Lee Foster Releases Content from his new app “SF Travel & Photo Guide” in 10 Clusters, this is Cluster 2 of 10 By Lee Foster (Update Note: My ebook “‘SF Travel & Photo Guide” has been released on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2qS9QtG. The ebook parallels my app on this subject available from Apple http://apple.co/2ow44IC and Googlehttp://bit.ly/2o9sWKJ . See an Announcement on my website athttp://bit.ly/2qXg8Zf .) I am releasing here the content in my new travel ebook/app titled “SF Travel & Photo Guide” in ten alphabetical “clusters.” Each cluster will have 12 sections of the total 120 in the app. This is alphabetical release 2 of 10. (Other clusters released now include: cluster 1.) The app has been announced on my website. I have also answered some questions about the app on my website. The app works on smart phones and tablet devices, but not on laptops or desktops. I have released earlier cluster 1. This release on a website will not have the full functionality of the app structure, including its Google maps showing you contextually all the subjects around you. The release will show the text and photo of all the items, the full “SF A-Z” listings, but will not be able to present, as the app does, all subjects as grouped in an area (such as Embarcadero) or in the themes/subjects (such as Culture/Museums). After the 120 subjects are released, I will add the Outline that works seamlessly in the app and can be manually figured out on a website presentation. Eventually the app will likely be published also as an ebook and a printed book, but that will take a little time. The formal name of the app is San Francisco Travel & Photo Guide: The 100 Top Travel Experiences in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, the Search that locates the app is the shorter title “SF Travel & Photo Guide.” These folks havesecure dated voucher tickets, no wait in line and some discounts, for Bus Tours, Boat Tours, Alcatraz, Muir Woods/Sausalito, Attractions/Museums, Wine Country, and more. See theirAll San Francisco Tours. So, here is the second release: SF A-Z, Alphabetical cluster 2 of 10, subjects 13-24: Area: Golden Gate Park The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an ample green strip of land in the western part of the city. It is one of the great urban parks of the world and has been carefully laid out with multiple attractions. At the center of the park there are five big draws, all within a short distance of each other. They are a good place to start. Each of the blockbuster attractions of Golden Gate Park has its own write-up. The top attraction is the de Young Museum, a great repository of historic European art in San Francisco. Your Best Shot: Your photo of a fountain at the edge of the de Young, with the museum’s tower in the background, captures one of the newer architectural masterpieces in San Francisco. The de Young had to be rebuilt due to the earthquake of 1989, and the designers made this repository of art also an art object in itself. Across from the de Young is the progressive Academy of Sciences, a leading proponent of the presentation and conservation of nature worldwide. Just north of the Academy is the Conservatory of Flowers, a lacy Victorian glass greenhouse to display flowering plants from around the world. Immediately south of the de Young is the Japanese Tea Garden, a cozy and tranquil stop for a reflective pot of tea, especially at the spring blossom time. Across the street and slightly west from the Tea Garden is the Botanical Garden, formerly called the Strybing Arboretum. There you can walk through a fairly mature forest of redwood trees, one of the signature plants of California. This is all right in the center of the Golden Gate Park. It’s easy to get there by taxi or Uber from anywhere in The City. Just ask the driver to drop you at the de Young. The other area of the park especially engaging is its west edge. There a restaurant/brew pub known as the Beach Chalet and its adjacent twin Park Chalet restaurant. Both offer tasty meals. The Beach Chalet ground floor also happens to house some special art treasures from the WPA (Works Progress Administration) era of the 1930s. Be sure to check out the WPA murals. Across the Great Highway from the Beach Chalet is wide Ocean Beach and the Pacific. This is the place to take off your shoes and wiggle your toes in the Pacific surf. The breakers here are usually moderate and the beach slope is gradual. Glance to your right, looking north and up to a bluff, and you will see the legendary Cliff House restaurant. From there you can see the remains of the historic Sutro Baths, which once was the place for the younger set, who wanted to see and be seen. Inland a few blocks from the Cliff House is the Palace of the Legion of Honor, another art museum in the same league as the de Young. The Legion of Honor focuses on the San Francisco-Paris cultural ties that have flourished, especially since WWI. For all these options, many explorers in San Francisco put a visit to Golden Gate Park near the top of their travel list. — Area: Mission/Castro Murals in the Mission The Mission/Castro area southwest of Downtown and Civic Center is the oldest and one of the most culturally rich areas of San Francisco. The 16th and 24th Street BART Stations locate you in the area. All the subjects mentioned below have write-ups of their own in this presentation. The Mission area is the “oldest” because it was here that the Franciscan friar Junipero Serra chose to locate his Mission Dolores. Today the church is in good shape, well maintained, with an adjacent garden, and a local community of worshippers. The Hispanic influence in the area has continued to deepen, with new migrants and their visions. A significant art form has arisen, parallel to the mural artists of Mexico. For more on the Murals of the Mission District, see information at Precita Eyes Gallery. Your Best Shot: The dramatic wall murals of the Mission are a special art form. Walk down Balmy Alley, one of the main mural streets, with your camera at the ready. Get some shots of the art objects by themselves and of you with a mural. The Castro District has been the congenial place for gay people to live and flourish. Here you will find the location of the camera shop of Harvey Milk, the first gay Supervisor of San Francisco, who was shot by Dan White in 1978. A GLBT Museum at 18th and Castro documents the story of the movement. Each years the Mission celebrates with a Carnaval Parade. Participants represent the total Hispanic presence, from Mexico to Argentina, plus a Caribbean flair. Finally, the Mission/Castro area offers one of the more stunning views of San Francisco, from Twin Peaks. There you can look north to see the entire downtown urban skyline of The City. — Area: Northern/Western Oceanfront Northern Waterfront at Baker Beach The northern and western perimeter of San Francisco locates you in publicly owned oceanfront real estate. Many enticing stops can make a visit to this area meaningful and memorable. Each of these suggested places merited a write-up of its own in this presentation. Baker Beach, west of the Golden Gate Bridge, presents an unsurpassed view of the Bridge with waves crashing on a wide and sandy beach in the foreground, the white foam inching up closer to your shoes. The Bridge is on your right and a huge container ship may be entering the Bay. If overjoyed, this is one allowable place where a lot of San Franciscans go naked, on the section of the beach closest to the Bridge. Your Best Shot: Get a midafternoon image of the crashing waves and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background at Baker Beach. Lands End/Outlook is on the northwest corner of San Francisco. It includes the ever- developing Lands End Trail, with native plantings now replacing the “invasive” plants from foreign areas that escaped their expected horticultural boundaries. The National Park Service’s Outlook Visitor Center can provide details for your exploration. Cliff House/Sutro Baths offers fine dining and a glance out to Seal Rocks, where pinnipeds escape their alpha predators, such as sharks. Alongside Cliff House is the now forlorn Sutro Baths, just a stone shell of its former greatness. In its heyday, the saltwater swimming pool complex was the happening place where boy-meets-girl. Ocean Beach/Great Highway is a stretch of miles of wide ocean sand with a gradual slope into the water. A dog or human can run freely here. Wiggle your toes in the Pacific. Zoo is the San Francisco Zoo, on the east side of the Great Highway. This Zoo and the Oakland Zoo, and Safari West in Sonoma are among the great zoos. My last encounter here was reptilian, with a newcomer on display, a komodo dragon from Indonesia. For a species closer to home, the Zoo has restoration programs that give the endangered red legged frog of California a better opportunity to avoid extinction. Fort Funston’s Hang Gliders linger lyrically on the updrafts coming off the cliffs, passing close to the wooden viewing platform built for your observation enjoyment.