I’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. That span includes a number of years in downtown San Francisco just west of Union Square. When you live in the center of a region populated by more than 7 million people encompassing nine counties and more than 6,900 square miles of land area (3+ times the size of Delaware), you get used to hustle and bustle.

The true arteries of the Bay Area are its interstates and state highways. We count on U.S. Highway 101, Interstates 80, 280, 580, 680, 880 and all the little connectors to speed us through the Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, the North Bay and the Wine Country, the East Bay and even that little port town of San Francisco. Sometimes speeding is a misnomer as congestion mounts. Slow travel is the price you pay to live in such a popular place.

The Crystal Springs overpass along Interstate 280 is about a dozen miles south of downtown San Francisco along a very pretty stretch of highway. It offers a lovely view to the northeast of San Bruno, South San Francisco and even Oakland and the East Bay Hills. To the west are the Crystal Springs Reservoir and the San Andreas Fault and to the east is the baylands of San Mateo County. Street life takes many forms here. The spectral contrails of car lights streaming to San Francisco or San Jose graphically represent the lives of many of us in the Bay Area.