TO "MY CITY BY THE BAY"!

Leaving Morgan Hill we decided to take the somewhat slower but infinitely more scenic route of I-280 to San Francisco. This freeway once had the distinction of being one of the most scenic routes in the country and it is no less beautiful today. It winds along the

bayside slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains on its way north passing between the bay cities and the Crystal Springs Reservoirs. Yes, reservoirs, as there are actually two of them end to end for some twelve miles along the rift valley formed by the famed San Andreas Fault of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 fame. The reservoirs are a part of the San Francisco water supply system built by the then City Engineer at the turn of the century, about 1900. His name was O’Shaughnessy, a far sighted Civil Engineer who somehow managed to build dams and reservoirs in the Yosemite National Park then bring the water to the Crystal Springs through a series of six to eight foot diameter pipes (Aqueducts) 160 plus miles long. Without this system, the City by the Bay and surrounding cities could not exist as they are. Of course the system has been upgraded over the years and now serves over two million people. The reservoirs and surrounding watershed lands were bought by the City and are owned and operated by them. There is no public access to the reservoirs and although there are many fish in the water, no boats or fishing is allowed.

So we had a magnificent view of the hills and reservoirs on our way to “The City” and then the freeway swings over the hilltop to show an overwhelming view of the bay. We were fortunate to have a truly beautiful summer day with no sign of the traditional fog that always follows a few days of sunshine. Leaving the freeway, we dropped down through San Bruno and then climbed back up to the Elks Lodge on a hillside in South San Francisco where we will stay for a week while visiting our old “home town.”
We were then off to visit our friends the Lutz’s (remember Santa Barbara?) who took us off to lunch at a Dim Sum restaurant on Clement Street. Clement is the “new” Chinatown of San Francisco replacing Grant Ave. which has become primarily for tourists, whereas Clement is not a tourist attraction and provides all the necessities for the Chinese community. The ladies spent time in KAMEI, a large store for house wares with some 50 feet of shelving with different electric rice cookers, alone. We then were off to Twin Peaks for a magnificent view of San Francisco and the Bay from Oakland past Alcatraz and then the Golden Gate and the great Pacific Ocean. Twin Peaks are some 950 high in the center of the city and provide wonderful views of the bay. Of course I had neglected to bring my camera for this opportunity, sob!!

<>

Thursday we visited the gravesite of my parents in Colma and then it was off to the Tanforan Mall where Fran satisfied her shopping fix and we took in a movie, “The Prince of Persia”, good show! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That’s all for now folks!