Balmy Alley and other San Francisco, CA Off The Beaten Path Tips

What I love about San Francisco is that art abounds on the street; murals are everywhere and you do find the odd sculpture or art installation squeezed into nooks and crannies around the city when you least expect it. Many murals are found in the Mission district.

Balmy Alley, in the Mission, is where the mural movement started in the 70's, and today you can find murals of all sizes and themes done by artists of all ages down this alley. Stop by the Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center for more information and for walking tours.

I would recommend doing this during the daylight hours as some areas of the Mission can get a bit unsavory in the evening. Watch out for cars as people do drive through the alley, and from what we observed were none too caring about pedestrians.

Directions: Balmy Alley is located between Folsom and Harrison Streets, and 24 and 25th Streets.

Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center is located at 2981 24th St. They have a gift shop as well.

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Phone: (415) 295-2287
Website: www.precitaeyes.org

If you happen to be in Russian Hill, take a charming diversion down Macondray Lane, which is lined with English-style cottages and Victorian homes. The "Lane" is extremely narrow and meant for pedestrian traffic only.

Please note that the area can be difficult to navigate if you have trouble walking, as there are some very uneven cobblestone walkways and a large set of steep wooden stairs at the end, near Taylor Street.

Stretching from approximately Jones St. to Taylor St., Macondray Lane may look slightly familiar, if you are a fan of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. He used the area as the setting for part of the series. Don't forget to take in the views of the Bay and Alcatraz as well.

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We were looking for something different to do on our second trip to San Francisco, and we decided to book a tour of the Castro area, with Trevor Hailey's Cruisin' the Castro tour, as that was probably the only area we hadn't explored.

Meeting under the Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza, we had no idea what to expect, and my husband was a little nervous (I kept reminding him no one was going to bite him), but Trevor is such a lovely person, and she put him right at ease with her gentle southern charm and wonderful humor.

Trevor did extensive research for the tour, and combines sociology and history into a extremely informative 4 hours. She leads you down the streets of the Castro, explaining the historical significance of certain landmarks, combined with how they affected the social mores of the times. 4 hours seems a lot, but there are many rest stops along the way, plus the pace is at a stroll, managed quite well by the elderly participating in our group.

She limits the group to 15 persons, and your tour fee includes a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, the Firewood Grill. Our group consisted of gays, straight, and people of all age groups and nationalities, and at no time was anyone made to feel uncomfortable at all.

Unfortunately, Trevor will be retiring at the end of August, 2005 to San Diego, and hopefully, she will have found a worthy candidate to take on this marvelous tour.

I will include more contact info, once I find out who will be taking the tour over

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When building The Bay Bridge, the rock cut out for tunnel construction created Treasure Island. Treasure Island is located halfway between Oakland and San Francisco and gives you lovely views of the city.

Once occupied by the US Navy and Coast Guard, they have since vacated, and there are no plans for the site yet. As you enter, you wil see the first airport in San Francisco.

Location: Just over the Bay Bridge, towards Oakland

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