First pen show (probably)

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Not in the downtown area (or near enough), so not possible. No idea who Ricky is, although not relevant either.

[Farmboy]

Ricky is one of the three people that run the SF Pen Show.

True, the SF show is in Redwood City but it is closer to SFO than SF is!

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Daly City and points north (our intended area for exploration) do not include Redwood City.

[ethernautrix]

There's a Mai-do in Japantown, and if you go there, I recommend Mifune (restaurant) for udon. Granted, it's been a few years since I've enjoyed their udon... and now I'm thinking about udon. *Sigh*

I've had "udon" and "ramen" in Poland, but... let's just say that it's in the ballpark but not on the field of play. Anyway, if you like udon or soba, give Mifune a try.

Ricky is AltecGreen, a fount of fountain pen knowledge (and science! ).

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Thanks! We do like all things noodly so will look up Mifune.

Ricky/Altecgreen? I am no wiser, but it's not important. Paths will never cross kind of thing.

[catbert]

Ricky/Altecgreen? I am no wiser, but it's not important. Paths will never cross kind of thing.

Originator of this thread, among others.

[Chemyst]

Ricky/Altecgreen? I am no wiser, but it's not important. Paths will never cross kind of thing.

Originator of this thread, among others.

A giant in the community!

[junglejim]

Ricky/Altecgreen? I am no wiser, but it's not important. Paths will never cross kind of thing.

Originator of this thread, among others.

A giant in the community!

+1. He's also an extremely knowledgeable resource and collector/user of Nakaya fountain pens.

[calamus]

The last time I was in San Francisco there were people camped out in tents and defecating on the sidewalks downtown. As for those who are not homeless there, they tend to be, in general, among the most arrogant people I've ever encountered. Most of them seem to feel that they are superior to everyone else in the world. I may be going to the pen show in Redwood City, but I'll be avoiding what's turned into the most unpleasant city I've ever seen. True, it has some nice architecture, but it's also very dirty and pretty dangerous. It's also one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

You may find that it doesn't live up to its romantic image.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

That's a pretty damning statement. Would anyone else like to comment on the veracity of this?

[AzJon]

Eh. "Dangerous" is a relative term. "Dangerous" maybe at night and not greats parts of town, but largely not an issue if you have any sense about you.

Yes, you will probably catch a whiff of urine while in the city. Yes there are places where people are homeless and living in tents, but that won't be where you are, broadly.

Californians, in my opinion, generally have an air of superiority, that CA is God's gift to humanity. This is not a unique trait, but it is a bit amplified in the City. You will likely not encounter this unless you are being intentionally combative about their home having flaws.

San Francisco is one of the wealthiest and most gentrified cities in the world. During my time there, "dangerous" sections were cleaned up and cleared out. Plenty of rich white hipsters walking around. Are their bad neighborhoods? Sure, but they are very easy to avoid.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Thanks. I was asking because my wife is not an experienced traveller and has expressed some concern over things she has read about online. As a result she is somewhat leery of the idea of walking anywhere.

[AzJon]

I can understand being hesitant, but the itinerary you have mentioned puts you in places, in the day time, that also have other tourists around. Sure, don't walk random neighborhoods in south mission at night (or Hunter's Point, sheesh), but you would have no real reason to be there anyways. You might have to deal with a shouting homeless person, but, and I mean this very honestly, the homeless people in SF are some of the least aggressive I have ever met. Shouty, sure, but leave you alone if you just ignore them. My first week back in Arizona from SF, I had a homeless guy follow me for TWO BLOCKS harassing me for money. Never had that happen in SF, despite working in the Mission, in 4 years.

[ethernautrix]

The Tenderloin continues to be...a problem area for the city.

But I used to walk all over the city (not Hunter's Point, cos not in my route areas, although my family lived in the military transition housing there for a few days or a month, I don't remember) and didn't encounter difficulties, outside the city's well-documented homelessness problem.

My walk routes traversed the city (in my youth), mostly the Financial District, North Beach, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond (the Richmonds collectively referred to as "the Avenues"), Haight-Ashbury.... Through the Tenderloin sometimes but parallel streets (Bush, California, Sacramento) get you east or west without going through the Tenderloin.

Walk with alacrity and purpose, and you should be fine. Feel free to talk to people, ask for directions or recommendations. The city I remember was friendly and open. I loved talking to tourists, felt lucky to live (by accident of birth and parents) in a city some folks saved up for a long time to visit.

[AzJon]

The Tenderloin continues to be...a problem area for the city.

But I used to walk all over the city (not Hunter's Point, cos not in my route areas, although my family lived in the military transition housing there for a few days or a month, I don't remember) and didn't encounter difficulties, outside the city's well-documented homelessness problem.

My walk routes traversed the city (in my youth), mostly the Financial District, North Beach, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond (the Richmonds collectively referred to as "the Avenues"), Haight-Ashbury.... Through the Tenderloin sometimes but parallel streets (Bush, California, Sacramento) get you east or west without going through the Tenderloin.

Walk with alacrity and purpose, and you should be fine. Feel free to talk to people, ask for directions or recommendations. The city I remember was friendly and open. I loved talking to tourists, felt lucky to live (by accident of birth and parents) in a city some folks saved up for a long time to visit.

The Tenderloin is a problem, but because it's a well known problem, there tends to be a pretty solid police presence. Indeed, I knew a number of very well to do people that would go to the Tenderloin for food because of some of the newer restaurants in the area. I would be more concerned walking parts of the Mission than the Tenderloin *at night.

[ethernautrix]

I looked at renting a studio apartment in the 'loin about 2010. I realized I wouldn't feel comfortable returning home after dark, police presence or no.

I did used to hang out with my friend who lived on Capp at 21st. Yeah. The many tales she had of the hookers and drug dealers and public urinators/defecators. Definitely a sketchy area, but she'd lived there for about 30 years before the landlord's daughter's moving in evicted her and her family.

It's a big city packed into seven square miles, so, you know, danger can lurk anywhere. Just keep your wits about you and respond to potential threats with humor and deflection and if it turns out to be a fight-or-flight situation, choose flight.

[ethernautrix]

I'm not trying to scare anyone. I know plenty of people who have visited the city in the past few years (and last year), and they had no scary tales to tell. Just praise and wonder...and one lady (yesterday, in fact; a Polish nurse who travelled to SF with her husband last year (they're planning on a trip to China next year. I've never been.)) mentioned how cold it was in San Francisco, in California at all (they travelled up/down the coast).

So... wear layers!

[AzJon]

I looked at renting a studio apartment in the 'loin about 2010. I realized I wouldn't feel comfortable returning home after dark, police presence or no.

I did used to hang out with my friend who lived on Capp at 21st. Yeah. The many tales she had of the hookers and drug dealers and public urinators/defecators. Definitely a sketchy area, but she'd lived there for about 30 years before the landlord's daughter's moving in evicted her and her family.

It's a big city packed into seven square miles, so, you know, danger can lurk anywhere. Just keep your wits about you and respond to potential threats with humor and deflection and if it turns out to be a fight-or-flight situation, choose flight.

I was looking at a place in the Tenderloin that year, too! An old hotel turned into month-to-month residence. Really glad my better judgement decided against that...

[calamus]

Definitely there are areas in the City that are especially dangerous, and others that are less so. It seems to me that California has largely turned into a giant cesspit, particularly the larger urban areas. It's changed so much in my lifetime, I can't even recognize the place anymore. Of course, it's not just here. I remember when I used to love London and walked or took the tube everywhere and felt perfectly comfortable.

You should be okay walking around Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf and Telegraph Hill and Market Street during the daytime, anyway. I think. They used to be fine. I don't know if Golden Gate Park is still safe, you'd have to ask someone who's been there more recently.
I've stopped going (to SF) because the place just seemed to be on a downhill spiral.

Then there's this, just now from the "chatbox" at the top of the home page:

New [16:50] arrow: I had a bit of a shock report from los angeles and san francisco
New [16:51] arrow: apparently rats, typhus and worrying escalation of tuberculosis
New [16:51] arrow: people on the streets and no sanetary soluitons
New [16:52] arrow: I'm as you know in Bergen, we have rats too
New [16:52] arrow: major problem and a continuous struggle to keep the population down
New [16:54] arrow: I think they even mentioned bubonic plague
New [16:54] arrow: which made it sound a bit unreal

[AzJon]

Definitely there are areas in the City that are especially dangerous, and others that are less so. It seems to me that California has largely turned into a giant cesspit, particularly the larger urban areas. It's changed so much in my lifetime, I can't even recognize the place anymore. Of course, it's not just here. I remember when I used to love London and walked or took the tube everywhere and felt perfectly comfortable.

You should be okay walking around Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf and Telegraph Hill and Market Street during the daytime, anyway. I think. They used to be fine. I don't know if Golden Gate Park is still safe, you'd have to ask someone who's been there more recently.
I've stopped going (to SF) because the place just seemed to be on a downhill spiral.

Then there's this, just now from the "chatbox" at the top of the home page:

New [16:50] arrow: I had a bit of a shock report from los angeles and san francisco
New [16:51] arrow: apparently rats, typhus and worrying escalation of tuberculosis
New [16:51] arrow: people on the streets and no sanetary soluitons
New [16:52] arrow: I'm as you know in Bergen, we have rats too
New [16:52] arrow: major problem and a continuous struggle to keep the population down
New [16:54] arrow: I think they even mentioned bubonic plague
New [16:54] arrow: which made it sound a bit unreal

Eh, we get plague here in Arizona pretty regularly. It's not something you want, but its also treatable with a standard round of anti-biotics. Bad if it goes through homeless populations that can't/don't seek treatment though.

Beyond that, LAX has almost always been a dump.

I haven't been in London in close to 10 years, but I too walked all over the city with nothing more than my trusty London A-Z. Got very lost and found some very cool places that way. Probably wasn't always the smartest idea, but never had a problem.