San Francisco

My brother Cody and I left Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon (after watching the Packers beat the pulp out of the Lions) and headed north to San Francisco.  The plan was to spend two nights and a day exploring that city before heading further north in California to do some camping and hiking along the coast.  We also had a gig at the Bazaar Cafe with my old college friend Branden Kolarik.  Below are some pictures from our San Francisco adventures.

Cody at the southern (San Francisco) end of the Golden Gate Bridge, before we walked across it and back.  Construction started on the bridge back in 1933 and it was finished in 1937.  Imagine how many people the construction employed during the Great Depression?  Maybe we should be building more bridges?  I'm sure the bay could use another bridge.  Lets build a bridge across Lake Mendota back in Madison while we're at it.  Bridges for jobs!

Looking back at the bridge from the north end after walking across it.  Someone told me that the bridge is three quarters of a mile long, and so walking it both ways is a mile and a half.



The Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco's signature skyscraper.  It was built in 1972 and used to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi before one in Los Angeles surpassed it in 1974.



A view of downtown San Fran while walking up to the Coit Tower.



This house is where the Grateful Dead lived in the 60's, on a block or so from the corner of Haight and Ashbury.  While the area was a hippy haven slum during that time, it is now a trendy shopping area.  

More from Spring Tour

I played at the Tribal Cafe in Los Angeles on Saturday night with my brother, Cody Statz, and Phil Yates, a songwriter I played with in Chicago three years ago who now lives in L.A. Above is a picture of my brother playing some of his most excellent songs while sporting Bucky pride during March Madness.

The night of the Tribal Cafe gig was my last in L.A., and afterwards we headed to a North Hollywood bar near Cody's home for a few drinks. My old roommate and current Las Vegas denizen Tony Flanagan is in the middle, flanked by Cody and myself.

San Francisco! I had three gigs in the San Fran area, one in Penngrove, one in Fairfax, and one in San Francisco itself. I stayed with my friend Branden, who I used to hang out with way back in my Freshman year of college. He is a radically cool dude, and showed me all around San Francisco during the few days I was there. Of course, we had to make a trip to Haight Street.

Haight Street and the neighboring Golden Gate Park are filled with hippies, gutter punks, and street people. Here is a group of them hanging out in the Park. You cannot walk 20 feet in this park without someone trying to sell you drugs. Whispers of "great bud", or "excellent weed" were commonplace, and when someone whispered only, "good nugs", you had to wonder how he could compete with the aforementioned "great" and "excellent"?

If you are a child of the 90's like I am, then you will recognize these houses from the opening credits of "Full House". Yes, I am a dork and asked Branden to show me where they were.