Klamath to San Francisco

This morning I made the moderately long drive south to San Francisco. It was a straight shot via the 101 the entire way. I could not resist a short detour to drive part of the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County that parallels the freeway.

Approaching Sausalito, then the Robin Williams tunnel and finally the Golden Gate Bridge was definitely a bit emotional. I remembered a spot just prior to getting on the bridge from which I had shot photos many years ago. But there was a lot of construction at that location and it looked like I could not enter as I remembered. That was a bit frustrating.

I did recollect why I dislike driving in the city. Even with an automatic transmission, all those hills are nerve wracking, although surprisingly, traffic was not terrible for rush hour in the middle of the work week. Nevertheless, I arrived at the Westin St. Francis , now a Marriott property without incident. I had to remember how to behave in a civilized environment. Not only do they valet your car, they valet your luggage - no choice about either. They gave me a room on the 26th floor with a panoramic view of the city, including the GG bridge and Coit tower. I have never actually stayed at this hotel before. As a kid, I remember we always stopped at the then St. Francis to use the restrooms. So it is kind of fun to stay here for a few nights. It was actually surprisingly reasonable, especially for this time of year.

I have no intention of taking my car out until I drive home on Saturday, Tomorrow I will play tourist and walk around the city.