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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Thoughts from San Francisco

Every time I visit San Francisco I have two impressions. One is wouldn't it be nice if Baltimore could be a little more like San Francisco in being a vibrant city with people on the streets enjoying themselves and using a great public transportation system. The diversity and openness of the residents is exciting. I know that Baltimore has some areas like the Inner Harbor, Canton, Little Italy, etc. but there are large areas of the City that no one would visit.

The other impression is the downside of SF. We are all used to seeing adult homeless individuals in Baltimore and DC but in SF many of the homeless look young enough to be runaways. It is troubling to see kids sleeping on the streets of an American city but this is hard to miss in SF. It has always had the appeal of a place for young disenchanted youth since the 50's and 60's and it still draws this population today.

I will be doing something the next couple of days that I have wanted to do since I first saw Ansel Adams photos--camp in Yosemite National Park. Just wish the tempatures were supposed to be higher than the 50's for camping. Missing the warmer Maryland weather already. Take care and enjoy the upcoming week.

1 comment:

bosoxbrent said...

Hey Duane, hope you are enjoying your trip to San Fran. My wife and I were just there at the end of April and had an absolute blast. We did a very long day trip out to Yosemite. I had been, but she had never and I wanted her to see just how big it was. The waterfalls are big and the cliffs are even bigger. Absolutely amazing. You picked a great time of year too because of all the snow melt contributing to the waterfalls. I'm not sure if you are the hiking type, but if you get a chance, the hike up to Vernal Falls is very nice and well worth it. You do cover some vertical, so be prepared and bring lots of water.

If you have time back in the SF area, check out Muir Woods to the north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The wife and I did a great 5 miler up there on the Ben Johnson and Dipsea Trails. Part of the Dipsea is closed, but you can take the fire road and it's still a great hike. The trees there are so big and amazing. Feels like you are on Endor from Star Wars. Amazing!!!

Enjoy your trip.

-Brent