I'm Off To San Francisco!

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:47 pm

Well gang, its finally here, I'm off on my much needed vacation to San Francisco. We're driving up and will be stopping at numerous places of interest; such as the Hearst Castle, on the way back down. We should be back in town October 16th, don't think I'll have internet access whilst gone, so, I'll have alot of catching up to do. Keep the home fires burning for me, I'll miss you all. Ciao for now.

doug65oh · Post by **doug65oh** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:25 pm

Sounds like a wonderful trip, Susan! Have fun...but be careful.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:19 pm

Thanks, Doug, it was indeed a wonderful trip! Just a quick post to let everyone know I'm back safe and sound, but now have to go back to work, booooo.

doug65oh · Post by **doug65oh** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:09 pm

Welcome Home, Susan!!

Guess we have to quit throwing erasers and put away the sling shots now, huh??

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:36 pm

Yay Susan! Saw your name at the bottom of the front page!

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:09 pm

Thanks, it feels odd to be back after being away so long. We got to do and see so many wonderful things on our trip, we even got to stay in two haunted hotels which was a blast! We took a ghost tour in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco which starts at the Queen Anne hotel, we immediately booked the most haunted room in the hotel; the Mary Lake Suite. Heres a pic of the hotel:

The hotel was originally built as a girl's school by Senator James G. Fair who had made quite a tidy sum of money from his silver mines in the Comstock lode. I've heard various versions of why the school was built, whether to have his daughters closer to him or to bring more well-bred women to what was still essentially a wild west town, I'm not sure? But, in 1890 the boarding school opened as The Mary Lake School For Girls.

The Piano Salon at the hotel was once the girl's gymnasium, we were assured that the young ladies definitely didn't play basketball!

Mary Lake was headmistress of the school from 1890 to 1896 when the school closed and was sold to a secret society of men called the Cosmos. Mary was heartbroken and disappeared from San Francisco never to be seen again. Her old office, room 410, is now a beautiful bedroom suite. Mary is said to haunt the room and hotel, but, she is a benevolent spirit. She usually tucks guests in bed while they are sleeping.

We weren't tucked into bed during our stay, though we found a few unexplained cold spots, spots away from windows and in the middle of hallways, mind you. The only supernatural experience we had was on the day we were leaving and were lugging our suitcases down the stairs from the third floor to the second. We heard what sounded like a champagne cork POP and my honey exclaimed that something pushed his shoulder. We looked around and couldn't find anything that might have hit him and there was no one else around on the third or second floors of the hotel!

It was truly magical place, I felt transported back to Lizzie's day while staying here and felt so at home. If anyone is staying in San Francisco and has the opportunity, I highly recommend it. Here is a link for the hotel's website, you can view the Mary Lake suite in 3D and find out more about the hotel.

http://www.queenanne.com/

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:19 am

Oh that is a beautiful place!
Interesting story- about a haunted hotel which you stayed in on purpose!

It's odd that I was just reading a work of fiction this week which took place mostly in Pacific Heights....

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:28 am

Yes, that whole area is just chock filled with beautiful mansions, perhaps its San Francisco's version of "The Hill"? I think Lizzie would have been most comfortable there. We did learn of an interesting story on the ghost hunt of a murder that was hushed up, the storyline was familiar in a way. It involved two sisters that were feuding, that had inherited immense wealth, a mysterious, shadowy relative that was allegedly the murderer, missing important documents and a cover-up.

If it comes through, heres a pic of the house that is haunted:

The Chambers Mansion at 2220 Sacramento St. is the former home of silver tycoon Richard Chambers and is said to be haunted by his niece Claudia who died in a bizarre accident involving knives.

Though in this story it is one of the sisters, Claudia Chambers, who was murdered by the allegedly crazy cousin with a knife. The murder was listed as an accidental death by farm machinery. As the tour guide had said, farm machinery? In a house? In the middle of the city? Claudia's body was almost cut in two.

The other haunted hotel we stayed in willingly was the Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz mountains which we had seen investigated on that new ghost hunting show; Dead Famous.

The Lodge is also known for its restaurant; the Brook Room, which has a brook running through the middle of it. One of the Lodge's owners had a niece named Sarah, who fell off the bridge going over the brook. She hit her head on the rocks below and drowned in the brook. She is supposed to haunt the hotel.:

The Brookdale started as the headquarters of a lumber mill, became a campground and hotel over the years that has hosted Herbert Hoover as well as gangsters and many Hollywood celebrities such as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe and Mae West.

We booked room 46 which is alleged to be the most haunted room in the hotel, no one else was staying in that whole portion of the hotel while we were there! We didn't know what was supposed to go on there and asked around, the bartender on duty at the Lodge's bar told us to come back later in the evening and have a drink and he would tell us the tales of room 46. After dinner in the Brook Room, we went back to the bar only to find out that they were having Karaoke night there, we opted not to have a nightcap and didn't get the ghostly scoop. We did find out that the band, The Tubes, were playing there Halloween night. Nothing scary happened other than my poor honey having nightmares all night about the hotel, the power of suggestion at work, I believe. It was as interesting as the Queen Anne hotel, but, not nearly as beautiful. Still, it was a fun stay.

I did find this website that has one woman's ghost story of room 46 as well as more info about and pics of the Lodge:

http://www.hauntedbay.com/features/BrookdaleLodge.shtml

And the official website for the Brookdale Lodge:

http://www.brookdalelodge.com/

Mark A. · Post by **Mark A.** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:48 pm

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair!

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:43 pm

I saw that show on TV which told the story and saw the brook in the lobby. That was last year or the year before that!
Wow! You stayed there?!

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:37 pm

Mark, does a flower barrette count? I wore one on the day we went to the Haight/Ashbury district.

Yes, Kat, thats the place! Once we found out where it was located in California, we just had to stay! It doesn't show on TV, but, the place has gone to seed. One of the hotel buildings all the way at the back of the property is now apartments. It still had a certain charm to it of bygone days, especially imagining the famous people who had stayed there in the past.

Nancie · Post by **Nancie** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 9:37 pm

Susan I'm so envious, I hope to go back to SF some
day, I lived there for 2 years in early 70's, the flower in the hair days. We had an apt at 1111 Pine
St, who could forget that address, it was Nob Hill and I would bet that little apt is now a million dollar
condo. Welcome home, did you eat prawns at the
wharf?

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:23 am

When was your last vacation, Nancie?

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:28 pm

No, Nancie, unfortunately no prawns, though we were down at Fisherman's Wharf. My honey doesn't care for seafood though he does eat fish, something about shellfish just nauseates him. He did encourage me to stop and get whatever I wanted to eat, but, seeing him turning green around the gills made me opt not to get anything. We did see the Musee de Mechanicals (sp?) which used to be at the Cliff House restaurant. And sadly we never made it to Alcatraz either, we found out too late that you need to buy your ferry tickets a day in advance, they sell out very quickly.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:02 pm

Did that kid complete that swim while you were there?

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:20 pm

Yes, he did do the swim while we were there, it was odd. We were talking about Alcatraz and how apparently no one was supposed to have escaped because if they got off "the rock" the waters were too treacherous for anyone to swim. Yet, this nine year old swam out to Alcatraz and made it.

Nancie · Post by **Nancie** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:56 pm

Sorry Susan you didn't make the ferry. The movie
"The Rock" has been on cable recently, makes you
wonder if they did make it off, if the kid could do it!
Kat, yes I'm really due for a vacation, been a looong time! A cruise would be nice!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:26 am

Susan @ Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:28 am wrote:No, Nancie, unfortunately no prawns, though we were down at Fisherman's Wharf. My honey doesn't care for seafood though he does eat fish, something about shellfish just nauseates him. He did encourage me to stop and get whatever I wanted to eat, but, seeing him turning green around the gills made me opt not to get anything. We did see the Musee de Mechanicals (sp?) which used to be at the Cliff House restaurant. And sadly we never made it to Alcatraz either, we found out too late that you need to buy your ferry tickets a day in advance, they sell out very quickly.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip, Susan. Did you bring me back any toys? Not even a rubber hatchet?? Oh, and to think I had such faith in you Susan!

Has the city changed much since '64? I remember the smell of those crabs cooking on Fisherman's Wharf and looking out at Alcatraz. I remember those big ships tied-up at dock side with those huge white ropes that had a blood-red inner core. The smell of that sea water and the cable cars. It was a warm winter day with the sun out and no fog (no hippies either). The Ice Follies were gone for the season (our main reason for going) but the horror chambers in the wax museum was real cool. If I ever go back it will be with someone else driving! Tell your honey he is "crazy" for not liking shellfish. I love it.

I'm glad you had fun!

-1bigsteve (o:

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:37 pm

Actually, Steve, I did bring back some toys from my trip! I have an extra skeleton toy, its a sort of puzzle where you have to attach the plastic bones together to make a fully jointed 12" tall skeleton that glows in the dark. I also got a little plastic ghost pin from the ghost tour we took, he comes with one of those small glow sticks that you snap and it glows and you put it inside his back to make him glow either blue or green. Oh, and a pencil sharpener from the Winchester house that looks like an early hand crank sewing machine from the 1800s, but, that belongs to my Lizzie doll.

I couldn't tell you how much or not San Francisco has changed since '64, the first time I was ever there was when I was a girl sometime in the 70s. And to me, things looked like they haven't changed much at all, Fisherman's Wharf still appears to be the same. Same smell of cooked seafood, sounds of cable cars and fog horns, though I didn't notice the ropes that moored the ships. The wax museum has some new additions to it, loved the chamber of horrors! We got some great pix in there including me hugging a skeletal pillar. I do so want to go back soon!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:06 pm

Sounded like you had a lot of fun, Susan. San Fran is a wonderful place to visit as long as someone else is doing the driving. I got lost in that city with it's one-way, up and down streets in '86. I went all the way up there to see a friend appear on a TV show and she never showed up (she did the following week) and I had to fight that traffic all the way back. Never again.

If you go up again make sure you take some warm clothes, especially in the summer. I was there in July 1966 and it was so cold my hair froze! Like the saying; "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." So true!! I enjoyed the zoo with it's roaring lions and poo-flinging apes.

Do they still have that guy in the chamber of horrors hanging in mid-air with the giant hook stuck through his belly with all the blood and everything? That was the exhibit I remember the best. I have fond memories of those early visits. I should hire a driver and go back.

I'm glad to hear you had fun.

-1bigsteve (o:

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:17 pm

I saw the Brookdale Lodge on TV too.

What a wonderful trip, Susan. And what great places you stayed.

Since I've seen ghosts in places which are not necessarily haunted, I've always been a little scared to stay in places that are supposed to be actively haunted. I'm afraid I'd be like your honey and having nightmares from my own imagination.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:58 am

Yes, Steve, the guy hanging from the hook was still there. Odd though, I seem to recall going into a wax museum in San Francisco years ago that had a Lizzie exhibet, unless I remembering one that I visited in Canada? Neat concept on that one, but, poorly done; you walked by the exterior of home and looked in the windows at the Borden sitting room. The Lizzie figure looked like her except for her hair, which was a short afro, I guess whoever executed the figure didn't research her real hairstyle enough. And, she was in the process of killing Andrew with the handless hatchet, just the hatchet head in her hand! The room and the Andrew figure were just caked with way too much blood.

Cynthia, I was suprised that I wasn't up all night or having nightmares myself! Staying in a room thats alleged to be haunted, with the lights off and hearing the occasional odd sound here and there and trying not to let my imagination run wild. I've had some experiences which I would term supernatural, but, nothing that was blood-curdling or terrifying. Which makes me curious about trying to experience more.

We also stopped at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon on the way back home, the indoor pool area had a weird vibe, my fiance and I both commented on it once outside. It felt like you were being watched by someone you couldn't see.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:30 am

I remember going to a wax museum in Canada about 1968-9 but I don't remember any Lizzie exhibits. They had Joan of Arc in armour (I don't remember Carolyn Jones being under that wax, but...), Hitler, a woman in a spiked cage and such. There was a seated figure of Cinderella that I thought was wax until she moved! I nearly dropped one!

A friend of mine performs at the Brookdale Lodge once in awhile. Cool place. I've never been to the Winchester Mystery House or Hearst Castle. It was a haven for a lot of silent movie people. Louise Brooks had quite a tale to tell in her book. Solvang is a nice place to visit and The Mystery Spot is super odd. I visited the Rose Bowl in 1963 and it rained so hard everyone's cars got stuck in the mud. We all helped push each other out. It was a riot.

I'm going to have to get out and enjoy more of this State of ours.

-1bigsteve (o: