Wednesday, September 30th

Wednesday broke clear and cool with a low of about 48 degrees. Thankfully, the wind had died down it looked promising for a bright and sunny day.

Bruce took Wednesday off so he could get ready for his 10 day vacation on an east coast beach. While he ran errands and did chores I did the usual webstering and emailing. I was able to get up to Farley's a bit earlier this time and settled in with a cup of coffee, the latest copy of the Guardian and my laptop.

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I asked one of the local CoffeeCuties to take this picture.
Looks just like me...

Today's plan was to visit Grandview Park and the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project. This was another of Colette Crutcher's design projects. She also designed and installed the beautiful Tonantsin Renace. I had been looking at the photos of the steps for months and was excited about seeing them for myself and taking my own pictures.

I confirmed my bus route by looking at my newly acquired transportation map. Since it was getting on towards 1:00 and my stomach was growling I decided I get off the 22 bus at Market and then walk up to Castro where I new there was a Pasta Pomodoro.

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Ridin' the 22.

I got off at Market as planned and walked up to Castro Street, then crossed over when I spotted the Pasta Pomodoro's store front. To my surprise and disappointment it was closed - permanently. It had been open at this location for 10 years and had just closed in August. Another victim of the "economic turndown"? Or perhaps they just got to big for their britches. Hard to say.

Knowing I would not get far without some fuel I started looking for another place to eat. I saw nothing that struck my fancy and I decided to look for something on my way out to the Inner Sunset. So, I walked up to the Duboce Park Station and waited for the next N Judah to arrive.

 

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This section of Noe Street from Market to Duboce Park is nicely treed with lots of beautiful, well kept houses.

 

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The Duboce Park Station. Here the train enters a tunnel and emerges nearly a mile later at Clayton Street in the Haight.

As soon as we emerged from the tunnel I started looking like lunch prospects. I saw several promising places, but, in order to avoiding reboarding the N, I wanted to find something within walking distance of my destination. Finally, I had to disembark of pass the area where I needed to start climbing up to Grand View Park. I ended up getting go off at 18th and Judah. When I looked down Judah I could see 19th Ave and lots of traffic. Turns out 19th Ave is also Scenic Highway 1 and a main North/South artery.

I walked down to 19th and I could see the intersection of Irving might be promising for some grub. I headed that way and hit the jackpot. As I looked down Irving Street I could see lots of Noodle Joints (Pho). I crossed over and started peeking in windows. One of the places was packed - and all the customers were Asian. This must be the place. So, through the door of Pho Phu Quoc (1816 Irving St - between 19th & 20th Avenues) I did walk.

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The entire front of the place was packed with what looked like high school kids.

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It was now about 1:30 and Pho Phu Quoc was packed. I got the only seat left, right by the front door.

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The waitress brought a pot of hot tea and I ordered the Satay Beef Noodle Soup. "Well done brisket in PPG's signature spicy Satay beef broth with Pho". Malaysian Satay is not the same as the Vietnamese condiment, “sate”, which typically includes ground chili, onion, tomato, shrimp, oil, and nuts. Vietnamese sate is commonly served alongside noodle and noodle-soup dishes.

The garnish arrived first. Thai basil leaves, bean sprouts, sliced jalapenos and a slice of lemon.

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Yummy! Hot and spicy, just the way I like it.

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A close up of the razor thin beef, the noodles and some sliced tomatoes.

This was the "small" - $6.50.

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Everyone one was enjoying their meal. These folks accross from me were dipping their beef in a mix of hiosan sauce and red chili paste. OUCH! My bowl was hot enough "as is" and by the time I was through with it I was mopping my brow with a napkin.

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Any messages?

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I am happiest when not hungry.

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There were out of takeout menus so here are some shots of the pages of the in house menus.

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Fueled up and ready to go I started the climb up to Moraga street which would lead me to the Steps.

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My first glimpse of the steps leading up to the park.

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When I got to the base of the steps there were two young ladies rummaging through a day pack. They, like me were obviously visitors to the Stairs.

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Meet Lois and Mandy, two school teachers from South Africa.

After talking to them for a while I found out Mandy had won a trip to LA so the two of them decided to go on a 24 day Holiday which started in LA and would include San Francisco, Yosemite, Las Vegas and ??? Who knows where these two might end up! They were having a great time (like I was) exploring San Fran by bus and on foot.

It turns out Lois was as much of a shutterbug as I am so we had fun taking pictures of the steps and each other. Her camera was a bit of and antique - as far as digitals go. It was a 4 year old, 4 mega pixel Olympus if I remember correctly. And from the looks of it, must have been one of the high end cameras of it's day.

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My photos can't do the steps justice, but I hope you enjoy looking at them.

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The artistry and craftsmanship are stunning.

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Incredible! Beautiful!

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Looking back down the steps to Moraga and the beach.

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The three of us climbed the next set of steps which led to the summit of the park. There were fabulous views in every direction. Although difficult to make out, the Golden Gate bridge is far left/center.

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Many of the bases of the trees were covered with the this fern. It reminded me of Licorice Fern (Polypodium glychorizza)

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What a view!!

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For some reason, this photo and the next one had the backgrounds completely out of focus. I had just given my camera a good whack on one of the rocks and that might be the reason. Fortunately, the problem did not persist.

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After this photo I said my good byes to Lois and Mandy. I was really glad to have seen someone else out on their own exploring the City. They will certainly have some great stories and photos to share upon their return home.

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I retraced my steps and stopped for bit to take in this view of the ocean. I was puzzled by the large flat area in the center of the photo and I hope to find out what it is.

NOTE: Freind JB asked: "Is it sunset reservoir?"

Sunset Reservoir is one of three terminal reservoirs in the Regional Water System in San Francisco, California.

The reservoir is the city's largest reservoir and is located in the Sunset District at 24th Avenue and Ortega Street, is owned and maintained by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Completed in 1960, the subterranean aquifer was constructed as an 11 acres (4.5 ha), 330 x 155 metres (1000 x 500 ft), concrete basin, now containing 720 floor-to-ceiling columns.

With its maximum depth of 10 m (33 ft), the reservoir's capacity is 270 acre·ft (330 dam³) with average daily flows of 46 acre·ft (57 dam³) through 42-inch (1.1 m) inlet/outlet pipes.

The Sunset Solar Project, scheduled for completion in 2010, would deploy 25,000 solar panels on the 480,000 sq ft (45,000 m2) roof of the reservoir. Currently resembling an abandoned parking lot, after installation, the 5-megawatt plant will more than triple the city's current 2-megawatt solar generation capacity.

Source: WikiPedia

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These rosette shaped succulents where planted all over the hillside. Some of them were as big as dinner plates.

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I couldn't resist a final shot looking back up the steps.

Next stop: the dim sum shops and bakeries of the 9th and Clement area.

I walked back down to Judah, caught the N and got off at 9th where I picked up the 44 O'Shaughnessy which went though Golden Gate Park, passing the King Tut exhibit, The DeYoung Museum, Music Concourse, Japanese Tea Garden and the California Academy of Sciences.

I got off at 6th Avenue, the end of the line for the 44 and headed down Clement towards 9th avenue. This area if often referred to as "Little Chinatown".

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Here we are at Good Luck Dim Sum (736 Clement St- between 8th & 9th Avenues) . I always have to get my Cha siu baau fix when I am in SF so I always come here and get the steamed pork BBQ buns. They are cheap and filling - 3 for $1.35. I have to question how healthy they are, but I figger a half dozen or so every couple of years is not going to kill me.

 

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Little Chinatown indeed. This is the location where I now get my Orejas or "ears". They are cheaper here than in the Mission bakeries have tried and I like the Chinese version better.

This bakery, now called the Cherry Blossom Bakery (844 Clement St - between 10th & 9th Avenues) was the Napoleon Super Bakery when I was here in 2007.

After snacking one of the bow I packed up my goodies and headed back down Clement to find a bus stop for the 2 Clement which would take me to my next stop - Fillmore Street. As my luck has been going lately I got to the bus stop just a the 2 was pulling out. So, after about a 15 minute wait I was headed towards my old neighborhood. I got off at Fillmore and Sutter and started up the street. I came to the old Fillmore Glass and Hardware building where I worked as a teenager. Although I have several photos already, I could not pass by without taking a shot of the place.

 

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Just as I was ready to snap the shot this guy popped into the frame. Just a panhandler looking for some "spare change". Although most of them seem to not use this phrase any more. Instead they tell you they need a specific amount for a specific reason. Such as, "Hey buddy, you have 75 cents so I can get a cup of coffee?"

 

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I continued on up Fillmore to Broadway wanting to take in the view. The Golden Gate Bridge is off to the left out of view and straight ahead is the Marin Headlands, Sausalito and Tiburon areas.

I then wandered back down Fillmore like I had done so many times in the past. There were lots of nicely dressed folks out sitting at the sidewalk cafes, chatting and having drinks. I walked back down to Sutter, caught the 22, which was quite full and got fuller with each stop. I always enjoy watching the musical chairs as people get on and get off.

I got back to the apartment about 6:30 and Bruce greeted me with "I just finished packing up!". He was definitely ready for a vacation. We hung out until about 9:00 when his ride to the airport showed up. I hit the sack and had a fitful night filled with disconcerting dreams of dead and dying friends.

 

 

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