"Photo documentation of Spencer Jack photographing Lombard Street."
I suspect Spencer Jack and his dad were on some sort of tourist tour and not driving themselves around San Francisco. To get the full Lombard Street experience one must drive oneself up the steep hill that leads to the famous downhill part of the street, you reach the crest and then descend slowly, brakes applied pretty much the entire time.
Lombard Street is memorable to my memory for a couple reasons. One being the last time I attempted to drive down Lombard Street I was unable to, due to the fact my clutch would not allow me to ascend to the summit.
The main reason Lombard Street is memorable to my memory is due to the fact that it was on the last family vacation I was ever to take that we drove down Lombard Street.
The summer after my freshman year of high school we took our first family vacation to California and Disneyland. At that point in time there was an attraction in Disneyland called, I think, America the Beautiful in Circlevision. You stood while moving images surrounded you. You were advised to hold on to the handrails. At one point the Circlevision took us down Lombard Street. It was very dizzying.
We had so much fun on that family vacation to California that we went again the next year, staying longer and going to San Francisco on the way south, where we did the drive down Lombard Street.
I did not know, at the time, that that family vacation was to be my last family vacation. My baby blister was born soon thereafter, which ended going on fun family vacations, at least for me.
On that last family trip to Disneyland, in addition to San Francisco, we also drove across the border, to Tijuana, we did wine tours in the Napa Valley, drove Highway 1 south, past Hearst Castle, staying at Santa Barbara State Park, where I got the worst sunburn ever, leaving a weird white spot on my back which remains to this day, I think. I've not looked lately.
Just a sec, I must go see if my Santa Barbara white spot is still there...
It's still there, about the size of a small pea, currently red due to sun exposure today.
I hope Spencer Jack tours Chinatown before he leaves San Francisco. I've had myself a mighty fine time or two in Chinatown. One time all of us in my traveling group got ourselves Mao jackets and caps in Chinatown. This made us look like revolutionary communists. I recollect us all later wearing our Mao outfits to the Duffy's Disco in Mount Vernon. The gatekeeper hesitated in admitting us, and then I guess he decided we added an interesting visual element and let us enter.
You ain't seen disco dancing til you see a Gang of Four doing the Hustle in full Mao regalia....
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