San Francisco Spookiness

We have returned...pleasantly plump and well rested after a big trip of walking and eating, then walking some more and eating A LOT more. All that walking builds up an appetite and the thing with San Francisco, is that yummy treats abound and are around every corner! But first off is the show stopper, looking a bit spooky through the fog:

We drove across the bridge for some hiking in Muir Woods, and stopped off at Hawk Hill on our way home hoping we might see the bridge. It appeared! Then we toured a scary old military fort and NIKE missile site ("During the tense years from 1953 to 1979, the United States Army built and operated a total of 280 Nike missile firing batteries in the United States. These missile sites were emplaced as the last line of defense against Soviet bombers."). In searching for info on the site, I came upon The Bureau of Atomic Tourism site, which "is dedicated to the promotion of tourist locations around the world that have either been the site of atomic explosions, display exhibits on the development of atomic devices, or contain vehicles that were designed to deliver atomic weapons." Yikes....

Stay tuned....more to come....

12 year old girl visits Chicago

"Chicago, in my humble opinion, is, architecturally,

the best American city traditionally and just visually.

It's so exciting." - Frank Gehry

We enjoyed a great autumn weekend in Chicago. Lance was able to escape for a few hours and enjoy the bean with me. And we were fortunate enough to catch a Korean wedding party having their pictures taken in front of the bean. Notice all the onlookers...!

The Bean (aka Cloud Gate). Inspired by a drop of liquid mercury!

"What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one's reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around." -Anish Kapoor

Millenium Park - an amazing change to Grant Park. You can't NOT love Chicago...everyone I speak to here raves about the city.

More pics of the park's terrific architecture:

BP Bridge (doesn't it look like Lake Michigan?), the Pavillion, and Great Lawn