City on the Bay

After I left the mists of the Sierra Nevadas, I drove west over rolling hills sparsely covered with cattle and knobby trees. It is the kind of country that makes me want to just pull over and set off into the distance on some adventure. A few hours later I saw on the map that one of the places on my "Visit before you die" list was not that far south of where I was. So I took off to find Mt. Hamilton. This is a beautiful place covered in lush green even this time of year. Spoiled by more rain I set off towards San Francisco.

As I came around another precipitous mountain bend I was suddenly confronted by a view of the San Jose area. I've never seen anything quite like it. There are neighborhoods, stores, buildings, and roads crammed with humanity as far as the eye can see. The cities of San Jose, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, are all one mass; nothing divides the San's other than a thin black line on the map. Coming from a lovely solitude, this brought back to the surface a dynamic that has lived with me this entire trip, that of the difference between The God-created world and the Man-created world and how they intertwine and interact in our souls.

San Francisco is quite a city. I walked all over Chinatown, North Beach, the Wharf, the Presidio, Union Square, SoMa and by the end of two days had a great feel for the place (so did my feet). Last night I rented a bike and tooled around, even rode over the shining Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset (see how man's structure is improved by the natural). It's pretty decent as far as a big city goes, but I don't see how I could live in the middle of all this concrete for an long period of time and not either go crazy or become hardened.

Oregon here I come!