JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

By this point in the trip, the relaxed vibe of the west coast was sinking in, as I didn't feel an urgency to rush across the bay. I had settled into a pattern of processing photos, writing pieces of blog entries, reading the local papers and waking up to a steady diet of Norman Lear shows on cable (the final season of Good Times gave way to the first, The Jeffersons appeared to be near the end of its run, etc). Any tensions and stresses I felt before the trip had long evaporated, apart from occasional worries about how to park the Grand Marquis in compact lots. Day two in San Francisco started with a trek to The Mission to check out the neighbourhood's murals and sample some Bay-style burritos. The parade of art began upon exiting from the BART station at Mission and 16th, with a piece based on 1940s Wonder Woman comics greeting me at street level. Near the station were the murals of Clarion Alley (example shown above). SF Weekly's "Best of" issue...

Day 6: Pittsburgh, PA (Part 1) The day began with grocery shopping around the Shadyside and East Liberty neighbourhoods at Trader Joe's and one of Giant Eagle's Market District stores. The weather proved a hindrance during the day, as intermittent showers cut down on the amount of walking I planned to do. Early on, I discovered I didn't need to look at my city map to find my way around. The city's main neighbourhoods are well marked, thanks to the signage shown here. Many point to multiple neighbourhoods - imagine if you were at Queen and Spadina and a similar sign pointed you to Yorkville, The Annex, Cabbagetown, The Danforth and The Beach. I tossed the map in the back seat and let the signs guide me...and they didn't let me down. Heading west towards the core of the city, Penn Ave is lined with murals and artwork on buildings, such as Loud Silence , found at the corner of Fairmount. More about the artist , Tarish Pipkins . Two more Penn Ave mural...