Love/Hate

I've been back in San Francisco 12 hours and I have already been reminded of the things I love and hate about the place. When taking the BART from the airport, I was shocked how dirty and run-down the trains have become. Newspapers, peanut and sunflower seed shells were everywhere. The carpeting on the floors and the upholstery on the seats were worn and stained. The old stains had new stains on them. People openly ate and drank on BART. When exiting at my station I noticed the Clipper smartcard fare system, which as been plagued by problems ever since its recent launch. In short the BART ride was a microcosm of the problems facing San Francisco(and California as a whole) such as governmental budget woes, decaying infrastructure, subpar state agency performance and an absolute disdain of the populous to follow rules.
This morning I drove from the East Bay to Fort Funston (located in the Southwest corner of San Francisco). In that 45 minute drive I past through several micro-climates. The sunshine and warmth of the East Bay reminded me I didn't bring my sunglasses. When emerging from the brief darkness of the Yerba Buena Island tunnel of the Bay Bridge, I could see the San Francisco skyline wrapped golden by the morning sun. Beyond the skyline, I could make out the two red towers of the Golden Gate Bridge peeking above the morning fog. I was as if the City had written me a love letter to make up for the BART ride.