Peet’s Coffee and Tea on the corner of Van Neys and Bush in San Francisco. Got here really early to avoid the traffic from South San Francisco where I stayed. The hotel prices in The City are exorbitant, I paid $79 at a Comfort Inn, instead of almost $200 at a hotel in The City.

This city by the Bay confuses me. Everything in me wants to like even love The City. One of my favorite musicians is Rod Mckuen, he is from and sings about San Francisco. The City has a romance about it, or at least is promoted in that way, it is home to Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, and a myriad of other cultural icons.

Yet I find that when I am here I can not wait to get away. The city is not as clean as Portland or Seattle, which are the two cities that remind me most of San Francisco. The people are not near as friendly, casual conversations are harder to start with strangers. There are some great people here, I have met them, but it seems harder to fined them, and everyone is in a hurry.

So as Rod would say, “So long San Francisco.” I do want to like it here, and maybe if I had the time to get to know the city I would, but quick trips and short encounters give a skewed perspective. So I will hold off completely discounting the city and give its people the benefit of the doubt.