When crossing the eastern span of the San Francisco Bridge, few people realize the history of the…read moremilitary in the area. One specifically, the Nimitz House, hidden just under the freeway on the east side of Yerba Buena island, has an incredible story and history! This house was the final residence of General Chester Nimitz, the leader and architect of WWII Pacific Theater. Simply said, the man whose leadership and strategy was used to win the war and allowed the Allies to proclaim victory. This house is a three story mansion and shows its unique architectural splendor as you approach it. It contains large windows which enabled views of the east bay and if you search the internet, you will see the elegant interior - a fitting home for its resident and his family. Gen Nimitz past away in this home at the age of 81 from a stroke. Unfortunately, California is not maintaining the residence and it has been falling in disrepair. Paint, windows, and the structure are all showing signs of neglect. Don't let its condition stop you from visiting though. Although you can't enter, you can appreciate its history and marvel of the fantastic area and views it provided.

Have you ever fallen into a rabbit hole of discovery on the Internet, only to find yourself, at…read more3am, looking at pictures of seemingly abandoned buildings on islands off the coasts of California or Mexico, which you found by zooming into said islands on Google maps and looking through the posted photos, then wondering who the hell this random guy named Christian is who posted the photos not even five months ago? What is Christian's story, you wonder, as you continue to look through the other attractions of the island, which does not include residential or commercial buildings, only to discover a few hiking trails that lead seemingly to nowhere...but what's this? A campsite with no electricity, running water, or bathrooms? Just a field on an island designated as a campsite, reached by some trail made by a dude with a machete, or something? But despite the lack of these amenities...there are picnic tables! Who decided first that it should be a campsite? Who brought the tables? What are the backstories? I've found some neat places online using this exact technique, and I've been fortunate enough to visit such places. It's cool to stand in the location of such a place after seeing all the pictures online and building it up in your head, and honestly, what makes these places better is when there aren't a ton of people crowding around when you get there, trying to take a picture for their Instagram. Sometimes, like in the case of this house, I do the reverse and come upon a neat building, art piece, or other landmark as I'm out doing other things, then furiously search the Internet for more info on the history. For me, the places that are a bit mysterious are the coolest finds. We came across this spot accidentally; we had gone to see the mission in downtown and stopped to check out Treasure Island on the way back. We drove around a bit looking for a good place to see the skyline, and came upon this very unique bit of Yerba Buena, which is somewhat hidden on the side and requires you take some twists and turns down a side road. Although there is an informational board in front of this house that suggests many people visit this place, the houses are surprisingly well-kept, with all windows intact and walls free of graffiti tags, and things are generally not trashed by garbage human beings. Looking into and around each of the houses, I got the sense that this is an area that is largely unvisited, especially compared to the neighboring areas of San Francisco, and now even Treasure Island. I wanted to do my own digging to see how well-known this weird circle of Victorian-style houses, juxtaposed beneath the modern industrial backdrop of the various overpass-bridges, are to people my age online. The results were interesting. One Reddit post with someone claiming you can rent these out for events. Quite a few articles discussing some cool historical facts, like how the Navy wouldn't let the developers of the overpass build over the house if it would block the sunshine (this house was where Admiral Chester W. Nimitz lived the last years of his life). You can easily see the curve of the overpass, as if someone nudged it out of the way. Not a whole lot more on it, other than apparently Willie Brown (past SF mayor) trying to make it the mayor's ceremonial mansion (god, please don't). Overall, despite not being able to go inside any of these houses, they're kept in beautiful condition by someone I'm assuming to be a groundskeeper, and a stop here is worth it for the view alone. Just don't mind the whizzing and whirring of the cars commuting from above.

Art, history and the outdoors all come together at this little known attraction in Richmond CA…read more I'd say the Rosi memorial was a shining moment in the history of our country. I take every opportunity to talk to older generations of women that were a part of woman's equality. No, no, not this third wave feminism that is going around lately but about treating people the same regardless of the bits and pieces they happened to be born with. Things these days got way off track. Its madness. I wanted my Rinks to see the true and pure form of feminism - and I assigned Rosi the Riviter to be her hero the same way I made Sweets look up to Otto the bulldog. Yes thats what a helicopter parent does. An older lady next door - an attorney - told me she was bewildered and disappointed in the young generation of women. Entitled, easily offended and using men as body guards is the new norm. She told me 'our generation did all the work - they don't have to do much.' Both she and I felt that the women's movement was taking a step backwards the past 10 or 20 years. Take a look at Rosi and I think its easy to see the above being true. Talk to 70 or 80 or 90 year old women as much as you can and learn the history before its too late. I like history. Old stuff. Old cars.... old houses. Teach our youth the best you can and make sure they have somebody to look up to.

This is the G. I. Jive Man alive…read moreIt starts with the bugler blowin' reveille over your bed when you arrive Jack, that's the G. I. Jive... Excuse me while I listen to Benny Goodman's band play "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and do the jitterbug with my gal one last time before I get shipped out. But don't cry for the girl I left behind, no-sir-ree, because she became Rosie the Riveter, one of the brave women who worked on the home front during World War II while I was dodging hand grenades overseas. Surprisingly, this is the first memorial fully dedicated to the dedicated contributions of these women, and the minimalist design by visual artist Susan Schwartzenberg and landscape architect/environmental sculptor Cheryl Barton is on the subtle side. At first, you think it's just a piece of a ship's hull you're looking at with photos, letters and memorabilia laminated on the enamel panels (photo: http://bit.ly/2xSG7QG). But then you realize the walkway marks the timeline about the home front activities at the time and includes quotes from Rosies chiseled into the white granite. There are also pieces of stainless steel that suggest unfinished sections of the warships they built. This gives you a realistic depiction of the challenges the Rosies faced back then with discrimination, hazardous working conditions, and child care. Two adjacent rose gardens complete the grounds. V for Victory, Rosie! Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Just remember that I've been true to nobody else but you So just be true to me...