'Pilgrimage 3' Part 3: January 23, 2011

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chuljin

Lead Service Attendant
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May 2, 2008
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Glendale, CA: 2 miles from GDL :)
Part 3: January 23

'Conquer' BART, Balboa Park and Church/Duboce, Cable Cars, 2 Rail Museums

Pictures (and a few videos) from this day are here.

My intention this day was to start by taking the day's first BART out to Pittsburg/Bay Point. It was to leave Powell at 7:55, so up at 7 to walk there. On the way, I stopped to have a look at the Civic Center Farmers' Market, but it didn't hold my interest very long, so I hopped on an F to Powell. I decided to stay on all the way to the Ferry Building, where I took a few pictures and just people watched (though there were very few people this early on a Sunday) for a while, then boarded my intended BART a few minutes later at (instead) Embarcadero, whence Pittsburg/Bay Point. People are certainly not incorrect in calling this BART's most scenic line (until it enters the freeway, anyways...but even then, not bad). I found it interesting that long stretches of it are at-grade on private rights-of-way. On the way, I noticed a large yard where were stored, besides many passenger cars, several kinds of work trains and things, but didn't get my camera out fast enough. BART was now 'conquered'. Unlike at Fremont and Dublin/Pleasanton (where there is little besides large parking lots near the stations) the previous day, I actually stayed at/near Pittsburg/Bay Point for a non-negligible time, going around the corner to Burger King for breakfast.

I then took BART back into SF, to Balboa Park, another of my favorite stations, due to the large and more-or-less wide-open MUNI yard there. I took a few pictures of the selfsame yard, then intending to take MUNI J to Church and Duboce. I'd never actually taken any MUNI train away from Balboa Park, so I wasn't quite sure where to board. NextMUNI, etc. describe the origin as simply 'Balboa Park' and/or 'Geneva/San Jose' where there are stops and platforms everywhere. I eventually just used NextMUNI to discover a J stop a few blocks north on San Jose, and boarded there. Along the way, I saw something nice I'd missed on my previous (late-evening) trip on the J: Dolores Park, with its impressive views of the city. Just before that, however, on the sharp curve on the private ROW between Liberty and 20th streets, some stupid woman was walking on the tracks, oblivious to our driver's persistent honking. At Church and Duboce, I had Starbucks and watched/photographed some work on a couple of old trolley cars eventually destined for the F, then took an N off to Powell.

My plan here was to take either Powell Cable Car up to Powell/Washington and go to the Cable Car Museum. As expected, the line at the Powell/Market turnaround was already quite long, so I switched to my secondary plan of walking up Powell to Union Square and boarding there. A healthy little hike. When I first boarded, I had to stand inside, but soon a space opened up on the back platform next to the conductor, so I stood there, snapping pictures out the back. At Washington, I walked the block over to Mason and to the museum. More impressive than the various static displays here are the actual motors and enormous wheels that drive the system.

I then looked around Chinatown a little, winding up at the north portal of the Stockton tunnel, then up the steps to California and back to Powell, whence a Powell/Hyde Cable Car to the end of the line. Here I went to Ghirardelli Square for the first time, having an iced mocha at one of the Ghirardelli stores there, and from a little stand along the wharves bought a necklace with 'chuljin' carved in Chinese characters (鐵眞) on wood. I then rode the F to the front of the Ferry Building and walked over to the San Francisco Railway Museum (which concerns itself mostly with the historic streetcars). I admit to a little disappointment with the scope of the displays here, it being more of a shop, but a good shop in that the profits go to the upkeep of the F. I got a few new and old(-reproduction) MUNI pins, a few PCC magnets (LA Red and Yellow, MUNI, CTA, and San Diego) and a new copy of The Key System from Arcadia's 'Images of Rail' series (again, to replace one ruined in the incident mentioned yesterday). I chatted at length with the curator/cashier about my trip, and about trains generally, and he told me he and his husband had recently come back from a trip on the Starlight to Portland. I mentioned that I wished I'd known they sell Arcadia books; I'd instead have bought *here* the two I'd bought the day before, so that the museum, rather than Borders, could get the profits.

I next walked to the Embarcadero station and hopped a KT out to 3rd/Marin station for the strangest of reasons: to walk over to M5 Industries (of Mythbusters fame), take a couple token pictures, and walk back. As I approached Missouri, where it is located, I noticed taxi after empty available taxi come out of Missouri and head either west or (mostly) east on Cesar Chavez. I figured M5 were having some event, but finally discovered the reason: a block east on Cesar Chavez is the Yellow Cab Co-Op. :) Back at the station, I noticed tracks and wires branching off and heading east from 3rd, so since I had 10-15 minutes until my train back, I followed them, and discovered another enormous yard for MUNI. I took a few pictures, then back to the station.

I then took KT all the way out to West Portal, another station I enjoy, with a view towards exploring this little neighborhood and have dinner. As it turns out, since it was Sunday evening, very little was open, but fortunately there was a good Mexican restaurant called 'El Toreador', where I inexpensively ate quite a lot. (It was only shortly before dinner that I realized that, in all the excitement, I'd forgotten to eat lunch. :p )

I was then going to take the M or KT to Balboa Park, whence BART to SFO for another go at the Presidents Club, then back home. I decided, however, that it was more time than I wanted to invest, so decided to stick closer to the city. I decided to do the whole Market 'branch' of the F as follows: I took the KT, L, or M (I don't remember which) to Castro (the usual western terminus of the F), came up and took a couple pictures of the iconic intersection, with the sign both unlit and lit (in the latter, I like how the overexposure of Night Landscape mode stretched the lights of passing vehicles into streaks). Then F to the Ferry Building, whence I walked south along the Embarcadero, taking a few pictures (actually, dozens, keeping the ones night mode hadn't smeared) of the Bay Bridge, SFC, the various pieces of public art there, and the Hills Bros Coffee building).

Finally I was done for the day, taking the KT from Folsom back to Civic Center. This being SF, there was someone unsubtly checking me out on the train. Not that I mind interest from someone slightly younger and much better looking. ;) But I digress.

Another quick walk back to the hotel, and off to bed. The next and last day of my trip would start the earliest, and be the longest (both by design and also even longer by accident) of the four.
 
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