Wordless Wednesday -- Flowers From All Over Edition

It's A Sign: The Best of San Francisco (So Far)

Obviously, I make a lot of trips into that lovely City By the Bay, and every time I'm there, I find new signs to take pictures of.

Here are some of my favorites that I've found in the last few years that I've been going out of my way to take pictures of signs.

I love these old signs--they're always so colorful and stand-out.

Ahhh, very punny!

I love signs that are in multiple languages, for some reason.

I think I've found my new career.

This is more street art than sign, but I don't care.

I took this while sitting in traffic at a red light, laughing hysterically and
trying to figure out if this truly was the lane I needed to be in for the
Golden Gate Bridge.

One of the more touristy signs.

Ahhh, the Embarcadero.

Groovy

Take a few blocks before the crooked part.

This is somewhere in the Tenderloin.

Somewhere in the Mission District.

I wish all old theaters could be restored and make a
comeback.

What an awesome gig that was!

Wash that naughty laundry!

At a restaurant in Pier 39.

Rare that I'm in one of my own sign pics. I'm such a rebel.

Japantown

If you guessed "The Haight," you get a cookie!

*gags delicately*

This makes my Top 10 signs list. If the subtle humor of this one goes over
your head...well, I'm sorry for you.

Another great vintage sign.

California Dreamin': Where Didn't I Go Today? (Part Deux)

Last night, I rather abruptly cut off my blog post because I was having a hard time uploading pictures and I was completely exhausted. I figured I'd finish it off today, so here I am.

After stopping--quite briefly--in Monterey, I merged onto Highway 1 North and took a detour from my normal route back towards Stockton. Instead of taking Highway 156, I stayed on 1 and then veered off onto 152 through Gilroy before meeting I-5 and heading north back to Stockton.

I stopped in Moss Landing, a tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it town on the coast, to get some ocean pictures with Cali Swimmy.

 

Rosie Pro, my trusty steed.

A California Girl and her California Duck.

To get here, I had to drive on an access road that was covered in sand.
A couple of times, I feared Rosie would get stuck.

Ahh, my beloved Pacific.

While here, a guy came up while I was getting a picture of Cali Swimmy.
I just smiled and said, "It's a long story." He smiled, so I said, "He's got
friends in Detroit, New York, England and Holland." The guy loved it.

After my beach fix, I started heading back inland. I found myself in the small city of Watsonville. There were some great signs, but I wasn't planning on stopping...until I saw the wonderful little town park. I had to stop. Parking was plentiful, so I got out and enjoyed a sunny inland day (the central coast is always cloudy, it seems, while the inland is gorgeous).

"God's Free Gift." Heh.

George Washington

A sign of the times...

A second swim in one day! Cali was beside himself.

A FABULOUS old sign.

On the way out of town, I slowed to a stop and quickly snapped this.

I continued on Highway 152, which took me up a small mountain and through some woods. At the top, I stopped for a picture of the view and a sign.

Driving through the woods (there was no one behind me, so I stopped).

In Gilroy

I stopped at a farm stand store that I've stopped at before. They had some gorgeous produce.

I bought that gorgeous artichoke that is in the middle of this picture and
plan to steam it an eat it tomorrow.

Gilroy is home to the annual Garlic Festival.

*giggle*

I bought all of this--one artichoke, a basket of strawberries, two russet
potatoes, five Roma tomatoes, and a cup of chocolate garlic ice cream--
for a whopping five bucks.

 Yes, that was "chocolate garlic ice cream." A few years ago I had the vanilla. This time, I had to try the chocolate.

After this stop I was ready to get home. I stopped at a vista point (not the same one from the morning, but a different one) along I-5 and learned a little something I didn't know about the California Aqueduct.

...And there it is.

The San Joaquin Valley

One last picture--my messy passenger side after a day's adventure.