Last days.

So we found San Francisco less unpleasant and overwhelming on our return. We went over twice on the ferry from Sausalito. A bit of sun helps, but also the energy we got from the young people we met up with. The brother of our daughter -in-law lives there, with his American partner and we spent an evening with them. We hadn’t met either of them before but of course felt like we knew Ben, whom we have heard so much about.

Anyway , he has lived in the States for ten years and they have been in San Francisco for two, so we got a bit of a different perspective. And in our own travels we saw another part of the city . We were at the City Hall during a rally for better mental health care, and just along the road from that there was a portable shower set up for the homeless, which had a really positive energy to it.

I know the social issues here are immense, and it may be that San Francisco is an accepting kind of town to provide so many on the street services for the mentally ill, and they should be applauded for that effort.

We also found our way into a local cafe/diner on a long walk through town. There was a woman with Parkinson’s disease, a guy with Downs Syndrome, lots of very old people having lunch, and two servers with tattoos and nose rings. Outside, a guy with one leg sat in his electric wheelchair watching the world go by and another bizarrely dressed street person went through the bins. It probably doesn’t sound that attractive, but was somehow just fine, and fun and friendly, and part of the rich tapestry of that city. Our male server, who had a big booming voice, told me that every hour in the Bell Tower (the name of the establishment) is happy hour, and the warmth and camaraderie seemed to indicate that.

Down at Fisherman’s wharf the buskers were out and some were very talented. And the vendors spruik and create drama. Further along, the sea lions are having their own dramas on the floats, where they clearly have a very large colony . As a new sea lion leaves the water to find its spot (always with the others, never on one of the empty pontoons ) they all honk and carry on, creating a great tourist attraction, while being out of every one else’s way.

We really enjoyed going back to a place we knew, namely the Hotel Sausalito and enjoyed our walks there and watching the ferry come and go. We found a great pizza restaurant on the water that has a bocce pitch. It really is a lovely place and I was even getting to recognise the dogs. It has a small town feel in spite of being densely populated.

And now here we are at last in San Francisco airport waiting to start the long trek home. Maybe I can gather some thoughts and conclusions on it all, but right now I have to board! See you on the other side.