Sutro baths at Land's End

I still can't believe this is in the city of San Francisco. Seems much to wild and unspoiled to be so close to a big city. That's sort of what makes SF so special - its proximity to lots of beautiful nature. 

This is taken from outside the Cliff House at the edge of a park called Land's End - on the Pacific coast and between the Presidio (North) and Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach (South). In the distance you can see the hills on Marin County - to reach them you need to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

 The sun was about an hour from setting and the pelicans flew across as if on cue.

City Lights bookstore

This bookstore is a gem. It's famous from the days of the Beat generation when the likes of Ginsberg and Kerouac used to hang out there. There still hold regular poetry readings on the top floor.

statue at the top of Dolores

Summer mornings often start like this: fog everywhere and a wet chill in the air. It makes this statue at the top of Dolores St look pretty dramatic.

mural by night

It was barely light enough to still see this mural, but I liked the lady's expression on this otherwise faceless building.

twilight view of downtown from North Beach

mural in North Beach

This mural is near Columbus and Broadway, just where Chinatown meets North Beach.

family walking on Bernal Hill

A San Francisco family taking a weekend walk at the top of Bernal Heights. I love this hill.

bicycle on Abbey Rd

from Bernal Heights

From the top of Bernal Heights, you can get a bird's eye view of the city from an interesting angle. In this photo you can see Twin Peaks and Sutro Tower in the distance. Downtown would be to your right (out of the frame.)

This photo was taken in the spring when the grass was still green. Seeing how dry the grass is now, it's hard to believe it was this green only a few months ago...

deserted house

I don't know why, I kind of like the way this façade looks with the different unfinished paint jobs, and the forlorn yard space... There aren't many houses like this on Dolores Avenue. Maybe it is or used to be a squat?

floral balcony

The flowers on this balcony cheer up the otherwise drab colored row of houses on Guerrero.

fuzzy pink flowers

Does anyone know what these tree blooms are called? They come out here in the spring, either pink or red, and I've never seen them before. A West coast tree, I'm guessing...

esta noche