1952 San Francisco and Yosemite

SUMMARY: From a GI's perspective on the way to Korea. 

Backfill: date

My dad loved Yosemite. But the first time he saw it was Armistice Day, 1952, while waiting for the final leg of his trip to the Korean War.  As he was a New York City born-and-raised young man, I'm doubtful that he ever went west of the Mississippi before that, and other than a year at college in Michigan, not certain [without going back through his personal history] whether he'd ever been much west of the state of New York. He was an explorer, though: Discovered the mountains and hiking and climbing and camping in late high school and more in college and never went back to city living. Never one to be shy about travel, or any suggestion of somewhere new and different to explore, would get him moving.

Not sure that he felt that way about Korea, but-- bypassing that--

The draft scooped him up in 1951, and in November of 1952 he began the long journey to Korea--stopovers in Chicago and Denver and Oakland to refuel the plane before landing finally in San Francisco for a two-week layover in a camp in Petaluma.

Mom kept all of his letters home, and decades later he assembled them with commentary into a book.  Some excerpts from that first week in California:

We arrived in Frisco via Greyhound Bus from the airport. We bought our bus tickets up to camp, and then walked down Market Street at about 8 A.M. Finally gave up on walking, after being stopped by a number of people who said we really should take a tour to see the city [1], and bought some sight-seeing tour tickets. While waiting for the tour start time we went for a ride on a cable-car. The ride went from Powell and Market streets over the top of Nob Hill, by the Mark (Hopkins), through the edge of Chinatown and then back again. Had views of Alcatraz, the Oakland-Bay-Bridge, and some very nice houses.

Got back in time to take the tour, and had a pretty good time. Saw a lot of the Sights, and a lot of Real Estate. I wasn't impressed by San Francisco's zoning restrictions and rental policies as we were told of them by the tour bus driver [2]. And prices; wow!! Twelve to fifteen thousand (depending on location) for a five room attached bungalow.[3] And there isn't much room in either front or back. The plots are usually 50x70, or smaller.

The tour is over and we're having lunch on Fisherman's Wharf at DiMaggio's (Filet mignon). 

...

[after settling in at the camp]

...

We were fortunate, Armistice Day was on Tuesday, so we were given passes from noon Saturday until 0800 Wednesday. We spent those days touring: saw Muir Woods, Yosemite, and Devil's Postpile among other places.

He likely has more photos of this trip, but immediately at hand I have only this--

"Road to Yosemite Armistice Day 1952"

I'm not sure where exactly this photo was taken, but the road to Yosemite no longer is one lane without guard rails.  I remember Dad saying that parts were still unpaved. 

Dad told me in 2015 when we were discussing his photos:

On the Armistice Day Weekend in 1952, four of us GIs rented a car to go to Yosemite and Devils Postpile. The roads into Yosemite (Rte 120) and through Tioga Pass were single lane roads, with places to turn out to let other cars go by. Included with this is a photo showing a short stretch up in the high country.

I believe that the Sierra Nevadas made a lasting impression on the man who had already climbed a few of the highest peaks in New England. The eight highest there range from 5,000 to 6,300 feet (1520- 1920 m) above sea level. But the fifty highest in the Sierras range from 8800 to 14500 (2680-4420 m) --none more than about 200 miles from sea level at the coast).

I think he couldn't wait to get back to the Sierras and Yosemite when we moved to California less than 10 years later. And again about 8 years after that. We went many times as a family.

==================

Footnotes

[1] they must've been in uniform

[2] my dad's frustration and anger about ill treatment of black people was well established by then--and not too many years later that caused him (a white male) to resign from a job he loved otherwise.

[3] Today, the median price for a home in San Francisco is $1,310,500. I'm not sure what Dad meant back then by a "5-room" bungalow--was that bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and--?  And I don't know what size home today's median price will get you, but likely not much more than a 2-or-3-bedroom attached house with little or no yard.



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Aching to be On The Road Again - Point Bonita

SUMMARY: Point Bonita Lighthouse.

These photos from visit in October 2015.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic Shelter In Place/Lockdown/Quarantine -- I've not been able to go anywhere since early January, first because of knee surgery, and then the virus moved in.  Antsy to just go everywhere.  So, thinking back to places I've been that I'd like to visit again.

I've been to Point Bonita Lighthouse twice, and I'm ready to go back and get more, more, more pix!

Just north of San Francisco. After crossing my beauty Golden Gate on the Golden Gate Bridge, take the first exit after the viewpoint and find your way west. Oh--sure--Modern Times--fine, just use your cell phone or other technological wonder of your choice.

If you'd never heard of it and had never been there and suddenly you saw a photo like this in a magazine, wouldn't you want to go and check it out?! I did! So I did!

This is the 2nd or 3rd bridge generation of the bridge.
Originally you could just walk to it. See that space in the middle underneath? One day a lot of that rock just fell away.
These cliffs are, after all, battered by mighty waves 24/7/365. No waiting, immediate service.
Current bridge  is up to par with current engineering practices.
The base of that arch wayyyy down there is 124 feet below the base of the lighthouse.
I would not try to kayak through there if I were you.

After you're out at the lighthouse, you can look back at the bridge and the cliffs and the amazing green water and pounding waves.

Really zoomed in. And enhanced a bit. I love this photo but not everyone does.

Its Fresnel ("fray-NELL") lens is still active. Fresnels are gorgeous bits of art and engineering.

From there, you can see parts of San Francisco (including the TransAmerica Tower pyramid)
and the entire Golden Gate Bridge.  This photo just shows part of it.
I struggle to get the colors of water and sky and everything correct.

So many smaller and bigger things to see on or from the trail down to the lighthouse. And the lighthouse has a small museum about its history and operation. I have so many photos! But never enough time to sit and work on them. You'll just have to go yourself.

You know what I hate about the lighthouse? Two things:

1. Your viewing options of it are limited unless you're on the water outside the Gate (pretty rough, and lots of mongo commercial traffic) or over on the San Francisco side with a reasonable zoom lens.
2. Access to it is very limited. Only a few hours on only a few days of the week and not at all if it's very windy or wet or foggy and never during the hours when you might be able to see the sunset behind it! No way to see the sunset behind it, really. If you google "point bonita lighthouse sunset", there are a few, but not many--must be cliff climbers or park staff or photogs by special arrangement...  Sigh.
P.S. No dogs allowed. Really, it would not be a safe trip for them.

But it is still worth multiple visits.

Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge: Made By Humans

SUMMARY: Was in San Francisco last weekend--

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One Lovely Sunday

SUMMARY: Wordless Wednesday. From sunrise in San Jose to sunset in San Francisco.

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Vacation Day 1: San Francisco, Stairs, and Irrigation

SUMMARY: Having a good time.

Yes, I'm doing things I want to do! I used to futz with broken & malfunctioning irrigation a lot, but then I stopped getting around to it, and now there are many issues. I'm liking getting my hands dirty and figuring things out!

But mainly what I did on Day 1, Saturday, was to go up to San Francisco for the day with my parents and a good friend who's been in my life for a very long time indeed.

We looked at some cheap camper vans for possible future rental, then bipped over to Pier 39. This is, indeed, a tourist spot, but it's a nicely done one. Lots of interesting shops, plenty of good restaurants (mostly specializing in fresh fish), and always gorgeous displays of flowers.

Looking out to the Pier 39 harbor in the bay.

Looking away from the bay towards land, you can see Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill nearby and the top of the famous triangle of the Transamerica building.

I bought a ton of fudge but managed to stay away from the ice cream shop. At the Italian/seafood restaurant we chose for lunch, this was the view from our table: San Francisco Bay, Tiburon, Alcatraz in the upper right, and plenty of sea lions on their own private docks (beyond the boat) with a railing where the tourists can enjoy them:

Pier 39 has quite a bit of entertainment, too: a farmer's market with fresh fruits and vegetables, a carousel, a little stage for performers, and other things.

For example, The Aquarium Of The Bay, which a small but nicely done touristy aquarium, with plenty of messages about saving our oceans, our water, and the water's inhabitants. Some gorgeous displays.

Several displays had jellyfish swooping their way around their tanks, with sometimes amazing lighting and colors.

The aquarium included two long tunnels through a giant tank in which fish swam above and around you.

Mom and Dad with a shark over their heads.

Sea stars (old fashioned name: "starfish") come in an amazing variety of shapes, textures, and colors, and there's a tank where you can touch them.

The back side of some sea stars.

And the back side of an abalone!

After that, we went in search of stairs.  First up, my dad wanted to find the bottom of the stairs up to Coit Tower. He's been up to the tower itself, but never up or down the stairs.  You can see only the first maybe 60 or 70 steps from the city streets, tucked back in alleyways redolent of stale trash bins.

The two sets of stairs have 378 and 397 steps. My friend and I walked up the first 100 steps and already got a bit of a view, but my legs weren't up to doing the whole thing, especially with mom and dad down in the car with nothing to do.

After that, we zigzagged across the city, up occasional steep hills and down the other side like a roller coaster drop-off, along lengthy boulevards sometimes with no traffic, me driving and my dad navigating via paper map (they've always done a lot of exploring and he knew quite a bit about the city streets).  That included a trip through the Robert Levy Tunnel (that's my dad's name, although --full disclosure--the tunnel has a different middle initial than his).

While we were stopped at a traffic light, my friend suddenly pointed out that City Lights Bookstore was right across from us! I was able to snap a shot before the light turned green.

We took a random detour along Broadway, across the top of a hill looking out over the city and the sea with the most amazing mansions that I had no idea were there.  As with many mansions around the world, this one had a giant 10-foot-tall robot overlooking the street.  Upon closer examination of the photo, I am able to determine that it appears to be a male robot. I wonder what their neighbor mansions think of that?

Just up the road from Giant Robot, we found this set of serene landscaped steps off Broadway leading down to who knows where.

But what a great view out over the lowland homes of the proletariat to the sailboats in the bay. (No sign of the America's Cup World Cup racers, just signs everywhere along the Embarcadero about it.)

Taking another random zigzag towards our real goal (coming up in a moment), we chanced upon this gorgeous church, Saint Ignatius, glowing with a golden tint in the late afternoon light.

Say what you will about religions, they sure have contributed some art and architecture that touches one's aesthetic heart. We pulled into a convenient parking spot, got out, and took a zillion photos. Here's one close-up

Directly across the street is the more subtle Carmelite Chapel and Monastery of Cristo Rey, but it had its own treasures:

(My experiment in black and white photography for the day:)

Then, finally, we arrived at our main destination: The Moraga Steps. It's a mere 163 steps straight down the hill to 16th Street. Looks pretty ordinary from here.

But here's why were were looking for these steps:

If you like this, I've posted another dozen photos showing details of the steps.

Then it was home and back to work on the irrigation!

Side Trip to San Francisco Presidio

SUMMARY: Wordless Wednesday--Sittin' on the dock of the bay, browsing the Disney Family Museum, and other teaser photos from Saturday. More coming in a couple of days.