Day 2 conclusion- Evening in San Francisco

Wednesday evening after returning to the city we thought about our plans and where we'd like to eat. We were going to take a cable car through Nob Hill by Lombard St., however the line was down for repairs and we decided just to walk up to Union Square instead. The column seen above forms the center of a park in Union Square and is a monument to Commodore George Dewey who led the American Navy to victory over a fleet of Spanish ships in 1898. Union square is essentially like San Francisco's Times Square. There is a ton a foot traffic, many touristy eateries, and a lot of places to shop.

This Saks Fifth Avenue is off the square. I wanted to capture the vintage animated neon sign on the old art deco high rise behind the store, however the photo does not do it justice.

The park in the center of Union Square.

After leaving Union Square it was one of the few times during the trip that we had some transit difficulties. We wanted to get up towards Lombard St. but couldn't determine the best way to do it. We inadvertently headed west, which probably took us closer to the Tenderloin than we perhaps should have been as dark was approaching. We had a rather comical moment at a bus stop where Kate was so absorbed in looking at a map that she didn't notice the two guys packing a crack pipe (or something) in the seat booth. They were minding their own business, and I didn't notice the drugs until I got a concerned look, and a smile from a pedestrian walking by that said "I hope you know what you are doing". It was at this point that I noticed one of the men had dropped some of their fix of choice on the pavement. He was licking the tips of his finger to pick up the crumbs and put it into the pipe. At this point I tugged on Kate's jacket and lightly whispered "come on" and we walked a block (up a steep hill of course) to an unoccupied bus stop. The neighborhoods didn't really seem unsafe, and most of the people waking the streets were well to do professionals. The picture above with the neon garage sign was from that area. I believe we ended up heading back towards Van Ness where the hotel was, and then caught a bus towards Russian Hill. We walked up the hill from Van Ness in the direction of Lombard St. Our adventure took us through some picturesque parks built on terraces that had signs warning us of coyotes in the area.

Eventually we made it to the top, and tried to take some shots of Lombard St. at night. It is incredibly difficult to use a digital camera in the dark. Below is the best shot of several that I snapped.

Next we headed down Hyde st. to Za's Pizza where we had a delicious meal that definitely hit the spot. There was a wait, however it was a cozy little/ bar cafe with a great down-to-earth atmosphere and a good beer selection which I took advantage of.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and rested up for what would be a big day on the road into Marin County.