This Afternoon Spencer Jack Took Me Down San Francisco's Lombard Street

My favorite nephew Jason always does what he says he is going to do. Yesterday Jason indicated that today Spencer Jack would be sending me a photo of San Francisco's Lombard Street, and true to Jason's word, that photo arrived about an hour ago, with accompanying text saying....

"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....

The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison

These HOT final days of August have me looking forward to the fall following these dogs days.

Why is the latter part of August referred to as the Dog Days of August it just occurred to me to wonder?

Is this a Native American saying?

Speaking of Indians.

What with the heat and the humidity and what with needing to go to Walmart and ALDI I opted out of doing anything too strenuous during my regularly scheduled daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic activity and instead had myself a leisurely roll through the shaded Village Creek Natural Historical Area, prior to ALDI and Walmart.

Eventually I left the shaded Historical Area and the Indian Ghosts and pedaled the less shady Bob Findlay Linear Park trail to the location you see in the picture, near a monument memorializing the murders, I mean, incident,  known as the Battle of Village Creek, a battle where a lot of the residents of Village Creek, natives, were killed.

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmares Searching For The Missing Village Creek Indian Ghosts

Today was the first day I got around to rolling my bike's wheels after fixing the rear wheel flat that flattened the last time I rolled my wheels with the Indian Ghosts in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

As you can see,  it was back to Village Creek I rolled today, with my bike's handlebars posed on the overlook which looks over the former Blue Bayou of Village Creek.

The Indian Ghosts were not in evidence today. Methinks they are not fans of HEAT and  HUMIDITY.

Vegetation seems to be choking the water out of the Village Creek Bayou. The first deep freeze of the year should be interesting regarding what will become of all that vegetation. I suspect it will be a mess.

I do not know why, what with this being the mildest summer since I have been in Texas, but the HEAT is getting to me this year. Not enjoying the natural sauna steam bath effect to the level I enjoyed it in Texas summers past.

In addition to HEAT exhaustion I'm also suffering the effects of a slight bout of sleep deprivation. In other words I had bad nightmares last night.

Near as I can tell the nightmares were triggered by reading that the Texan who goes by the name of John Spivey ran down Lombard Street in San Francisco yesterday.

The idea of running the streets of San Francisco would be enough to provoke nightmares, but what Mr. Spivey's Lombard Street running tale triggered was a long suppressed memory of a time back in the last century when my ancient 65 Fastback Mustang's clutch started slipping as I tried to drive up the steep side of Lombard Street which leads to the curvy, scenic downhill side. I had to back down the hill, cars were honking. taxi drivers were shaking  fists at me.

It was traumatic.

Last night my long ago Lombard Street woe morphed into a nightmare where I get an unexpected call from my Little Blister, calling from D/FW airport, insisting I pick her up and deliver her to the University of Dallas. So, I pick up the Little Blister who proceeds to be a bit typically overbearing, unpleasant, humorless and demanding.

Apparently my speedometer makes an annoying repetitive noise that was unacceptable.

The drive to Dallas was very dark. I reached downtown, pulled over to look at a map to try and figure out where the University of Dallas was, due to never having heard of it before. In my nightmare the topography of Dallas was hilly, with Dallas surrounded by water on three sides. Totally not like flat, waterless Dallas.

When I awoke from the unsettling nightmare I realized I'd turned Dallas into the nightmare which is driving around in San Francisco, what with way too many hills, absolutely no freeways and no easy orienting landmarks like I usually use to find my way around a town I am not used to.

If I remember right I think I read on Facebook that Mr. Spivey is planning on going on a run in Carmel.  I had another incident in Carmel. Police were involved. I got out of it unscathed.

Reading about a Carmel run probably will not trigger a nightmare.....