Tourist trap number two – a ride on San Francisco’s iconic Powell-Hyde cable car – could have started better. At $7 a pop it was pretty pricey on a per mile basis and the nearly one hour wait for our turn was a wee bit too much, at least as proven by the increasing number of comments from those queued around us. I’d have to agree the cable car staff seemed noticeably lax and to some degree sported a couldn’t care less attitude, which is a shame as the concept behind one of this city’s most famous attractions is fool-proof, which on the other hand if you think about it could also be the reason why. Every tourist is going to do it so why bother with the extra effort, right. Once we did reach our turn and started rolling, it was an uphill battle (and downhill, and uphill again a few more times) through scenic and frequently beautiful San Francisco streets, scenes that are hard to come by anywhere else in this country.

In retrospect the ride till the very end seemed to end very quickly though that’s also understandable considering how expensive it is to maintain such an outdated system. It really is a theme park ride only it’s not in the confines of an isolated environment such as indeed a theme park but rather in the real world, our world, potholes, incoming traffic, and all that comes with it. I’m pretty certain I won’t ever endure such a thing again if I had any say, but it was a good run nonetheless. Now if only Mickey and the gang can run it instead.