Enjoying the Sunny Weather Once Again

For the last few days I’ve been getting up super-early to get all my work done so I can enjoy these warm January afternoons. I have found them to do more to make me feel good than just about anything else. (It is also nice to send pictures of the thermometer on Irving Street to all those folks back east in the blizzard that rag on SF).

Yesterday I took a ride on the F Line, and ended up staying on all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf. Normally that’s not my kind of place to hang out, but I took some nice pictures of the boats and stuff. I also pulled a prank on that annoying “Bushman” guy who makes loud noises behind some branches. Now, normally I ignore such people as the kind of irritant one has in Our Fair City, but while taking pictures of fishing boats, I noticed he did his trademark nonsense that scared the crap out of a small, developmentally disabled child.

So, in a bit of Street Justice, I walked past him and before he could do anything I leaned in slightly, waved my arms and shouted “BLEAHHH!” (but not in a threatening manner). The tourists who were standing around saw this and were both shocked and amused.

Yeah, I know, right? Maybe it was a “had to be there moment.”

I ended up taking the cable car home, and decided to try out my phone’s video camera. The video I shot was so-so, but what made it fun at all was the fact that an 80 year old gentleman named Hubert boarded at Union Street who was really nice. He wanted to stand on the outside, but the conductor insisted he sit down, so he exchanged places with a kid from Australia. We soon got to learn a lot about SF from Hubert, who grew up in Chinatown. It was one of those “Why San Francisco is an awesome place to live” moments, for sure.

At the end of our ride, Rigo, our conductor, gave a short talk about how the brakes work for some tourists so I shot that too.

Overall it was nice. Today I haven’t been so fortunate to get out of the home office like I wanted, but I hear we’ve got maybe one more day of this weather, so tomorrow I’ll try and get out and do one last roundup of pictures and videos, iPhone battery permitting.

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3 Responses to Enjoying the Sunny Weather Once Again

  1. Bob Davis says:

    Your comment about Hubert reminded me of the time I was having a traditional bowl of buffalo stew at Tommye’s Joynt when an older man asked if the seat across from me was taken. I said, “No, have a seat.” Turned out he was a native San Franciscan, and the house he was born in had been torn down to make way for the present City Hall! Talk about living history. (I feel like the “2000 year old man” when I tell newcomers about the days when the San Gabriel Valley was full of orange groves.)

  2. Greg says:

    @bob: awesome story. I like that Tommy’s Joynt is one of the few constants left in an ever changing city. The fact that so many SF celebs, including Dianne Feinstein (!) like the place is cool, but even cooler are all the memories people have of going there with their dad on a Saturday, having a hot pastrami or a buffalo stew, and enjoying the ephemera of the place. I really really hope it lasts another 50 years.
    Hubert was awesome. He exuded such a wonderful postive energy and was such a nice guy, you couldn’t help but feel better as he sang “Waltzing Matilda” to the Aussie tourists. They later got a pic taken with him.
    I wish the video I shot was better, we were all jammed together in the front and all, but the next time I board, I shall try and shoot a better video.

  3. Graham says:

    Whenever I visit San Francisco I go for a cable car ride. I’ve watched the operators change out a grip in the middle of the road next to the car barn so, dare I say it, I know how they work. I was amazed when a couple of 30 something males on a California car asked how it collected electricity to drive itself and they were equally amazed when the idea of the cable and grip was explained.

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