[Cobra64]

I wouldn't mind the Iowa coming to San Francisco.... ...if its guns were still active, it could pound the place in the manner that it deserves!

I laughed so loud, my wife thought I was having a cardiac arrest!

BTW, both of our children are living in the San Fransicko Gay area. We're trying to get them to come back home to NC. I hate San Fran, and since we will be visiting the kids over Christmas time, I will be searching for a blindfold so that I won't have to watch guys holding hands and licking each other's earings.

BTW, both our kids are homophobes and that said, I have not a clue why they'd want to live in CA; capital state of queers, fruits, nuts and crime. Except they like the weather (and earthquakes?).

Then again, that is just my stereotyping of a state with which I am not an expert.

[Yossarian]

Why I love CA, and the Bay Area in particular, and think it's worth fighting for:

1. Yosemite National Park. The Yosemite valley floor is God's gift to mankind. Make a beeline for it when you get here - yes, even if it is cold out.
2. Lake Tahoe. Its opal blue beauty inset into the Sierra Madre mountains is a sight you have to see. If you get a chance, go skiing at Homewood, and you'll get a great view, as well as a nice time skiing at a non-corporate resort.
3. On your way up to or down from Lake Tahoe, take the 88 starting at Stockton - it is one of my favorite drives, especially coming back from spring skiing. It takes you through CA's horse country on your way to Tahoe.
4. The Golden Gate Bridge. 'Nuff said.
5. North Beach. In particular, Caffe Sport on the corner of Green and Columbus. Bring cash, as credit cards make money laundering impossible....
6. After Caffe Sport, go eat desert at Caffe Puccini down the street, and listen to some opera with your tiramisu
7. Napa Valley - go ahead, go on a wine tasting tour. At least Napa County isn't as liberal as Marin County!
8. The Silicon Valley - not much of a place to visit, but it's my home, and the absolute proof of the value of hard work, ingenuity, and U.S. Capitali$m. Come down and visit the Computer Museaum in Mt. View and/or the Tech Museaum of Innovation in San Jose anyways.
9. While you're down here, go to "Dish-Dash" in Sunnyvale, and order the "Mashwi"
10. If you're still down here, go run or walk off your meal at Rancho San Antonio park in Cupertino - it is one of my favorite places - a taste of wilderness to run or hike in, right next to the high-tech industry.
11. Go a little further south, past Santa Cruz (blech), and go to the beach at Capitola. The weather is warmer, the waves more surfable, and the girls are prettier!
12. A bit further south, go to the Monterrey Aquarium - you may have to fight through crowds of other tourists, but it's worth it.
13. Once you're down there, drive for a bit south along Highway One, right along the ocean. It is really spectacular.

Well, that's some of what I love. Keep your radio tuned into AM-640, don't watch TV news, don't venture into the Castro district, and I think you'll have a very Merry Christmas here in the Bay Area!