Night Arrival in San Francisco

Landing in San Francisco 11 pm local time, we are wide awake and hungry. We taxi to the San Francisco Hilton in the Financial District. I am surprised; I have been here before. I stayed here on a business trip last year when the entire town was booked for an Oracle convention. I was here for two nights at $750 a night. (I think we’re paying $120.)

I walk into our 24^th floor room and I am sure it is the same room I stayed in before. Of course, there could be a number of rooms with the same layout, but I still suspect it is the same room. The downtown view from the window feels identical.

The desk clerk informs us the hotel restaurant is closed and recommends we walk to Columbus Avenue, three blocks up. On Columbus, we see a few gentlemen’s bars and a prostitute or two hanging on the street corner. Gene remarks that there is something benign about San Francisco sleaze.