A day in San Francisco

San Francisco is a fun place to travel. The people there are generally nice and laid back.If you are a tourist, there are plenty of things to do. On one of my last trips to San Francisco I played the tourist. I started off the day with a nice walk across the Golden Gate bridge.

From the bridge one can get a great view of alcatraz if the weather is right.

Coming back from walking across the bridge, you can take a jog down the San Francisco Bay Trail to Fort Mason to get another view of the bridge and end up in Fisherman’s Wharf.
The Fisherman’s Wharf can be quite crowded most of the year and it is really not my favorite part of town. However there is a gem in fisherman’s wharf, it is called the Musée Mécanique. This museum contains hundreds of old-school coin operated games and mechanical instruments.They are constantly refurbishing and adding new things. I loved spending time in this place.

After spending a couple hours in the museum, you can take the street car up to the top of Lombard Street. You can spend time watching cars maneuver the steep and curvy turns. There is also some spectacular views from there.

Coit Tower in the distance.

At some point you can go to the park where the famous Victorian homes used in the show Full House reside. Now you got the song stuck in your head, don’t you??

One last architectural gem in the city is the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. I only got to drive by it. One day I stop and check it out in person.

Found Photo : San Francisco

I recently found some photos I took in 2011 during a trip to San Franscisco that I never edited. I had a chance this morning to edit them using Lightroom and the Tone Curve. Back when I took the pictures I thought they were so terrible that not even photoshop could save them. Using the Curve tool, I have made them look slightly better.

Sutro Baths

Photo Challenge: Day 25 – Framing

This was an example of framing using natural light. I was in a cave that was part of the Sutro Baths in San Francisco, California. There was a cave opening that allowed water to flow in and out. I took this opportunity to practice some framing. It is not a traditional frame but a frame no less.

From Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge: Day 24 – Storybook illustration

This photo was taken on one of the trails that are near the Sutro Baths in San Francisco, California. I thought these trees had a great look to them. While editing the photo I created what looks very similar to an illustration you would see in a storybook.

From Photo Challenge

Harvest and Death

I am going to rename my garden the okra and tomato garden since that is all that will grow right now and the tomato part is a stretch since they have yet to fully ripe. The garden overall is not doing well. Problem number one is the nasty Florida heat. Plants burn to death during the day in the direct sun. Problem number two is lack of or too much water. I can’t seem to get the watering correct, things either dry out or get too much water which leads to a moldy death. Problem number three is I went away to California last week and wasn’t keeping a close eye on things. I had my husband looking over the garden but it isn’t the same and to his defense, much was already dead before I left.
I had high hopes of a late summer of zucchini and summer squash, but they have all died. I think their demise is the result of mold and possibly a pest such as the vine borer. The garden has produced one summer squash and one spaghetti squash (see pic above) before the collapse of the squash empire. Next season I plan to use insecticidal soap or the equivalent and see if I get different results (I used nothing this time).
The bean empire is also slowly collapsing. I attribute their death to lack of sun due to the okra shading the whole bean square and the lack of timely harvesting. To keep beans in constant production, you are supposed to harvest frequently. I have been neglecting them. The harvest you see in the picture above is probably the part of the last group unless I am lucky.
Okra on the other hand is doing magnificently. This figures since I don’t really care for okra and didnt really care if it grew. I did learn today that the extremely large okra that I harvested is practically inedible. It is supposed to be harvested while young or it gets woody.
On a positive note, there is still hope for the cherry and juliet tomatoes. I have seemed to keep the catepillars and other pests at bay. I will keep you posted on those.
My visit to California reinforced my envy of their climate. They have half the problems we have here, at least in the San Diego area. The only downfall is the dryness and the fact that they are still waiting for tomatoes because of the unusually cold summer.
In the future, I have a trip planned to Provence. I cannot wait to view to lovely bounty produced there. My only hope is that my garden does not die while I am gone. My timing is pretty lousey for all this traveling if I wanted to produce a bountiful fall season. Wish me the best!