Learning About Big Alma, Great Grandmother of San Francisco from a Walking Tour

Thursday - A City Walking Tour


We met our tour guide at 2p.m.at Union Square in downtown San Francisco and started our tour from there.

The first thing we learned was about the hearts placed throughout the square.

This particular one that most tourists take pictures with  is called the Tony Bennett heart for the song he sang - I left my heart in San Francisco.

Union Square, San Francisco

I love learning about the colourful characters and  history of the city we are visiting.


The most interesting part of our San Francisco city tour were learning about the following:

Dewey Monument - Union Square, San Francisco

1. The Dewey Monument & Big Alma

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels was the lady who modeled for the sculptor who create the statue.

She was known as the Big Alma,  the Great Grandmother of SF.

Alma's family immigrated to America from Europe, and was very poor. In order to make money for a living, she posed naked for artists.



Alma, at nineteen years old, posted as Victoria, Goddess of Victory, for the Dewey Monument which stands in the middle of Union Square, San Francisco.

Goddess of Victory Statue, Union Square,  SF

Adolph Spreckels, a wealthy man, fell in love with the Dewey Monument and the lady who modelled for the statue, Alma.

Adolph left his wife of twenty years and married Alma.  Alma was disliked by many people in the city as she was dubbed the gold digger.

Standing on Madam Lane where many men were kidnapped in gold rush days.

Alma nicknamed her wealthy husband,  24 years her senior, a sugar merchant, her 'sugar daddy'. This was how the term was originated.


2. The dark side of San Francisco during gold rush days.

Thousands of prospectors came through the city, stopping by bars for food and drinks.



Unfortunately, many were drugged and kidnapped by dishonest bartenders in the bars. Many were then stripped naked and placed on ships sailing back to various countries without their consent.

These poor kidnapped men were forced to work in slave conditions until they died.

Many of these kidnappings took place in bars located on Madam Lane where many crimes and prostitution took place.

A grand building in downtown San Francisco

3. The POPOS Law - ( Privately Owned Public Open Spaces) included in the 1985 Downtown Plan.



















This law mandates that any privately owned building is required to have a public space, accessible by the public.

The tour guide took us up to one of these POPOS urban park in a downtown office building located on 343 Sansome Street, SF.
















There are at least over seventy nice parks in downtown San Francisco which people can access.

The pubic open space which we visited was a nice, tranquil space for people to escape from the concrete jungle of downtown buildings.

A roof top public space on one of the public buildings - a POPOS law in San Francisco

Standing in one of the public open spaces mandated by a SF law.

This explains the many nice rooftop parks we have seen on our visits to this city.

However, few people in SF know about these beautiful spaces to take advantage of them.

The walking tour was informative and interesting. We were glad we took it! Don't miss it if you are visiting San Francisco!

R.T.
San Francisco
Calif. USA

Counting Our Blessings and Thankful for God's Blessings!

Wednesday

Union Square, San Francisco

After watching the menorah lighting ceremony at Union Square in San Francisco, we walked to E.'s new office and met up with him there.

The lobby of  E.'s office building

This was the first time we saw E. on this trip. He was just finishing a meeting and came to meet us with a couple of  visitors to his company.

Dressed in a casual business attire with a fashionable haircut and cleanly shaven, E. looked really handsome!









After introducing us to his business visitors, E. took us around for a tour of his office. He seemed very happy working in his company's modern new office with good facilities providing freshly prepared nutritious meals daily and other services to the employees.

We signed in and.had dinner at the company's dining room.

We also met a few of E.'s colleagues. They all had some very positive comments about his work. We were so proud and happy for him.

While lining up to get our food at the company's dining room,  a  lady ahead of me turned and said to me, " E. is very sweet and very smart."
Then when we were leaving the company after dinner, a man was leaving the building and said to us : " Without him, this company will grind to a halt!"

Waiting at E. office lobby

Wow! What nice and positive comments from your colleagues! We were enormously proud of what E. has achieved!

We thank God and grateful for His blessings on our family every day. We do not take it for granted that both E. and J are working in careers that they enjoy and are being well compensated for it. God is good, gracious and merciful!

After the visit, E. insisted that we should not walk back to our hotel and called an Uber for us. How thoughtful was that!

R.T.
San Francisco
Calif.. USA
Week of  Dec. 3, 2018

Attending a Menorah Lighting Ceremony at Union Square, SF, USA

Desiring to take it easy today,  we did not plan to visit any attractions or join any tours. After watching the funeral broadcast at our hotel, we went to a coffee shop enjoying a relaxing afternoon and pouring over the travel brochures to figure out which tours we should take during our time in San Francisco.

A huge menorah has been set up in Union Square, SF.

Many holiday festivities are happening in December in this city. One of the festivities we attended was the lighting ceremony of the menorah at Union Square.

While Christians celebrate Christmas in December, Jewish people celebrate Chanukah. The lighting of the menorah signifies the beginning of Chanukah.

There are nine candles to be lit for the menorah.  Jewish people observing this special period would lit one candle a day, therefore it would take nine days to finish lighting the entire Menorah.







Each day during Chanukah, at 5:30pm in the Union Square, there would be a ceremony held to do the lighting.

We took part in the fifth day of the lighting ceremony. A crowd of about forty people gathered in front of the menorah.

A rabbi speaking at the lighting ceremony

A table was set up and a few Jewish gentlemen in their traditional attires were there handing out glow sticks to participants witnessing the lighting ceremony. We were given a miniature menorah.

At the ceremony, a rabbi talked about the oil used in the menorah and shared the Jewish traditions and stories related to it. I found the rabbi's message uplifting and inspiring.

A rabbi lighting the fifth menorah candle at Union Square

After the message, the rabbi walked up to the top of the stairs behind the menorah and lit the candles.

 5 candles have been lit at the Union Square

Then music and songs came on the loud speakers to accompany the lighting ceremony.

It was a festive moment celebrated with joy and hope.

Macy's Christmas window display, Union Square, SF, USA

At the Union Square, we saw the Macy's Christmas window displays for the first time. It was beautiful!

Union Square at night, San Francisco, USA

Regardless of our faith, we can always learn something positive from others.

We heard a lot about the lighting of the menorah and were delighted that we could witness the ceremony at Union Square!



R.T.
Union Square
San Francisco, Calif.
USA

Watching the Cables at work at Cable Car Museum, a Free Attraction in Downtown San Francisco

Coit Tower - a landmark of San Francisco, USA

Tuesday





San Francisco is a city rich in American history and full of interesting stories about creative inventions and colourful characters.
















The cable car of San Francisco is a readily recognizable landmark of the city.

Before the invention of the cable cars, horse drawn cars were used to haul people up the steep streets of San Francisco.

The cable car was invented by Andrew Smith Hallidie who was a manufacturer of wire rope.

His many experiments with uses for wire rope led to his development of the cable car system.







Today, we visited one of the free museums - the Cable Car Museum located at Mason and Jackson Street.

It is a working museum. From the platform on the second floor, we looked down and had a good view of huge wheels keeping cable cars operating smoothly.

Watching the Cables at Work at the Cable Car Museum, San Francisco, USA

We saw displays of old cable cars and exhibits about the history of the development of the cable car and the various mechanical parts of this vehicle.

I noticed that the earthquake and the great fire of San Francisco in 1906 occupied a significant portion of the displays in a number of places we have visited.

This event played an important role in shaping the economic and cultural development of this city.










We learned about the differences between cable cars and streetcars
in this museum as well.















For people who are interested in automobiles, the Cable Car Museum could be an interesting place for them to visit.



R.T.
Cable Car Museum
San Francisco

Riding in a Stagecoach & Learning the Voice Commands for Horses at Wells Fargo History Museum, San Francisco

On our walk to the Wells Fargo Museum in SF, USA

We are visiting San Francisco in California, USA and are staying near the Fisherman's Wharf where we can walk to many attractions of the city.

 Today we visited the Wells Fargo History Museum.






















In 1852, Wells Fargo started serving pioneers during the gold rush in California and ran stagecoach express delivery in America.

The Concord Coach - It carried 18 people altogether!

The company provided much needed services to people who wanted to send money and valuables to various parts of US.

A Wells Fargo stagecoach team

We learned a lot about the Concord Coach - a coach that could carry eighteen passengers in all!

Nine sat inside the coach, three at the front and six sitting on the top of the coach!

A Wells Fargo stagecoach treasure box

We also learned about the numerous robberies on the Wells and Fargo's stagecoaches.

A Wells Fargo reward notice 

Over a period of eight years, one particular bandit robbed Wells Fargo and Co. twenty eight times!

Our witnessing skills were also put to a test at one of the interactive displays. After being shown a movie clip in which a robbery was in progress, we were asked to recall what we had seen in terms of the robber's appearance and some particular details in the movie clip. It was fun having our memory challenged!

What we liked most about our visit:


1. Riding in a simulated stagecoach journey.











We got into a stagecoach and the scenery outside the windows started to change as if we were really passing through forests, meadows and riding in a snow storm.

2. Learning about the stagecoach horses and how to command them - After riding inside the stagecoach, we could sit at the front of the stagecoach taking the six lines that controlled the horses pulling the stagecoach.

Simulating a stagecoach ride at the museum

About the horses:

Leader horses - pulled in the front, usually the most athletic, obedient and responsive horses of the group.

Swing - the middle horses

Wheelers ( or the Wheel Team) - the horses at the back

Learning to control the stagecoach horses by verbal commands

The horses worked off voice command. With the screen playing in front of us, we learned the following:

A model of the Wells Fargo stagecoach team during the gold rush period

a. to stop the horses. say:

  Whoa

b. to make the horses turn left, say:

    Haw

c. to make the horses turn right, say:

   Gee

The 2nd floor of Wells Fargo History Museum, San Francisco

On the second floor of the museum, there were more displays.

3. Typing a Morse Code message

Morse Code

I tried my hands at typing the Morse Code to relate a message to others.

I tried my hands at typing out the messages in Morse Code

I failed miserably!

It was not as easy as we thought!

Trying another interactive game at the Wells Fargo Museum

It was interesting as there we had many opportunities to try our hands on various interactive and interesting activities.

A precise scale for measuring gold & gold dust

Visit the museum helped us to learn about Wells Fargo's beginning as an express delivery company delivering gold and valuable items to becoming one of the largest banks in America.

The Wells Fargo & Co. Express

It was an enjoyable, informative fun experience for us!

A free coach ride for the little ones at the Museum

I highly recommend this excellent educational activity with free admission  to visitors to San Francisco!

R.T.
Well Fargo History Museum
San Francisco, Calif.
USA

Remembering and Paying Respect to George Bush, a Former American President

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Flags at half mast at Pier 39, San Francisco 

Being so close to the American states, many Canadians like myself, follow the American politics quite closely.


While visiting the United States, we learned about the passing of George Bush senior as the tv stations have been broadcasting and remembering him for the past few days.

Staying in the comfort of our hotel room in San Francisco, we watched President Bush Sr.'s funeral on this early morning.  We heard some really good eulogies from Brain Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada, Bush Jr. and the presidential historian. This was the first time we followed on tv and watched an entire state funeral for an American president.

All of the speeches were moving and touching; they brought me to tears. We had a lot of respect for  Sr. Bush's character and integrity.

We saw something profoundly human, a son (also a former American president) eulogizing his father, another former president.

There are important moments in history where time seems to have stopped and we would remember exactly where we were at that particular moment. One such moment was the landing of the moon when I was an elementary school student watching this historical event with my family at home in Asia.


The funeral of President George Bush was another historical moment for me. I was glad that we caught the entire ceremony from beginning to the end and was able to witness the ceremony in which Americans were paying respect and saying good bye to this great, decent American president.

R.T.
San Francisco
California, USA