Sunday, October 14, 2012

Stairway Walks of San Francisco

The weather on Saturday was beautiful, perfect for another stairway walk in San Francisco. Patrick picked me up at o'dark thirty and we headed to the Pleasanton BART station to catch the 7:01 AM train. I was surprised at the number of riders on BART at that hour. I expected most people to be sleeping in on a Saturday morning. Patrick and I reviewed the Stairway Walks of San Francisco book during the train ride and decided to link four routes for today's walk. We exited at the 16th St. Mission station, walked a few blocks to Cafe Flore, and enjoyed a nice breakfast of cappuccino and croissant.

Fully energized and partially awake, we started our walk at 9 AM. The walks were all in the relatively compact region in the Castro and Noe Valley area. We completed the routes in Corona Heights (Walk 19), Upper Market (Walk 18), Eureka Valley (Walk 20), and Dolores Heights (Walk 21). Patrick is a great tour guide, reading the route summaries and descriptions, and keeping us on track. Although I purchased my own copy of the book, it was largely buried in my bag as I kept myself occupied with my camera.

We completed our four routes in four hours and by 1 PM, were ready for lunch. We walked along 24th street through Noe Valley and decided to have lunch at a casual Middle Eastern place. While the name of the restaurant escapes me, I did enjoy the lamb wrap. I asked for "not spicy" because we still had a long BART ride home. After our quick lunch, we continued to the 24th St. Mission BART station and made our way back home to Pleasanton. It was a wonderful day to be a tourist in my own town, with perfect weather, an interesting hike, and great company. I'm looking forward to the next stairway walk...

Somewhere in SF

Valencia Street

Corona Heights Mannequin

Trail Closed

Walked Away

San Francisco

No! No! No! No Parking!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

14/52 - Hope by Wayne-K
14/52 - Hope, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Guys, you have my authorization to wear pink this month...

Hope