more to come...

I'm gonna write some more about our SF trip... we had some more delicious fun at Ghirardelli Square, saw Jimi Hendrix's house on Haight/Ashbury, and other neat stuff worth telling. Consider the first two posts as appetizers. Just ran out of energy for now... more to come.

Revised 7-6-13

So when we got off the ferry from Alcatraz at Pier 33, we proceeded up to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. I won't elaborate as it is a tourist trap like any other. We had lunch there at Boudin Bakery, famous local chain not at all unlike Panera Bread but much fresher. I enjoyed a lovely turkey sandwich as AA munched on salad, and Eliz had the tomato soup in a bread bowl. From Fisherman's Wharf, it is a short stroll up to Ghirardelli Square: best place for dessert in San Francisco.

This original chocolate manufactory is now relegated to gift and ice cream shop status as current production requires a much larger factory and corporate HQ in San Leandro. Nevertheless, a few of the old machines are set up and running to impress tourists like me and add a bit of a Willy Wonka motif to the room. The building itself is a stunning old brick structure with wrought iron and neatly manicured lawn overlooking the Bay. On a clear day I'm sure one can see Alcatraz, the Presidio, and Golden Gate Bridge quite nicely.  I digress from the main topic: chocolate. We had some intensely rich ice cream and drinking chocolate.

Ghirardelli's description of my sundae:
Two scoops of chocolate ice cream, freshly homemade dark chocolate hot fudge, dark decadent chips, whipped cream and an Intense Dark Twilight Delight® 72% chocolate.
and drink:

Decadent Drinking Chocolate with Biscotti Made with melted Chocolate Chips and packed with intense chocolate flavor in every rich, velvety sip.

The drink ordered by AA was so rich we tried cutting it with half & half creamers. It ended up being more than we could handle in one sitting, so a to-go cup was needed. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of our trip and as evidenced by the lines out the door when we left, I encourage you to go early and soon!

Next on my list was The Haight. This neighborhood marked by the intersection of Haight & Ashbury was ground zero for 1960s Hippies, especially the 1967 "Summer of Love" that coincided with America's war in Vietnam. Notably, there were no long-haired, tie dyed, Birkenstock wearing folks smoking dope when I arrived. It felt more reminiscent of Atlanta's Little Five Points or the off campus Dead Head shops in Tuscaloosa and Auburn. Historically Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin all lived nearby. That is more than I care to know about it and we didn't stay for more than half an hour. So there it is; check The Haight off your list. 

      

Welcome to The Rock

Connery & Cage 

Title above is famously uttered by Sean Connery in 1996 film with Nick Cage. Many folks in California never make a trip to Alcatraz. Obviously for those over 60 it was a prison they can remember being operational and for guys in law enforcement it is just another jail. But for me, it was quite a memorable historic National Park. Obviously the only way in and out is via boat, and ferry tickets aren't that cheap, but entrance to the island and a high-quality audio tour are included. We took the early bird slot so we could be the first tourists of the day, and have other attractions less crowded upon return.

At Pier 33 there is a meticulously crafted model of Alcatraz that gets you psyched up for it more so than wandering through the obligatory cafe & gift shop. Eliz and AA had also never been, so that added to the excitement. Upon arrival the Park Service gave us a perfunctory spiel before our hike up to the actual prison. This time of year many seagulls are tending to their hatchlings, so the ladies made sure we paused for photos of the little chicks on our hike up.

Once inside the prison you get a feel for how desolate it really was. The tour is marvelously narrated by real guards and cons who served time on the Rock. My favorite bit was seeing the cells where 3 inmates enlarged their ventilation holes big enough to crawl through, then escaped over the roof and out into San Francisco Bay. Clint Eastwood's 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz gives a plausible storyline. No bodies were ever recovered, and the FBI has no idea where the fugitives may have gone. I'm of the persuasion that the cons had a boat waiting and that they retired to South America. We'll never know.

Among other highlights is a photo board with Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Robert Stroud and others. Also interesting is a spot on the floor with freckled concrete: tell-tale signs of grenade explosions during a riot. I think America has a lot to improve upon in our criminal justice system. Frivolous cable TV and weight rooms, with draconian drug charge sentencing... I really don't get it. We do a lot of things right in America, but letting violent offenders out early and locking up tax cheats, marijuana smokers and the like makes no sense to me. I think America is like a ladder with no top and no bottom. If you screw up and are middle class, you'll pay for it. If you're uber-rich or very poor there is no justice. That is my $0.02 so your mileage may vary.

If you're going to San Francisco...

Be sure to see Alcatraz and Sausalito (and wear some flowers in your hair). In spite of Scott McKenzie's promise that everyone had aforementioned cranial floral arrangements, it was very lovely indeed. A short itinerary below:

Sutro's Cliff House/ Seal Rocks

Alcatraz tour

Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf

Boudin Bakery

Ghirardelli Square, chocolate ice cream 

Haight & Ashbury

Patxi's Pizza in Haye's Valley

Lombard "crooked" Street

Golden Gate Bridge

Breakfast in Sausalito (Fred's)

Ferry back to downtown SF

Chinatown (Z&Y Restaurant)

Ride the cable car Trolley

As you may have ascertained from earlier posts, I've been to lots of places in California and the American West, but prior to last weekend had never visited the San Francisco or "Nine Gold Mountains" as the Chinese call it. Summer is a wonderful time to go. While it is 105 in Loma Linda, SF only got up to 75 degrees. Of course foggy drizzle is a respite to folks like us living in a desert, while it would not be so amazing for tourists from Great Britain, Europe, etc. I digress.

We completed our itinerary using only public transit: very convenient on a 7 by 7 square mile peninsula. After flying into SFO, the BART metro took us to Montgomery Street Station, less than 3 blocks from our hotel near Chinatown. Eliz' friend AA was our main tour guide for the trip. She does something computer related up there. After meeting up at Anthropologie on Market Street, the ladies let me take a nap on the "husbands sofa" while they shopped. When I woke up, it was time to go meet AA's boyfriend and get ready for supper.

We had a splendid double date at Sutro's at the Cliff House overlooking Seal Rocks which is perched at the southwest entrance to San Francisco Bay. I had and recommend the salmon. Our transit to and from dinner was with Lyft and Uber: two new "app based" services that don't take cash or require the long wait for traditional taxis. Look here.

.22LR- Can I Get Some Plinkin' Ammo?

Elusive Ballistic Wampum

The above title is an often asked question where we work. It has swelled into an overwhelming disgruntled chorus of customers wanting to go to the range. Whether it is a father who'd like to teach his kids how to shoot, a lady wanting practice without wasting precious 9mm rounds, or a prepper who is convinced that the "gubmint is gonna cut off supply," everyone wants more .22 ammo. The most frustrating aspect to me, is seeing first time buyers with their shiny new Henry rifle not be able to go enjoy their purchase as one could easily have done last summer. So as one who worked during Hurricane Katrina (similar market effect) at an Alabama gun shop and has a decent grasp of the human psyche, I will offer my hypothesis.

Firstly, the US government hasn't "bought up all the ammo." According to Hornady, a major player in the ammo business, only 5% of their production goes to gov't sales. That means Mr. and Mrs. regular citizen purchase MOST of their output. Ah, but they don't make rimfire ammo do they? Well CCI, leader of the rimfire pack, churns out about 4 million rounds of "unobtainium" per day. That is one out of the four majors (Winchester Olin, Remington UMC, Hornady, CCI/Federal ATK) producing 28 million cartridges each and every week.

Do you really think folks shoot it all up? I don't think so. When our shooting public cuts back on .223, .308, .45ACP, and 9mm consumption they usually use a .22 for cheaper practice. But these days more folks are buying and fewer are actually shooting as they don't know when store shelves will be replenished. I saw at the Tulsa Gun Show folks asking (and getting) $80 per 500 round brick. That is four times retail, yet folks buying it seemed happy that it was available. Economists refer to this as the price elasticity of demand. When everybody wants the same thing at the same time prices will go up as a way of rationing the scarce item and enriching those lucky enough to have a decent quantity on hand.

Those with a clear memory will remember that such activity inevitably leads to market saturation. Gasoline, Beanie Babies, or bullets: if enough money is poured into one area, the market will eventually settle back down to rational levels. It has been almost 8 months now, so I predict in 5 months or less we will see an ocean of ammo available to those still needing more. By then a full year will have elapsed since the Newtown Massacre, all the preppers will already be stocked up, and the ammo entrepreneurs currently "flipping it" won't have any suckers left.

As noted earlier, a shortage of any of the major defense calibers in turn leads to a .22LR shortage. One should be seeing more and more .223 available this summer. That is a welcome sign that we are over the hump. Without a ban on AR-15s we see a trickle down effect. Less folks are interested in plunking down $1200 on a complex rifle, and those that did have eased up on their vulture-ish shopping habits. I'm really hoping the rest of the firearms get caught up this fall, so we can have more ammo for all starting early January.

Most everyone in this business would agree that we'd sure settle for a slow down.
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September 21, 2014

Update: All major calibers such as .223, .308, .45ACP, and 9mm are readily available; still difficult to obtain .22LR except online or gun shows (paying $50 or more per brick). All major variants of AR-15 are now available at rock bottom prices and most wholesale distributors are stocked deep on guns of all variety (excluding S&W revolvers, Colt SAA, and limited run items). This is a buyer's market if ever there's been one. I think demand will remain steady for the foreseeable future, with no major legislation proposed or implemented.