and one of the most beautifully restored movie theater I’ve seen in years. For most movies, they still have an organist playing tunes before the feature film. Just before time to roll the film, he always plays the tune San Francisco, people sing along and clap, while the organ platform sinks slowly into the floor as the finale. The lights dim and an old classic or cult film begins to thrill the audience in this huge theater that was just redone on the outside, for a Sean Penn film about Harvey Milk, a true story.

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  • Breathtaking View of Downtown from Treasure Island

    05Sep
    Categories: Adventure, Art, Free Fun, Photo Opp, View Comments: 1

    This shot isn’t easy to get, but it’s within reach if you have a car. Drive half-way across the Bay Bridge toward Oakland and get off on Treasure Island. You’ll need to wind around the top, feel a little lost, but keep driving UP and back toward the city until this shot comes into view. If there’s traffic, it’s tricky because you’ll need to stop the car, back-up and park illegally on the left side of this narrow one-way road. Dash up to where you saw the view and you’ll be on top of the tunnel, over the bridge. Snap away quickly and hope you don’t get a ticket. I’ve done this several times and had always intended to just tell the truth – “I’m a nut for great shots of the city and I’m sorry if I did anything wrong.” I’ve never had a problem. It’s well worth the hassle. Down near where the air base used to be are some shots of the city at sea level, but it’s too wide to capture the entire panorama. It’s still worth checking out though.

    Bay Bridge and Downtown San Francisco

    Bay Bridge and Downtown San Francisco

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