Dear Jake & Amelia,
We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco. We have not been in a large city for quite awhile. This one is a collection of neighborhoods built on hills. We parked in a lot near the waterfront and walked along the piers, past Fisherman's Wharf. Vendors lined the street. Crabs steamed in large kettles. 

We made our way to the Hyde Street cable car turnaround. The first cable car ran in1873. We watched the old cars drive onto the circular wood decked turnaround. The driver and the brakeman hopped off and manually pushed the small wooden car until the tracks lined up with the outbound track. They locked in place. The passengers boarded. The lucky ones sat outside on benches. The adventurous stood on the sideboards. The driver engaged the cable, controlling the car's speed with a long lever. At the back, the brakeman turned a metal wheel to engage the brake, turning hard on the down hills, jamming his foot between the floor lever and the back of the car to hold the brake in place. We hopped off at Union Square, later hopping on to ride to Chinatown.  

We ate fresh, sweet seafood at the Tadich Grill, window shopped in Chinatown, sipped cappuccino on Columbus Street and savored chocolate in Ghirardelli Square. We climbed Telegraph Hill to Coit Memorial Tower. The crooked section of Lombard Street reminded us of all the crooked roads we've driven. 

Nancy & Peter

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