I hadn’t been in San Francisco in years, but in my visit last week, I found it has not lost its charm.

The cable cars are still a great attraction. However, the city has a striking new mode of transportation.  It’s called Waymo. It was very cool to watch sparkling white Jaguar SUVs weave their way through San Francisco traffic, but ride in one?  I wasn’t sure.  However, when our foursome needed a ride to a restaurant, we decided to give it a try.

I’m here to tell you that it was amazing.  Sparkling clean.  Insists that you fasten your seat belt. Choose any music that you want. 

Watching that wheel spin on its own. weaving around a large truck in the next lane, stopping at red lights, making left turns.  Absolutely thrilling.

It felt a bit like an amusement park ride.  I was a kid again oohing, aahing, giggling. When we arrived at our destination, our car pulled over to the curb and waited patiently while the four of us got safely out. Then it pulled back into traffic, on its way to pick up the next fare.

Only drawback–a driver probably would have noticed that the occupant of the front seat left his umbrella there.