2014 - April 25th - San Francisco Mosaic Stairs

Last day in San Francisco today the 25th. After getting up, we went down the street to Mel's Diner for breakfast. Mel's is always fun no matter which location. They are all so "old school" in that 50 diner mode that you can't help but enjoy. We went back to the hotel, packed-up and checked out. It was a great stay and we felt lucky that they had on-site parking for free for the entire duration of our stay. Our friend Karen Lane from Columbus Ohio had sent a photo array of spots to see during your lifetime which gets passed around the web and Facebook of which one of them was the Mosaic Stairway in San Francisco. They looked so gorgeous that we wanted to see these, so planned our last stop there. We looked at the location in Grandview Park and GPS'd to there. Upon arriving, we saw the park at the top of the hill. We parked the car and climbed the wooden stairs. Walking the parameter of the small park we didn't locate the Mosaic Stairway. We asked some other walkers if they knew where they were located. An obvious local from her response pointed out the stair entry that was two streets down. So we descended the wooden stairs, walked around the base street through another curve and that street and found the location she had directed us to.
We were really happy to find the stairway as it is in the middle of a residential area and unmarked. The neighborhood residents, over 300 of them, had helped create the panels. The stairs are surrounded by beds of succulents and other plants. The mosaics feature whimsical birds, fish, flowers and marine creatures. There are 163 steps in this stairway.

                
                  

                
                
                
                
                
                  
                
                
We bid our fond farewell for this trip to the City of San Francisco. We will be back for more exploring if we continue in good health and long lives. We exited the city and drove over to the coast on Highway 1. It is such a beautiful and peaceful drive taking the coast all the way with the Ocean on our right and an occasional small town (or a couple of homes at least) every now and then. We were lucky enough to stop a great little restaurant for lunch and relaxation. It rained and sprinkled all the way along the coast. We made a pit stop and bought some drinks at a gas station that I had remembered from last time we drove here. It's out there by itself with nothing for 40 miles either way. With the Prius, we had plenty of gas ... and were very happy for that as these people really gouge you at $6.99 a gallon this day. I remember it was outrageous last time and only purchased a couple of gallons back then to make it to the next station. I remember when we got to that station up north it was even higher. If I would have remembered earlier, we would have checked out their gas prices when we passed the station at the beginning of the day!

We had not made reservations, so drove to San Simeon close to the Hearst Castle and got a room for the night. A most pleasant day. This entries photo album.