THE WEEKEND

LOL, Cathy.  I think the going rate's 18-20% nowadays. 

Sue, that sounds great!  San Francisco's a great place to celebrate an occasion.  Especially because of the top shelf restaurants of every cuisine you can think of.  Are you driving over or flying?  I would suggest flying - San Francisco's like London, not a city you'd like to spend a lot of time driving in.  And like London, IF you find a place to park, you'll pay thru the nose.  Even a lot of the hotels charge for parking.

We used Super Shuttle to get to and from the airport and it worked out just fine.  I booked it in advance online.  We also ordered Clipper cards from the SF public transportation office.  They are the equivalent of the Oyster card for London public transportation.  The buses are crowded, but easy enough to get around in.  But be prepared to do a lot of walking.  That's actually the good part.  I ate a lot, including Ghiradelli desserts, and I only gained a pound.

We didn't want to stay in the major tourist hotels around Fisherman's Wharf, so we had a really nice stay in a hotel near the Presidio, with a lovely pub around the corner called Liverpool Lil's, and a bus stop right across the street from Lil's.  The hotel has a continental breakfast that wasn't so great, (muffins, croissants, coffee, instant oatmeal) but the staff were super friendly and helpful, so that made up for it.  The hotel is very clean and pleasant and I'd recommend them. 

Oh, and summer in SF starts in September.  September and October are their warmest months, but do take sweaters and jackets.  You might need a few layers if you plan on doing anything on the water.  When the fog rolls in, it can be downright bone chilling if it's windy.

I've never been there and enjoyed Ruth 's recent photo's she took. 

I know I'd like to see a few film locations there--Bullitt, Dirty Harry, The Towering Inferno.  SF is one of the cities for me that defined the 60s and one song sums it up I think.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKeXkhxiq6I

and I'd first heard of San Francisco as a kid glued to all the TV westerns and got the Have Gun Will Travel game for Xmas, and my Dad met Paladin on the Dinah Shore show many years later in New York.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgvxu8QY01s

We are indeed flying in, Ruth. Thanks for the info about the Super Shuttle. I will go online and check it out, as we were thinking of a taxi. 

A friend recommended a little hotel in town, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Ghiradelli is top of my list of things to eat and see, along with seafood on Fisherman's Warf. 

Paul, I saw Bullit on DVD for $5.00 today. Is it worth buying?  

Great videos. Paul.  I'd forgotten what a cool song Paladin was.  Although the video looks more like Arizona than San Francisco. :-)

OMG, I'd forgotten to wear any flowers in my hair!!

Sue, are you going to wear flowers in your hair?  Maybe if you wear a dozen red roses, people will know it's your anniversary and offer you complimentary everything.  lol

Sue, if you want good seafood, go to Boudin's.  It's where they bake the famous sourdough bread and their seafood is to die for.  They have 2 places on Fisherman's Wharf, but the big building with the bakery is where the good restaurant is upstairs

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Sue---Bullitt, a fairly simple story line based on the book, Mute Witness, with Steve McQueen looking after a mob guy who's going to give state evidence on Monday while some mob guys from Chicago arrive to make sure he doesn't. McQueen realises later he's been set up then does things his way which includes the infamous 9 minute car chase through and around San Francisco. The bad guy driving the Dodge Charger R/T--against McQueen's Mustang 390GT---is Bill Hickman; stunt driver and James Dean's race driving instructor who was following him when he was killed in his Porshe. Also stars Robert Vaughn.

So, if you want to see a 70-80 mph chase around the SF streets and around 120 mph on the highways outside, here it is.  Directed by English film director, Peter Yates. 

Was also wondering if the lobby of the Regency Hiatt Hotel still looks anything like it did as The Towering Inferno's Glass Tower lobby? 

Ruth--nope, the video didn't show SF and the Carlton Hotel where Paladin lived as noted on his calling card, for those seeking his services. 

You gotta be kiddin me James....I left Daniel Boone in Missouri...his lands taken from him by our Government(confiscated for lack of proper paper work they told him)...he went back to the French near St. Louis and died in the area....an very unhappy man, no doubt felt as if all the work he did for this country went down in vain...then some guy came along like "Paul" and he strived to keep his name alive. Collected everything he could find on him. This year they are releasing an book exclusively about the "Long hunters"...and thier effort to tame the wilderness...and frontiers areas.  Many of them lived amoung the Indians from time to time....were adopted by them also. 

James, your Prescott line includes the Wheeler family....they bought the ground of old chief Sanchwine..not sure I spelled that correctly...he was an Powtamie Indian...his ground he had was near our Larkin family in Marshall co., Illinois. He sold the ground to them on one condition, that his descendents could come in and take care of his grave...from my unserstanding they still do, thier organization for history was out of Springfield, MO. He has to date, an town named after him, and school named after him, and local Lake named after him, and an history that says when alck Hawk went to war, he said he wouldn't fight..and remained "peaceful"... giving in to neither side. It was the Powtomie Indians that werre with Harper's Ferry "John Brown" near the Kansas-Nebraska line with our relatives. In ways there's not many of them left and not much known in depth about theri legacy either....they though have formed and tried to keep the skills alive and receipes...they try to hand them down for their descendents also. There is little choice left fo rthem to do other then make it all up like many do for an history  these days. They were represented in many treaties in the West Virginia areas near Harper's Ferry. they had an road and campground there... where they could all meet for discussions. West Virginia was also at one time some of the land George Washington owned through his Land company. The place the relatives settled, they were the first there and thier historian was an daughter of Col. John Strawn...kin of Racheal Reeds. She's gone and their history goes to an distant past of the group known as "Columbians"?...which I think they mean Powtaomie..but don't really want to say it. There were "burial" mounds in the area...and to the Shaman and Reverands they went to talk to "ancestor's" in an spiritual fashion....since our family didn't stay there...they convientely "forgot" them..for other folks...I guess. Eleanor Bussell had her own thing going on I think pretty much. But you know these are days when an dead Indian was an good excuse to take his property like an bunch of ravaging pigs....and they did in ways...I have Government records where they purposely supplied them liquor, because less people said anything about shooting an drunkn "savage" in the back. If you think we had our "times" now trying to survive...it goes every generation pretty much. Strawn's I beleive were part of an elite group of Geo. Washingtons during the Rev. War, secret spies called the "Blue Hens"...and that name is very simliar to what Sam Huston called his Cherokee wife...not Diana...but as I said, they had no syllabols in thier language at an time..so she went down as Tiana, or lese it's all an modern day "lie"..we may never know. You have no IDEA the lies these days being told for people's genealogy. One reason I'm giving it up in ways...because firstly I don' tpositive on many things...everything is hear say from something else for history. I do have records of an John Larkins as an "Ranger" in western Pennsyvnis with one George (Rogers) Clark...probably the same as m. Sarah McAdow later on. Clark's father was an Reverand out of the New England area...he died early and his mother remarried an man by the name of "Marks". in Virginia...they lived just an bit down the hill ..and aways... from Pres. Thomas Jefferson. So it makes sense to me if he and Sachawgea raised her son or had an son together on thier trip out hee to Oregon...he later provided for the child's education whiel growing up...but even if he wasn't the father of the kid, his background of being an Reverand's son would of probably seen him do that much to help her. Hubby home ...gotta take care of the boast..so must go fot now.