Peace Plaza in Spring

I had an appointment near Japan Center, and took a walk through.  It's busy!  On a weekday!  Some beloved things are gone (I'll miss you, Pika Pika!), but others remain with complex monitoring of how many people are inside at any one time.  And hand sanitizer everywhere.

It was reassuring.  I will return!

Cherry blossom riot

The best kind of riot.

Magnolias leafing out

Camellias galore

Painted pinker

Painted pink

Puffily clouds of rhododendrons

Spring springing

Power Puff stamps!

Adorable arbutus

Camellia time

White plum blossoms

In my neighborhood, the blossom pattern is:

• purple-leaf plum trees bloom first; as they begin to leaf out
• green-leaf plum trees bloom next;
• single-blossom cherry blossoms then wait until all the fuss is over, so they can be the only ones blooming.

Double-blossom cherries follow that, but I don't have many of those in my neighborhood.  

I still find it funny that I can walk over toward West Portal and still find purple-leaf plum trees with blossoms; it is like going back a month in time!

Plum and quince

Mission Bay shapes

This is a little collection of architectural textures and shapes from my walk today.  Mission Bay has some of our newest buildings, and has almost wholly replaced the industrial warehouses, gravel yards, and shipyards that previously occupied the land, so gives a sense of unrestrained hip-ness in building styles.

Subtle mosaic

The Ferry Building has many things to like, and I like the little mosaics on the columns.

Photo trap

Vacant storefronts within our Ferry Building Marketplace (ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/) are covered in flowers, and no one can resist a selfie there.  (Aside from me, apparently.)  

Same Cupid, new background

The stack of boxes just to the left of the fletching is a stack of luxury condos, and I am entranced by the images on a local real estate listing site for them.  (75 Howard is the address.)   The gorgeous, not-lived-in-looking staged spaces are just superb, and the views are spectacular.  

Embarcadero geometry (& outdoor dining)

What a shapely skyline we have.

Usual mast reflections (photos I always take)

I don't mind being a creature of habit.

February basking

Living in a city surrounded by water on three sides is RATHER NICE.