Cars and more cars (nostalgia).

 There was a period in my life when I was crazy about cars. The love stemmed from the years watching my dad work on his. 

My father's cars in the garage

He did everything on them: from washing and polishing, to pumping the tyres with a hand pump and fixing all sorts of things in the engine. 

And I was ever present.

Originally my favorite cars were the British MG's convertible. That was long before global warming, when the sun beating down on you was fun!

We even once drove a convertible MG Midget from Toronto, Canada to Panama.

 Later my favorite became the MGB convertible as it was bigger.

 My love of cars drove me to become a co-founder of the Jamaica Classic Car Club in the 90's. We had a classic car show at the National Arena and my 1966 classic 1800S Volvo (like what Simon Templer drove in the British series "the Saint"), came 2nd in that show.

Then the Japanese started to flood the world with cars that all looked alike.  So I became bored. But I still take in classic car shows now and then.

Why am I rambling? I just returned from a classic car show in Tamarac, and it was surely different!

This thing does not appear to have back tyres!

So they put this sign on the back glass😁.

I understand the back lifts up once you start it. Then you see the back tyres!

This regular Chev was converted to an EV. See the huge batteries in the engine now.

This truck is totally rusty, but it drives 

The inside of this car is covered with stickers

This rust bag also runs

The VW bus above was converted into a sleeper.

Some other interesting vehicles.

2005 Chev

MGA convertible

Mustangs are ever present 

God knows what that thing in the trunk is! Sound system?

These engines are impressive 

Model T Ford

This Bug is propelled by Jet Fuel!

A monster something

Then there were the humans dressed as cars.

 The kids loved them, as did the adults🤣.

When on all fours, it looks like a small car😊

Good background music. Interesting cars.

Technology sure helps!

 The more I travel is the more I regret how long it took for the internet to have been developed and digital cameras as well😡.

Golden Gate bridge in background 

For had I been able to start blogging decades ago, I would remember so much more! 

It really hit me when I visited San Francisco recently, as I have been there twice before, yet recalled so little! 

My first visit was decades ago when I was on a trip by car from Toronto to Panama.

I remember visiting Golden Gate bridge but not much else.

Views from Golden Gate bridge on an overcast day.

It was really overcast today.

 Alcatraz island from the bridge

The only thing I remember from the second visit is having dinner in Chinatown😡.

It looks so different now.

The gate at the entrance was donated by Taiwan.

But the food there is still wonderful. It is said it's the be the largest Chinatown outside of China itself!

In a Buddhist temple in Chinatown 

 California was not in our plans decades ago back when we were escaping from Toronto, due to their terrible weather.

Unfortunately we visited las Vegas, were overwhelmed by the glitter and casinos and ended up losing our shirt, so had to go to California to work for 6 weeks to shore up our savings. 

 The place has naturally changed so much since then, for better and worse. 

Example, it is now the 7th worse place to drive (of a hundred cities polled). We saw the evidence on the way back from the Golden Gate bridge, as traffic was barely moving after we entered the tunnel, due to an accident.

On the good side, it is next to London in terms of billionaires and already has 5 companies offering self driving cars/taxies.

Nope, it's not a ghost driving😁

I remember going to Fisherman's Wharf and seeing lots of sea lions. Now all I see is lots of people, restaurants and entertainment areas.

It cleared up, so got a better view of Alcatraz Island from Fisherman's wharf.

Amazingly, I don't ever recall hearing of Golden Gate Park, considering it's to date, the best park I have ever visited!

The amphitheatre 

This conservatory was built in 1879.

The Dahlias were breathtaking

  

A small man-made waterfall

The park even has an amphitheatre where they have free live shows from Fridays to Sundays, a science museum and free shuttle running every 15 minutes.

We took the shuttle twice and whereas the first driver was blah, we were fortunate to get the happy shuttle back.

   The unforgettable Sheila.

It was driven by one of the happiest, friendliest, nicest persons I have ever had the opportunity to meet. She calls and waved to everyone, stopped to invite walkers into her shuttle and would even leave the beaten track to drop you wherever you wish!

She is the greatest asset to the park has by far.

If you know a more valuable tool for getting to know a place than the hop on hop off buses, please tell me.

Best value for money in every city!

Some pics from the top tier of the bus. 

Jimmy Hendrix lived there. It is said to have a mural of Bob Marley and Janis Joplin downstairs.

San Francisco opera house

Asian museum of Modern art.

Posing by the Golden Gate bridge.

The tour guides tend to be very knowledgeable and you get to see places you wouldn't normally have the time to visit otherwise.