Friday, August 17, 2007

Escape to Alcatraz

The heat has been so intense in the Midwest these past few weeks that I was delighted to have a good reason to leave it. I had a meeting in San Francisco and left town on Sunday, just before the daytime temperatures rocketed even higher into triple digits. Apparently it reached 105 degrees on Wednesday before a minor cool front came through the area. I returned in the early evening on Thursday to a slightly more bearable 90 degrees.

San Francisco was both uncharacteristically warm at 65 degrees for a high, and amazingly clear with beautiful blue skies. The fog banks that sit offshore just west of the city held back just enough to allow San Francisco to be lovely and not too cold. There is some debate as to whether Mark Twain really said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco", but when the fog does roll in it is nice to have extra layers to wear. In any event it was a most welcome break from the oppressive heat at home, and whatever the weather in the Midwest, it's always delightful to have an excuse to visit the city by the bay.

No comments: