San Francisco Up High

I have spent a number of days in SF this past year.  I have gone for work and to visit my daughter who moved there in May 2008.  My next visit is May 21, 2009 which may also be my daughter's last day in SF for a while.  She has become tired of the dirty streets and street life.  Once when she and I were walking we saw someone go down an alley to shoot up. Last week we encountered a homeless man outside my hotel swinging a frying pan and yelling "I kill you." Luckily we were able to get by him without getting beaned.

My company limits me to 3 hotels in SF. The best of the three for my needs is the Westin Market St. which seems to be the darling of expedia.com.   This past visit we encountered what appeared to be high school women sports teams.   I have gotten used to the place. I now know to ask for a room on a higher floor.  I have had to change rooms a few times--once because of the large roof fan on a building right under my window and the other because of a handicapped shower/bath with no accommodation for those of us who like to stand when we shower.  Every room I have had in the Westin has had a broken phone by the bed so I came to know some of the technicians who made visits to my room to fix the phone.  I also had one bad experience with the internet connection which I had to have fixed remotely.  Minor annoyances all, particularly when you realize that there are homeless women right outside the hotel who are freezing in the cold SF nights. 

The hotel has some nice features--comfortable beds, Starbucks across the street, free NYT. But the wonderful thing about the hotel is the view.  Last week I was on the 34th floor and this week my room was one floor right below the room I had last week. So the views were virtually identical.  I could see Market St., the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Scattered throughout are some pics I took from my window.