Signs in San Francisco(2)

The huge dinosaur made of iron is seen from the road passing through. This is in front of a shop that sells ornaments for outdoor gardens, such as fountains and rocks. It’s hard to miss and you will instinctively want to stop by. In the movie Jurassic Park, a dinosaur came into the backyard of a house. If you want, you can buy a dinosaur for your garden.

This sign is put up on roads off of Highway 1 running along the Pacific Ocean going up towards hills and mountains. It tells to flee to higher ground when a tsunami warning is issued. Although the sign might have been there for a long time, attention had not been paid to it. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, it should not be ignored.

Farms are scattered in this area and sheep, horses, cattle, goats are reared in free-range. When a herd of them slowly cross the road toward the field on the opposite side, they have the right-of-way. A sign of goat crossing is rare, whereas a sign of sheep crossing is occasionally seen.

Three monkeys "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"are sitting on the bench on the sidewalk near the gate to Chinatown.As the "three wise monkeys"are well-known worldwide, tourists stop by, sit between the monkeys, and take pictures.

This park located near the University of California at Berkeley was made by protesters aiming for political and social reforms in the 1960’s. The Vietnam War, racial discrimination, and biased voting and civil rights were significant at the time and freedom of speech was advocated. A more recent protest movement, "Occupy Wall Street", against American financial and political circles, was similar to the protests at this park.

Starry Plough Pub and Nightclub has its roots in Ireland. It is a casual bar and watering hole with a history of more than 35 years. Every day it has live Irish music, American blues, rock 'n' roll, Latin music, or soul music. Someone seems to have added a guitar and hat on the regular pedestrian crossing sign in front of the bar as if a musician is crossing. It was created specially because of this location.

It shows the place where day laborers can be picked up. A lot of people, who might be illegal immigrants or legal but do not have full time work, have gathered every day in that area. Some people are still sitting and waiting for a chance to work until the evening. The prolonged economic slump has been casting a dark shadow on such people.