Herb Green photo Haight-Asbury area of San Francisco. Hello, That photo looked familiar. For two years starting in late 1966, my wife (girlfriend then) and I made the trek to San Francisco to enjoy the city and all its outstanding features. Golden Gate Park, car shows- Cow Palace/Oakland, concerts outdoors and indoors, and some great food places, too. It was a new adventure and the area was different than where we grew up in So Cal and hung around as college kids. So, onward to make the long drive up the coast to enjoy our stops along the way. Big Sur, Monterrey, Santa Cruz into San Francisco. We stayed in some odd ball places, like a teeny cabin in Big Sur and a dinky motel room in San Francisco. What money we saved, went a long way as we were not big spenders. At least each place was clean and comfortable. That was the key element. From the first time we walked on Haight-Asbury Street, it was a whole different world. The shops were all full of activity and the young folks were all wandering around like it was a holiday. For some, it was a 365 day holiday. For others, they were like us, visitors and interested college “culturalists.” The area stayed the same for the young folks living there or in the surrounding area. The end of the busy street led right to the famous Golden Gate Park and that was always good for a quick nap on the sprawling grass area. The warm sun, the gentle rock music playing down the other areas of the park and surrounding old apartments was enticing and relaxing at the same time. Jnaki One of our great purchases to commemorate the multiple trips and lengthy stay in San Francisco was this colorful, folding paper thin, see through lampshade. To us, it was the style of the times... colorful and having a free spirit, not a round white glass cover or a chandelier or some other hanging structure, but one that could adapt to any style of low light shape and brightness of a bulb. This lampshade was foldable, so, it fit in a flat bag behind the spare tire of the 65 El Camino. It was made of thin see through paper and a colorful design. It was a universal fit for all hanging lightbulbs of any size or shape. but, it was nice that the protective space behind the spare tire of the El Camino was there. The lampshade made it through stops and a week long road trip to arrive safely home. At first, the shade was hung from the middle of the ceiling outlet over the antique dining table. But, when we got a new antique specific corner table and lamp combination, the paper thin colorful shade fit perfectly. That shade cover lasted through the small apartment years and the 3 different homes either on display or in a protective sleeve in a closet. But, it was a memory of being purchased on Haight-Asbury during 1966-67 season. To cap off the first time walking out on the famous Golden Gate bridge for my wife, we stopped and took some standard sunset photos from the bridge and were amazed at how fast the current and tide was flowing out to sea, below us. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
