Dirty Thirty Photography: City Tour...or something like it.

This past Sunday Rachel and I went on a shuttle tour of the city. Although now technically locals, we both thought it would be beneficial to go on an organized tour and maybe see some places we haven't before. Rachel found a great deal for one such tour company on DealOn. The tour was to make stops at Twin Peaks, Sutro Baths, the Painted Ladies, and the Golden Gate Bridge. This was an ideal itinerary because all of these are sights that I had yet to visit.

To condense a very long story, this was not only the worst tour I have ever been on, but I would guess that it is worse than any tour that you have ever been on. It was at the same time hilarious and extremely tragic. The reason for this was our driver and tour guide, Robert. To give you a visual, Robert is a black gentleman in his 40's dressed in a bright cobalt blue stripped suit and hat, as well as sunglasses and Under Armour gloves. At first appearance you would think he is more likely a pimp than a tour guide. Robert showed up 30 minutes late without apology. It was quickly apparent that he was intoxicated, out of his mind, or both. Again, I want to keep this story as short as possible so the highlights are below...

Arrived 30 minutes late.
Drove around in circles and repeated same information for 20 minutes.
Stopped at a coffee shop to get himself coffee while leaving passengers locked in the bus.
When we came across heavy traffic he laid on the horn and repeatedly yelled at drivers that obviously could not hear him.
Asked passengers for gas money and stopped to get gas.
Backed into a fire hydrant.
Got into a verbal altercation with a passenger which made the drive down from Twin Peaks extra uncomfortable and scary.
Half of the passengers got off early at a random point because they had enough (we did not).
Repeatedly told us it was his Birthday and asked for tips.
Took a personal phone call from what seemed to be a parole officer or sponsor and spoke loudly for the last 15 minutes.

This list truly does not even begin to do justice in expressing what a strange experience it was. It was so ludicrous that for the most part it was really funny. The tragic part came when realizing that Robert had serious issues and was probably completely oblivious as to what a terrible tour guide he is and how inappropriate his actions were. I purposely did not name the tour company, but if you are interested let me know and I will gladly tell you.

All that being said, Rachel and I made the most of it and did get to see some great sites. Unfortunately, due to all the issues, we only had a few minutes to get out and take pictures. I look forward to returning to these locations in the future with more time to properly explore and take pictures. For now, I did have a few shots that I think turned out well (see below). Thank you as always and take care.