Road Trippin’ San Francisco

The same year America celebrated independence from England, the Presidio and Mission San Francisco de Asis were established by Spanish explorer Juan Buatista de Anza, launching European residency along the Bay Area of Northern California.

It’s been a wild and groovy ride to the Gold Rush of 1846 and then on to 2018 for what is now one of the most iconic cities in the world – San Francisco.

From the international orange of the Golden Gate Bridge to the oldest Chinatown in North America, which features the largest concentration of people of Chinese descent outside of China, to Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39, the winding plunge of Lombard Street, cable cars, Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower, the Marin Headlands, Haight Ashbury, Union Square, the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, the Presidio and so much more, San Francisco is a city that needs more time than we could give it.

Built on 50 hills over a 47 square mile area, San Francisco’s population is about 880,000. However, the entire bay area is home to more than seven million people, including Oakland. I found it easy to get around in (except for one hungry night) but watch out for double parkers!

The birthplace of blue jeans, fortune cookies, sourdough bread, Irish coffee, the 1960s hippie scene, American inclusiveness, earthquake awareness and impressively much more, San Francisco is the fourth richest city in the world and home to the largest number of homeless people in America.

In short, it is a great city that is all over the place, with attractions and amenities suitable for all tastes and wants.

When we visited it was for a short four days, which included a night trip to Alcatraz. My personal draw to the city was Alcatraz and Dirty Harry movies. I hear-by confess the scene in Dirty Harry, where Clint Eastwood has to run up Telegraph Hill and it bags him – it’s good on the reality end. Had me wheezing like a badly played bagpipe. The view was spectacular.

Along with visiting with family we met in the city, we hit lots of the common spots, including a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point, Fisherman’s Wharf/Embarcadero, Chinatown, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Lombard Street down Russian Hill (we captured one image because I was driving and shooting was not in order at that time and Carrie was a puddle on the floor of the car thanks to the 27 per cent grade) and the aforementioned Telegraph Hill.

We also headed across the Golden Gate on California Highway 101 to Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands, offering famous panoramic views of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay, as well as the Pacific Ocean.

The Palace of Fine Arts Theatre was a gorgeous shoot and a tour through the Second World War submarine USS Pampanito gives one a sense of the connections San Francisco has to important world history.

Alas, we missed many great attractions, mostly because we stayed near the San Francisco International Airport. Next time, and for sure there will be one, we’ll stay downtown in order to maximize the time we have in the City by the Bay.

It is a 1,700-km drive from Cranbrook to San Francisco. A direct route, eventually involving Interstate 5, takes about 20 hours. We rarely take a direct route, this time opting to drive down the Oregon and Northern California coast.

Photos and video by Carrie Schafer and Ian Cobb

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