I want to talk about a few places I visited in California. I showed you some of the state on my Great Southwest tour. These are a few other places.
Okay.
What better place to start than the city of San Francisco.
And, I guess if you go to San Francisco it would be traditional to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. Here it is, probably seen from a different direction.
What is that below?
Funny you should ask. Just so happens I have a photo.
This is Fort Point. Built in the 1850s. Part of the Presidio, or fortress. You can see the Golden Gate above the building. The Point sticks out into the bay. Used to guard against attackers. Part of the National Park Service now. Don’t think they’ve shot any cannonballs lately.
And anytime you’re in the area, be sure to visit Pier 39.
Nice waterfront, and plenty of shops around.
And in Golden Gate Park is the Japanese Tea Garden.
Story goes that the fellow who invented fortune cookies first served them here.
True?
Who knows? Long time ago. Anyway, let’s go over the Bay to see more of California.
Okay.
Now here’s an oddity for you. In the town of Alameda you’ll find an attraction called The Spite House.
Narrow.
Sure is. Only 10 feet wide.
How come?
The story goes that, around 1900, a local carpenter acquired a nice corner property on which he planned to build his dream home. But the city took away a large slice of it to lay that road you see on the right. So, to spite the city — and the neighbor next door, who hadn’t been at all sympathetic to his dilemma — he went and built a house anyway on the narrow slice of land he had left.
Guess he showed them.
Yep. Just 10 feet wide, but 54 feet deep and 20 feet high. The Alameda Spite House.
Now, for the final leg of this sightseeing trip, we drive out to Old Sacramento.
I think, if you can ignore the cars, it has an old-timey look to it.
That’s right. They’re trying to maintain the feeling of the gold-rush days. We grabbed something to eat at Fat City.
Same atmosphere.
Right. Don’t remember what I ate there, but I’m sure it wasn’t low-cal.