We relax for a bit on this lovely day in Alex's apartment in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.  The boy is bicycling with friends about this hilly town.  We met him early this morning, and he took us on a trolly (not the trolly) to the Ferry Building Farmers' Market.  Returning to this neighborhood he brought us to sample a fine coffee and treats at a delicatessen.  These made a fine lunch. 

After he went out, we walked to the local supermarket where Anne obtained ingredients to complete provisions for dinner tonight.  The expedition went well, but we were glad to settle in here after the walk.  This is a very hilly town.

Our camp is at the Candlestick RV Park which is directly across the street from the stadium of that name.  About 1991 Alex and I went to a baseball game there.  Today the venue is only for football.  Strange.  The park is classy and expensive, but the spaces are small.  There are planters and a spiffy iron fence, but mostly the park looks like a parking lot for RV's.  The neighborhood is rough, so there is a night watchman.  The bay is nearby so there are lots of gulls. 

Our last stop was at another unusual campground, Laguna Seca Park and Racetrack.  We set up camp to the sounds of race cars at the track and gunshots from a shooting range.  Still, the campground was at the top of a hill with views of other grassy and tree studded hills that are green from recent rainfall.  The sunsets and gloamings were fabulous.  On our last night Anne mistook a giant turkey for a person on a cart as it crossed a clearing on a nearby slope.  One is bewildered at time in new environments.  I am bewildered driving about this town.  The California driver makes even Bostonians seem slackers.  With the motorhome I have to leave a car-length or two in front of me when going 50 mph.  It is remarkable to see others decide that that space is for them and then a moment later decide that their lane was really better and go back.  We saw two ugly wreaks coming into San Francisco last evening.

The culture seems a mixture of anarchy and silly over-regulation.  There is enormous over-consumption, but everyone makes a point to recycle and/or compost.  The police use radar, not that it makes the roads safer, but to generate revenue.  Property use is enormously restricted, so it is very difficult to buy houses and homelessness is rampant.  The legislature is incompetent and citizens use silly ballot initiatives to try to accomplish little things.  From casual contact, it seems clear that state and local governments could be cut in half without causing negative impacts to anyone.  There seems to be an agency for everything, and altogether, they make it impossible to do anything legally.  Unsurprisingly a whole lot is done illegally. 

We will join Alex again tomorrow and then have a couple of days to explore more of this curious town on our own.  Mid-week we move to a campground north of town across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We plan to enjoy time with Alex again next weekend either there or here.  The birding will be more interesting there in the area of Point Reyes.  After next weekend we will move to the northern border of California to explore the coastal redwood forests and their birdlife.  Sometime in the next week we should finally encounter the hermit warbler.

Here we enjoy social life with Alex and his apartment-mates.  The weather is wonderful if breezy and cool.  We don't mind if the trees shake but hope that the land does not during our stay.  That is one element of the Pacific Coast that is not happy, but the scenery is wonderful.