Well- I just got back from a long weekend in San Francisco. It's been about 10 years since I last visited SF and it has changed!

The shopping mall on Market (I think that's the street) near the O'Farrel cable car station has become enormous. It is anchored by Norstrom's and Bloomingdale's and it is 4 stories of stores and a lower level with the great foodcourt.  It was really beautiful.

Of course the cable cars were fun to travel on - but now it's $5 each way- ouch! An all day pass is $11 so that's a bargain if you are planning on going around to the different sites all day long.

Fisherman's Wharf has also changed. It's been updated and quite a few more upscale restaurants and shops have been added to the usual little giftshops that were always there.  It was more fun than I remember the last time I was there.

But getting to SF with the airline restrictions was really a pain. Here is my gripe for the day. I fully support and appreciate the added security that we have at the airports today. But each airport is different and there still needs to be more standardization. The luggage limits on size and weight is somewhat of a pain and some airports don't care while others are ridiculous about them. With food service no longer existing on flights, we have to bring our own food onto the flight. But we aren't allowed to bring in food through the security checkpoint. So that means we are held hostage in the airport to buy the overpriced stuff that the few restaurants offer near the gates. $10 for a sandwich is ridiculous. You have to buy the drinks or bottled water there also because there is no way you can bring a drink through security. No wonder I hate to travel by air nowadays. I drive wherever I can.

All in all, SF was wonderful. The weather was perfect and clear. The hotel was not great so I won't be staying there again. From now on Hilton all the way- no more experimenting with hotels.  There was even a "Love Parade" while we were there. Strange ...  but it was SF afterall.

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