It's really hilly!

It's very hilly in San Francisco! I realized that as I was driving to lunch with Jennie and Max.

After lunch, Max told me that, in fact, San Francisco is the hilliest city in the United States... and Jennie said that she would take us for a drive on one of the most famous hills in the city...

Lombard Street! This street is not only a good example of how hilly it is in San Francisco, but it is also one of America's most crooked streets. What does that mean? If you look in the picture above, you'll see that the hilly street was created with sharp curves to switchback down the one-way hill past the homes that line it. The original street went down the hill at a steep 27° - which was dangerous for many vehicles at the time - and made it very difficult for people to get out of their driveways without encountering cars speeding down the road. So, so between 1922 and 1923 this part of Lombard Street was transformed into a switchback with eight sharp turns. Cars can only drive downhill, east-bound towards Leavenworth Street.

Here is a picture from us going down the street...

and here's a picture looking behind us as we go down!

Not far from where you get off of Lombard Street is the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf. More on this soon...