First time in over five years that I visited San Francisco.  Walked down to the Mission District today and saw several houses in Noe Valley that were gutted for remodeling.  In the West Portal Area I saw one former one story home that was remodeled and is now two story.  There's hardly anything other than the front door and steel mail box that was left of the original structure.

Downtown South of Market is very different.  New skyscrapers challenge the Pyramid building for being the tallest building in the city.  The buildings around the Transbay Terminal are all new as is the Transbay Terminal itself.  

The average house in the Richmond District is now $2 mil and even the Bayshore District is much better too.  

They had high winds (80 mph) a few weeks ago and a lot of big trees came down.  DPW has been busy chopping them up for removal and disposal.  I didn't see much in the way of damaged roofs like I saw in Colorado.

Despite all the modernization, there are more potholes today than there were five years ago.  The city politicians rather spend their money on homeless and other lefty causes.

Food is as good as ever.

Still a shithole

I work there 2 days a week.  If the money wasn't so damn good I would never cross the bridge again.

There were 15-20+ tower cranes in the city & just south of the city when I was there about a month ago.  Plenty of construction going on for sure...

Walked down from Market/Grand View down to 25th and Mission to shop for purple corn.  Hard on the muscles around the shin because of the steepness.  E/R through Noe Valley I saw quite a bit of construction with homes being remodeled.  Two were gutted in their entirety and ony the shell remains (talk about big $$$).  

At the Mission, I noticed that the place is becoming gentrified.  More Chinese shops and plenty of caucasians there. Fewer latinos than before.  Mind you, we used to go to the Mission in the '70s when it was predominantly Mexican and it was perfectly safe.  Then the immigrants came in (other South/Central Americans) who hated each other and then the gang problems arose ('80s-90s).  Still got some sh*tty areas like 24th and Mission and 16th and Mission but the place is improving.

Didn't eat down there and settled for a French hard roll sourdough based sandwich back in my old neighborhood.

Major pot holes, among other street issues.

I read some articles today about high home prices in L.A. like San Francisco, driving up prices an hour or two from the city center. Also, San Diego prices are the only ones still going up. San Francisco plateaued, SF Gate said prices up, new sales down.

SF has changed on many levels. People I know who own businesses there are planning to leave once it's viable for them

Gung Hay Fat Choy!  It's the day of the Chinatown New Year's Parade but never mind that.   Walked from the Montgomery St. Bart/Muni Station up along Post to Grant and then from Grant to Columbus.  Plenty of stalls set up in celebration of the New Year.  It's off to feed my stomach so off to the places of my childhood and youth.

Liguria Bakery on Stockton and Filbert is still as good as ever.  $5.50 for focaccia bread (pizza, mushroom, garlic, rosemary, onion ($5.25) or $5 for plain with nothing on it).  They still wrap it in paper with butcher paper on the outside.  That is, unless you want it sliced in which case they wrap it in paper and put it in to brown paper bag.

Molinari Deli (West side of Columbus Street between Broadway and Green) is the only Italian Deli left from my childhood days.  Bought mortadella from them today.  The other two that were on Stocton (between Green and Greenwhich) are long gone.  Firenze by Night is still there and it's a five star Italian restuarant but they weren't open yet.

There are more people in California than Canada.  Aside from the self-inflicted social wounds, that kind of population growth is going to make everything change.  And not usually for the better.  We drove through and into San Francisco a couple of times this last fall on vacation, avoiding rush hour, but while some parts were quite pleasant, it's still a city that can't help but have population induced problems.  We tried to visit the embarcadero area and ride the streetcars, visit the wharf for old times sake but didn't want to handle the midweek crowds, the mess and the parking.  OTOH Golden Gate Park was pretty and some of the areas we drove through looked just like you'd think San Francisco would, victorian houses, steep hills, ethnic diversity around North Beach and Chinatown, etc.  I think we'd like to spend some more time there but we were trying to relax and hadn't worked up a game plan for the visit.  Maybe next time we'll plan it out.  But our main destinations were the Monterey area and then north of the bay in Sonoma coast and wine country.

Apparently no matter what the various ballot measures said, we're going to waste a ton of money on a high speed rail system and not on improving the urban infrastructure issues.

North Beach Restaurant is still there. Lorenzo is gone.  RIP

It wasn't so bad when Willie was mayor. 

US Restaurant moved across the street.  They had closed for a while and reopened with a high class place taking its former place. Victoria Bakery moved from Stockton and Green to Powell and Filbert.  New Pisa Restaurant on Greenwich is now closed. I used to get lunch there on Tuesday when they had prime rib.  What used to be Pagoda movie theatre is long gone and an apartment structure with store front is being built there.  Coit Liquors on Union between Columbus and Powell is still there.  The SF Atheletic Club is still there and is housed in the Knights of Columbus Bldg on Stockton (near the Post Office).  Mama's on the corner opposite of Liguria Bakery is still a busy breakfast place.

I walked down to the old Barbary Coast on Pacific Ave toward the park and the parking lot on Pacific and Sansome is still there. How do they remain just a parking lot escapes me.  Land is so expensive.  Wandered around the Embarcadero and noticed they now have a Susan Bierman Park.  Decades ago when there was a proposed 5 story residential home proposed on a hill directly behind my house, Susan Bierman sat on the Planning Commission and help nix it.  Many neighbors and myself had shown up to voice our concerns and she heard it.  Many years later when Bierman was on the Board of Supervisors I personally thanked her for helping us out.  She didn't even remember that incident (why should she since there many hearings she had to sit on) but we became friends.  RIP Susan Bierman.

Back in my second neighborhood Guerro's Meats is still there and they still make great sandwiches.  Victor's Bakery (Taraval & 17th Ave. across from Safeway) is closed now and it was almost as good as Sunset Bakery (9th Ave. and Judah).  Miraloma Market still makes burritos (OK, but not as good as the Mission Dist.).  Other end of the block used to have a Shell station but now it is a CVS pharmacy and apartments above.  Mollie Stone's is still there and their sandwiches are still good.  Bullshead restaurant on Ulloa and West Portal lowered the quality of the meat for hamburgers.  It used to be better.   Overland Book Store is still there (9th and Judah) and I bought Paul Carrell's Scorched Earth from them for $20 (plus tax).

Is A. Sabela's still at the Wharf?  It would be a block or so inland from the tourist areas.  It's been way too long since I've been there.

Haven't been to the Wharf or Fort Mason.  I'm mostly on foot and rarely take the bus/streetcar (It's $2.50 now and was only five cents when I was a kid).  Walked about 10 miles the other day (down to Civic Center and back up hill to get home).  Heat was bad until I got to the hilltop where the breeze refreshed me.

I watched a couple of Dirty Harry flicks with my dad today. Magnum Force and the Enforcer. 

My dad was born and raised in the City. 

It is amazing how much San Francisco has changed yet still looks the same. 

Acme bread is the best!  Made from organic wheat flour, it has the flavor I remember from childhood.  Found it in a produce store in West Portal.  I had just left the post office and forgot that one letter wasn't stamped before I left the home.  Line.  Ugg.  The lady at the produce store offered to give me a stamp but I paid her fifty cents.  It saved me a wait in line.  Anyhow, I found a (sweet) batard loaf that I bought from the store for $3.69.  

Guerro Meats on Taraval uses it for their sandwiches (but not the hardrolls).

Walked down to Ocean Beach at Sloat Blvd. today.

Went through Sigmund Stern Grove and learned that the lake down there, Pine Lake, is one of the three remaining natural lakes in SF (the other two is Lake Merced and Mountain Lake in the Presidio (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)).  The area around the stage (SF Summer Symphony site) has been redone by terracing it with rocks.  That was a nice touch.  

The diner where Doggie Diner on Sloat is gone but the dachshund head that characterized that local chain is on an elevated pole on an island where the parking is.  In place of the diner a 3 story (excluding ground level) apartment building is going up.  

Ocean Beach at Sloat used to have a park bench right at the turnaround but that's gone.  Erosion must have claimed about 4-6 feet of land where the park bench once was.  Nature can be a mean mother.

E/R back I went partially up Vicente and saw that Sunset Grocery is still there. It's a bit more pricey than Clement Street but at least you don't have to go far if you're already in the neighborhood.

Went to Superior Palace Seafood Restaurant (Balboa and 33rd Avenue, one block east of the Balboa Theatre) for a get together and had:

House soup (potato, carrots and meat) (complimentary)
2  x Dried fried chicken wings (fried and then special sauce placed on top)
Stir fried green beans
Mushroom fried with snap peas and chicken
2 x Fried breaded pork chops w/salt & pepper (Chinese style, you'll like it if you like deep fried)
Eggplant and garlic
Spinach and garlic
2 x Tofu with beef
White rice for everyone

For dessert they served us slice oranges.

There were 14 of us and it cost $104.  With tax and tip, it came out to $140.  At $10 per head, it was cheap for a magnificient meal.

I go back and forth between Acme bread and Semifreddi's.  Both good!

Today was my last full day in the city.  I walked about eight miles today in glorious, sunny weather.  Went to buy some plastic tubs (can't get ones that big in Colorado).  Bought two used books at Great Overland Book Company (owner rememers me) at Judah between 9th and 10th.  They should keep me entertained during my return to Colorado.

Met some guy trying to stop Park and Rec from razing the eucalyptus trees around Mt. Davidson. I told him I was for getting rid of the trees. He said they were historic.  I told them they were not indigenous to the area and that we should replace with something that is not only indigenous but offers greater fire protection:  the Redwood.  I also asked him about the damage during the Oakland Hills fire that destroyed millions in property.  The fire was bad because of the eucalyptus trees and that they have more oil than any other tree.  They burn and if the trees are not razed, we could lose millions in property here in SF.

Back home now.  Ate my last sandwich from Guerra Meats while on the train.  Caught my last glimpse of San Francisco from the train as it pulled out of Emeryville to Richmond.