Information / Sources, San Francisco

San Francisco loves its traditions, especially its rising from the ashes after the "Big One". If you come to San Francisco in April, meet me at Lotta's Fountain April 18th, 4:30 am. Explore this page and see why...

1906expo.com

For more on our history, check out these superb web sites:

SFHistory.org
SFMuseum.org

The first quarter released in 2005 honors California, and is the 31st in the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program. California was admitted into the Union on September 9, 1850, becoming our Nation’s 31st State. Nicknamed the "Golden State," California’s quarter depicts naturalist and conservationist John Muir admiring Yosemite Valley’s monolithic granite headwall known as "Half Dome" and also contains a soaring California condor. The coin bears the inscriptions "California," "John Muir," "Yosemite Valley" and "1850."

In 1849, the year before California gained statehood, the family of 11-year-old John Muir emigrated from Scotland to the United States, settling in Wisconsin. In 1868, at the age of 30, Muir sailed up the West Coast and landed in San Francisco. He made his home in the Yosemite Valley, describing the Sierra Nevada Mountains as "the Range of Light… the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I have seen." He devoted the rest of his life to the conservation of natural beauty, publishing more than 300 articles and 10 books that expanded his naturalist philosophy.

The 20-member California State Quarter Commission was formed to solicit design concepts from California citizens and to review all submissions. The Commission forwarded 20 design concepts to Governor Gray Davis’s office for further consideration. From these, five were chosen as finalists and sent for final review to the United States Mint. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger chose the final selection from this group of five. The four other design concepts considered included "Waves and Sun," "Gold Miner," "Golden Gate Bridge," and the "Giant Sequoia" design. The Department of Treasury approved the "John Muir/Yosemite Valley" design on April 15, 2004.

When you visit the Bay Area, be sure to visit the well-known Silicon Valley located near San Jose and along the southern and southwestern side of the bay. There are a lot of modern-looking office buildings and complexes here, and it was interesting for me to recognize many famous technology companies here, including Yahoo, Oracle, Google, Intel, E-Bay, Cisco Systems, etc. and many many more!

Live Cams : This site gives you the option of several different views of the city from the Trans American Building, the Bay Bridge, the Protrero and the Golden Gate Bridge.

http://www.sfgate.com/liveviews

The electricty in the US is 110-120v 60HZ voltage. The standard plug is a two-blade plug. Unless you are staying at a hotel, you would be better to bring a converted with you and a dual voltage appliance.
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This is not really a cultural tip and I still haven't really come to terms with tipping but one thing I do know is that if you are going to be staying in SF for a while and are looking for accomodation, a new friend or what local events are going on, then you should check out the website www.craigslist.com - this website is widely used in the bay area and there are versions of it for other cities in the USA and even Australia!!! VERY HELPFUL!! Click here to visit the site

http://www.sanfranciscocitytourist.com/san-francisco-hotel.html

You will need to bring at least one major credit card on your trip. Credit cards are accepted and often a requirement at nearly all hotels, car rental agencies and airlines, as well as.
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