Day 38: San Francisco to Modesto, CA

It's great to be back in the Central Valley -- not. 9pm here and it's 91 degrees. Sparkle's A/C seemed suspiciously weak today in S.F. so I turned it off in hopes of saving it for when I really need it. Like tomorrow -- where it's expected to be over 100 degrees for at least a couple days. Sheesh -- it's September already and I had hoped things would start to cool for us by now on our return trip. I doubt I'll be able to find Nik and Grem anywhere to swim tomorrow either.

I felt very sad to be leaving the coast today -- not just because of the nice weather but also because I don't have any clear idea when I'll be back in California. One week to get back home and start paying for this trip. The reality of closure is starting to set in -- but I'm anxious to settle down and straighten out my life. Six weeks is WAY too long to be away but I really wanted to cover the West Coast in a serious way since it's a long drive out here.

On with the photos! There probably won't be as many per posting from here on out as I'll be stuck in the driver's seat more than usual.

The seagulls at Fisherman's Wharf seem to have the good life. This guy seemed exceptionally clean and self-confident as he assessed whether I might have snacks for him.



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The Palace of Fine Arts has always been one of my favorite S.F. buildings. Unfortunately, the main rotunda was covered with scaffolding for restoration. So you'll have to settle for a couple shots of the other part of the building and a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Fine_Arts





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Just north of the Presidio, there was a breast cancer installation with hundreds of pink tents. I wish I had had the time to find a better vantage point as it was visually stunning.
http://cms.komen.org/komen/NewsEvents/BreastCancer3-Day/index.htm



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At least Haight-Ashbury hasn't changed all that much in 25+ years:









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While I was there in the Haight, there were some people working the crowds promoting and demonstrating this Polaroid Pogo printer that hooks up to your digital camera or camera phone. I can't think of any use for it myself -- but other people seemed into the concept:
http://globetrottingv.blogspot.com/2008/08/tech-travel-polaroid-pogo.html
http://www.polaroid.com/pogo/us/





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I saw a couple of these neat little tour buses around town. They have a really neat ooo-ga horn:
http://www.mrtoadstours.com/



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No one's gonna miss the Pacific more than my little boy, Nik. He really, really wanted to get out on this stretch of beach this afternoon -- but he'd already been swimming twice today and his poopie is getting loose again. I'll miss his squealing and whimpering fondly in retrospect once this trip is over.



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On the other hand, Fixie is dead tired at this point. Her reaction when we pull over for beach time is more like "do we have to?" She really likes when I put the armrest down so she can use it as a pillow. She will be SO happy to be home.



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A cute bunch of houses on the same block -- shot just minutes before leaving town:





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And about an hour later, we had arrived in hot, hot Pleasanton. A nicely painted mural shows what the local landscape looks like: