Author: Bob C
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Grand Tour.15-A Journey To The Googleplex
A couple of months ago, I set out on my latest “Grand Tour” Amble. But this was no ordinary amble, no this felt more like a journey to the center of the earth. For on this day I was traveling to Google’s world headquarters, or as it has come to…
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Tenderhouse
I walk everywhere, and sometimes I think I’ve walked every block in the city. And then, I’ll discover something I’ve never seen, and realize that’s not the case. Here’s the latest example. Now, I really like the Tenderloin, but I guess there hasn’t been much call for me to be…
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Paradise Lost- A Visit To The Salton Sea
Is there a stranger sensation than coming upon a large body of water in the middle of a desert. The sight of Lake Mead suddenly appearing after hours traversing the lonely Nevada alkali, or Lake Powell emerging from the Colorado Plateau, studded with pontoon boats and jet skis. And then…
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Those Damn Residents, If They Would Only Listen
A new condo building went up in the neighborhood recently. Here it is: I like this building’s reinterpretation of a two apartment wide block of flats with bays. I think its interest lies in its tweaking of the massing, angled center section with bays rising to the top, rather than…
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Walking Into The Fog- A Trip To Ocean Beach
The ambling has been continuing lately, its just the writing about it that has been absent. A busy and immensely distracted summer. But ‘Ambles carries on, with an eye towards a book deal. “Stairway Walks Of San Francisco- 6th edition”…..give me a break. We live on the west-facing side of…
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The Glass Of Wine
A few days ago, I was at a cafe late in the afternoon, sipping a coffee and reading. I glanced over at a table nearby, and saw a vaguely familiar face. A dignified looking older man, sitting by himself , a suitcase next to him, sipping a glass of wine.…
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An Afternoon With Ghosts
Why do I feel myself drawn to cemeteries? Certainly,with the passing of my Dad, they carry more resonance and profundity. But they are truly extraordinary places in their own right.
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Last Call For The TransBay Terminal
Last week, Urban Ambles wandered down to the Transbay terminal for one last time. The terminal has been , for years, the terminus of transit to and from the East Bay, and the terminal is slated for demolition. In its place is planned a spectacular new station that is hoped…
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Welcome To Clubland
Commuting via Muni or BART for us means walking down from Nob Hill to the Powell Street BART Station. Descending to the station, one passes through a dense neighborhood of retail with apartments above, and interspersed amongst these buildings are a collection of noble brick buildings that are almost civic…
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Post Card From New Orleans
The gradual descent into the New Orleans evening left me feeling something was amiss . Couldn’t be the Delta Airlines Cabernet (though that was frighteningly bad), or the light turbulence. No, it just didn’t seem like anything was down there, just an occasional lone light to let me know that…
urban ambles 