Haight Ashbury (San Francisco)

My trip to California was capped off with a climatic visit to Haight Ashbury. The infamous land of beautiful gentle people, with flowers in their hair. Rob used to live on Haight St for years, so he knew this place well. Rob and Mum both feel that San Francisco is a wonderful place (although too expensive to live in), and Haight Ashbury is for the hippies. But they feel very at home with the hippies and the freaks, because I suspect they are oddities themselves.

Emmm... Mum, I'm really not too sure about standing next to this wooden shaped person with colors all over him and the peace sign!

Walking along Haight St is cool. There are lots of things to see, things to smell, and just be overwhelmed with. The sounds of traffic, and people playing some instruments on the sidewalk are just all over. Mum even put a tie-dye bandana on me because she said I was a hippie dog. I had to blend in.. so I did.

Homeless people and their dogs (on the left and right)
The amazing thing was that there were tonnes of street people, I guess they are homeless cos I see them sleeping on the sidewalk, or on street benches. Many of them have dogs too. I was so amazed to see the dogs at almost every street corner. They were just chill.

Then there are some people who sit with signs asking for money. We hardly ever see them back home in Seattle, but I guess maybe hippies need money too.

When Mum or Rob needs to go in a store, I get to wait at the door. They tie me close to the entrance so that they can keep an eye on me, I know Mum doesn't want me to get stolen ever. Her heart would be broken, and she'd never forgive herself. In this instance, she tied me literally at the door, not bothering whether I was blocking anyone else's way. Then she put me on a down stay on the inside so she could keep an eye on me, and I could watch her too.

After a while, we met this interesting dog with grizzle all over his body. His owner said he was a Belgian Shepherd, a cousin of the German Shepherd. He was sleek and beautiful, a little bit resembling the Belgian Malinois, from my old dog school. My old school had tonnes of Malinois.

Sometimes, Mum would wait with me outside while Rob visits a store. I get to chill with the homeless people, like those in the background (picture above)

San Francisco is notorious for difficult parking. Look over there Mum, a person is going to get a $50 parking ticket because it expired in the spot. The parking officer even smiled and said hi to me when I looked at him.

From Haight St, we walked over to the very famous Golden Gate Park. It was huge. I was let off leash for a bit to play chase with Rob. In this photo, it looks like I'm an expert in Schutzhund. Looks like I'm biting off Rob's arm. But no, I'm only playing..

The Arboretum was very white and intricately designed. There was a huge dome in the center and there were exotic plants stored in there. Rob and Mum have stayed in the tropics so it wasn't a big deal to see those plants, but walking around the gardens was really nice.

When Mum and I tried to take photos, suddenly a horde of children came over and said hi to me. They rubbed me, patted me and was so interested in me. They wanted to take pictures with me too, and I felt like a star.

It was really beautiful to lay between the flowers. I liked San Francisco weather. It was sunny and warm. I hope we get spring weather at home soon.

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

There are so many dogs out and about in San Francisco. I love it here cos I meet so many of my own kind. Even the homeless have dogs. This Australian cattle dog of some kind reminds me of my dog friends back in my dog school.

Woaw!! The wind is blowing my ear away!!

The not so awesome thing about roadtrips?
Staying in the car and trying to sleep my boredom away. We stop many times to stretch and walk, pee and poop, but its still quite boring for me. But I stay really calm, quiet and relaxed. I know Mum and Rob aren't having the easiest time driving and focussing on keeping us safe on the roads. And I really do appreciate all the stops and the night over in Oregon. It'd be too tough driving all the way back in 1 go, and I definitely appreciate getting to run in that field in Medford.

Hey Mum, are we home yet?

Hugs,
Kimi