A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 111~ Claremont Blvd And Ulloa Street

"We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives."

~Woody Allen

After a couple weeks of doing errands, and chores, and all the things a responsible person does, it was finally time yesterday to look for Woody Allen again. As you know, he has been filming his latest movie in the city throughout the whole month of August, and the whole city has been on extreme Woody Watch. I wish I could have followed him from location shoot to location shoot, but I couldn't. It would have been fun to have had a picture from each place, but it's okay, I have some photos from the location on 20th and Lexington, and now from the corner of Claremont and Ulloa, which is located in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco.

The day began with Alan and I making the trek across the bay, by way of the San Mateo bridge. The day before I had done some looking online, and found out Woody had been filming in the Upper Haight. So, heading toward Haight/Ashbury seemed like out best bet in finding him. Once we got there, it didn't take long to figure out that he had more than likely got what he needed there on Monday, and moved onto to a new location. I was a little disappointed, I have been having so much fun watching the process of creating a new film, but the upside is that along with all the excitement of maybe figuring out where he is filming next, has been the joy of discovering new places to eat, shop, and just generally enjoy ourselves.

As we drove out of the Haight, and back through Golden Gate Park, we decided to stop for lunch at a little Chinese restaurant we discovered when we were traveling about the location on Geary and 24th, the week before. At that time we had apparently missed his by just an hour or so, but it wasn't for nothing, we now have about 4 places in that area to check out for a future date. Yesterday, we decided to cross one place off our list of "Must Trys" by grabbing our lunch at a little place called "Hunan Cafe #2. It is a small neighborhood restaurant, a mom and pop place, and I have to say, the food there is FABULOUS! Truly a gem. A delightful San Francisco secret! We will definitely be eating there again soon. It is conveniently located just off the park, and the beach. YUM!



After lunch I decide to check on the Internet, and Twitter to see if I could locate Woody, and low and behold, I did spot a blip about him being at the corner of Claremont and Ulloa. Off we went. As we arrived, it seemed like we were going to need a bit of luck in finding him. As we drove into the neighborhood, we were one the lookout for the Studio Services trucks. Suddenly we spotted 3 large trailers in a church parking lot. Okay, the game was afoot! We circled the block a couple of times when we spotted a young, well dressed man, walking alone down the hill in front of us, with a camera in his hand! Great! Our first major clue! LOL.

We continued up the hill, and around a corner onto West Portal drive and then onto Ulloa, and there on the left was Woody Allen's town car! That meant he was definitely there! Good. We had the right location, now to find a parking place. We couldn't find a place along Ulloa, so we circled the corner. As we turned onto Ulloa once again, things looked a tad different. What was different? Well, there on my right, was Woody Allen stepping out of the place he ate lunch, Squat and Gobble. Weird, right? There I was, not 10 feet away, and where was my camera? Why all safe, sound and packed into the camera bag!

You can imagine how I felt when I realized I had just missed the shot of the year! When I saw his town car, why didn't I get my camera ready just in case he was out and about? LOL. And I call myself a photographer! What a rookie mistake!Oh well, I am not really complaining, once we found a place to park, and walked to the corner, I was able to get a lot of photos. And among the 100 or so pictures I had the thrill of taking one picture in particular... the one where he and I made inadvertent eye contact! I have to say, and don't laugh, I may never wash my eyes again! It was a good day and I am a happy girl, because this has been the August of a lifetime! It was the August of Woody Allen!

Here, see for yourself...

 


 

 

 

 

I am exhusted! But it's okay... Woody Allen and I made eye contact!

:)

I got a number of other shots while I was there yesterday, and as with the neighbored on Lexington and 20th, there was plenty of things to be seen and photographed!

It was a good day! Woody, if I don't see you again before you leave San Francisco, THANK YOU!

~Me )