Hey Mohala, I didn't know you used to live near riverside. When I was a little girl, we lived in Upland, near the base of Mt. Baldy - back when they still had smudge pots and orange groves.
And Candy, I live in the bay area - on the peninsula. Trivia for you: Weirdest thing about this area, beside the whole Silicon Valley tech influence mentality, is the weather. We have Micro-climates, which means we can have a 30-40 degree within 10-20 miles up and down the peninsula. It can be 70 and mild in Napa, 50 and fog in The City, 90 with smog in San Jose, and 40 and fog in Monterey all on the same day. The mid-peninsula (Stanford) is the best all year, about 60-80 consistently. Where I live, I can drive to the top of the freeway and look over the mountain (other side is ocean) and watch the fog roll in - I can be in a tee shirt and it may be cold 10 miles away. So we layer a lot. The fog in the city serves as air conditioning for us further south during the fall. Winter's are warmish with rain, rarely snow, Spring is wet - every time the blossoms come out, it rains! Summers are coolish and Fall is warm (we have an indian summer). Doing the tourist thing in SF is fun when people come out here. It let's me see the city from a new perspective. Things keep changing. Going to Napa is best in the early fall, when they harvest and have festivals. Going to Santa Cruz south to Carmel/Monterey is best in the winter - good climate and the monarch butterfly's come there then, also the whales migrate by there. So here's some local do's and dont's - DO: bring a sweatshirt and maybe even a coat in July in the city if your plans include walking the Golden Gate Bridge - it's cold in July there (that's when we get a lot of fog) and you may get frisked by the military before you can walk now - bring ID! DONT: call San Francisco "Frisco!" the locals call it "the City" or SF. Locals also refer to the districts like "the sunset (oceanside) or the castro (gay), cathedral or nob hill (yes the hills are very steep), Chinatown (interesting and really good food), Japantown (same) the Park (Golden Gate Park) The Presidio, the Wharf (fisherman's wharf), and the financial district or just downtown"(if you love fabrics, don't miss going into Britex). The airport is not near the city - expect a 20 minute or so drive. Of course there are touristy prices on the wharf and I think Alcatraz is now open again, though I don't like that. It's really worth taking a Grey Line tour - it let's you see everything for a good price - and don't miss going out on the bay on the ferries. All in all, most things to see and do are really worth it and not out of $$$ line, although be aware that this is a fairly expensive place to live. Going down little lombard (the "crookedest street in the world") is cool. Don't expect Haight/Ashbury to be anything - that was in the 60's with the flower children, it's just a shabby city block now. Riding the Cable Cars is a hoot - I hadn't done that in year's and then did a year ago, it was fun. Just remember that we have a lot of diversity here, so don't be shocked by unusual people sometimes, most everybody is friendly and likes tourists, and like any city, be mindful of your purse, camera, cell etc. Beauty and history is everywhere and the light and fog and buildings give a unique "awe" appeal to this area - you can really feel the history and imagine what it was like during the gold rush and earthquake days. Give enough time to see and do as much as you can if you come here. Welcome! Just thought I'd write a little about it.
Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:01 pm by countrybelle2004
