14/10/2006. The Dakota, Day one.

Dear ones, I've tried setting this thing up so you can leave comments...again. you have to register (open and account) and then you should be OK. So it was bye-bye to LA and hello San Francisco. The check in and security was, as usual, a nuisance but the flight itself was brief and drama free. had an empty seat next to me so it was quite comfortable. I found a shuttle to take me to the hotel so there was no getting lost. The Dakota is an old building near Union Square which is the centre of this particular district. Shops, restaurants, theatres etc etc. Great spot to be based. Anyhoo, I stepped into the lobby and was surprised at the homeyness of the reception area. I was given room 602 so I had to take the lift. And what a lift. Just like in the movies, you have to slide the metal grilled glass door across and then the concertina steel grate to get in. then you press your floor number and this tiny old elevator slowly but silently makes it's way up. It's great! I'll get some shots of it. I got to my floor and found my room. My room at the previous hostel was tiny, had one window that let in no light, bunk single beds and a prison toilet. That is, pretty much open but for a low wall for privacy. Cramped and utterly charmless. All this didn't have me expectng much from the Dakota but then I opened the door to 602....WOW! here was this spacious light filled corner room with four big windows giving me a great view of the immediate area. In the middle of the room was a king size bed! I couldn't believe it, it was beautiful. The bathroom is clean and compact with another window that opens on to....a FIRE ESCAPE!! This was simply too good. I had arrived with little expectation and been very pleasantly surprised. I love it. I put down my luggage, freshened up and took off to have a look around. It's a nice city this. Lots of old architecture mixed in with the new. Some of the old stuff is run down and some has been renovated. I'm a few blocks from Chinatown which doesn't interest me (went through there on the bus today...you've seen one Chinatown, you've seen 'em all). After tooling about for a couple of hours, I poped into this bar for something to eat. I got myself a bowl of chilli and a beer. The chilli was beautiful, as was the beer. After a few beers, I headed home to work out what I was going to do in the evening. I was going to go across the road to Bobby C's Owl Tree but it was closed. Bobby died a little while ago and there was a notice up regarding a wake or something. Don't know if it'll open again while I'm here. Wound up at a place called Biscuits and Blues. They had a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was fantastic. This guy, Alan Inglesias (believe it or not)was a gun guitarist and the drummer and bass were great too. Great show from both the band and the crowd. A lot of whoopin' and hollerin'. There was this black dude, blind drunk, kept standing up and applauding whenever the mood suited him...which was often. I think the guitarist called him Iceman. He was rotten. Very funny. Didn't get drunk this time so at the end of the show, I finished my beer and headed home. Great day and I was very pleased to be in this city and out of LA. More later Chums