California Dreaming

We only had one day in LA before heading to San Francisco, so what to see and do that we hadn't already seen and done in the USA? Easy... 

Obviously, Universal Studios is aimed primarily at families and the younger generation, both in terms of the movies on which the displays are based and in terms of the style of the rides. That didn't stop us enjoying it all, even though we were the only grandparents not chaperoned by grandchildren... 

The overwhelming impression was the attention to detail, especially in their Harry Potter village. However, that was all a facade, and we knew that behind the faux block walls was steel, concrete and timber framing. 

There was one notable exception, one of the outdoor stages for the movie War Of The Worlds. The relevant scene called for a crashed 747 airliner. So they bought one, and 'crashed' it into a model of a town. 

Yup, a real, entire 747, cut into pieces and strewn all over the set. No wonder some movies cost so much to make... 

San Francisco served an even bigger dose of reality. Like many cities, there are homeless. Sad but it happens, and San Francisco has by no means the largest percentage of homeless in the US. However, for some unknown reason, in San Francisco the homeless are very visible, especially in the historic Mission District where we were staying, with tents and other makeshift shelters in abundance. Some of these mini shanty towns looked about as tidy as the 747 photo above. 

There's much debate locally about the causes and possible solutions and our very generous host, Lloyd, made what I thought was a very valid comment. Someone had apparently written a letter to the editor claiming that the homeless population adds to the character of the community, basically arguing that it was not a problem at all, and that instead of worrying about it the homeless should be left alone to occupy tents and similar makeshift shelters. Lloyd observed that he had never met any person who thought that homeless people living on city sidewalks was a good idea, so wondered where the author of the letter lived? Presumably they had no firsthand experience of the problem, from either side of the equation. 

Having said that, San Francisco was great. We explored Golden Gate Park and the De Young Museum, Hippy Central in Haight Ashbury, plus the famous hills, cable car, and Chinatown. The streets of San Francisco may have homeless in parts, but they also have charm, energy and history. 

Speaking of history, we naturally visited Alcatraz. 

Alcatraz didn't house 'the worst of the worst' as popularly portrayed. To get sent there you had to have tried to escape elsewhere, assaulted a prison officer, or be an unusually high profile prisoner. Not that they were otherwise nice people, just that they weren't necessarily the worst criminals. 

Regardless of how they got there, Alcatraz apparently treated them all the same. 

The audio tour included commentary from staff and inmates, and it was interesting how some prisoners learnt from their experience and became successful to varying degrees in the outside world after release, while others simply returned to crime. We joined a free tour covering the escapes, and one such prisoner had a tragic life of repeat offending and repeat incarceration pretty much all his adult life. As the tour guide observed "Sadly, there's no cure for stupid". 

Moving back to Pier 39, we discovered a different group of residents that could have gone anywhere they liked but instead freely chose to hang around a marina. It got so bad that the port built permanent platforms for their benefit away from the boats, much to the delight of locals and tourists generally and boat owners particularly :

Some of the sea lions were happily sleeping, while others seemed to be fighting for their spot. It was not clear to us why the latter group simply didn't stretch out on any of the 20 other vacant platforms. Presumably they have the same thought processes as the recidivist offenders at Alcatraz referenced above. 

The final famous attraction was Golden Gate Bridge, so after checking out all the facts and figures in the information centre, we walked across. 

The observant amongst you will note the evident and seemingly ever present fog in the photos, and will have to take our word for it that the ocean winds were funneling through at high speed. Very bracing... 

We continued on down the hill to Sausalito to discover this weather :

Looking back towards Golden Gate probably explains the geographic interface between land, harbour and ocean more eloquently :

So farewell to California, land of Hollywood, hippies and homeless; sun, sea, sand and fog. 

Next stop, Bahamas. 

In the hurricane season. 

What could go wrong?....