San Fran - Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies

 A couple of famous spots in San Francisco is Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies.  

Lombard street is a very steep road (steeper than most in SF and that is saying something) and to counter the force of gravity they have constructed it with a series of switch backs lined with gardens on the boulevards.  We walked up the street and it was a heart thumper.

On the way to Lombard street were a row of houses very typical of SF.  
1st floor consisted of the garage and 2nd and 3rd floors was the living space.  
Very interesting architecture and lots of vibrant colours.

Lombard Street.  It's one way and a good test of your brakes.  
Its only about 1 city block long but the climb up the sidewalk was a workout.

Looking back down Lombard St with a view of the bay. 

One of the many street cars

The painted ladies is the name given to a series of Victorian houses each with distinctive  paint jobs.  Across the street is a very nice park and behind is a great view of the SF skyline.    

The 7 Victorian style houses is quite the attraction but they are not the only
victorian style houses in the area. 

A closeup of one of the ladies.  
All are very well maintained.  
Would be curious what the inside is like. 

Next up a series of shots of the SF Bridge from various vantage points before moving on the Yosemite National Park.  

California Continued

 After a rather long hiatus I am back to continue documenting our Snowbird 22/23 adventure.  I can't explain why I took such a long break other than the number of edits that I have before me is somewhat overwhelming and motivation was hard to find.   In about 4 weeks we will be departing for our Newfoundland trip which we are really looking forward to and this will mean more pictures so better get at 'er. 

Rare sighting of California Tree Hugger

Gloomy day in the Napa Valley.
Sun broke through to highlight the fall colours in the vineyard. 

Sausalito.  Looking across the bay at San Francisco. 

Another shot from Sausalito.  Great day for sailing

Not sure how this thing worked but surfing without waves was not a problem

Lands end lookout.

Lands end lookout. 

   

A few more from the California coast before we moved inland.  

San Francisco - Fort Point and a Golden Gate Sunset

 Underneath the south end of the Golden Gate bridge is Fort Point.  The fort was constructed before the American Civil War to defend San Francisco Bay against enemy warships.  The fort is now a national historic site which was unfortunately not open for viewing when we were there.  However it does provide a unique perspective of the bridge.  

Alcatraz in the distance. 

The fort on the left.  This was as close as we could get.  

We had a perfect view of this sunset unfortunately we were in our hotel room.  Turned out ok considering it was taken through our room window.