Martin, Patti and Vanessa moved to this new home in San Francisco in early 2004. They are quite close to Mount Sutro and can see Golden Gate Park off the back balcony.

 It is a 4 story home and there are balconies on three of the stories. There is a garage which is quite a blessing due to impossible parking in the city. 

The picture above shows Martin and Nicole sitting on the balcony with the park in the background. 

This is the view that they see... It is absolutely stunning in person. The financial district is seen to the right, Transamerica Pyramid... You may have to scroll right to see the entire picture... This photo does NOT show the ocean and Golden Gate bridge that are off to the left... Nor does it show the Mount Sutro which is off to the right. The view is a little bit scary due to being so high off the ground. I think that is called vertigo. After a few minutes, I felt safe there... It is possible to climb up a ladder and get on the roof... It was too much effort for me to climb it when I visited, but the view should be astonishing. One time Martin and Vanessa had to go up on the roof to use brooms to sweep the water from a rainstorm off the FLAT Roof... and Prevent Leaking indoors. 

Here are Nicole and Vanessa in the kitchen. I am standing on the floor above and peeking out of an inside window... Originally, this area was a courtyard but a previous owner roofed it in. 

This is the front of the home with Sutro Tower. It broadcasts television signals and is visible from my dad's house in Los Gatos... 50 miles away... We had a The Biggest Radio Shack TV Antenna installed on the roof of Dad's Home and We Were able to get all the TV Stations from San Francisco... In Fact, Broadcast TV Signals require "line of sight" to be received... 

We Had a Rotator installed as well and Dad Could get Sacramento Stations as well... 

Here is Dad, Patti, Vanessa and Bonita. The photo above with the checkerboard floor was looking down on this scene. This house seems to go on and on and on. Vanessa showed me all the rooms and some are quite different. There is a bathroom that is entirely covered with mirrors on all the walls. You can see hundreds of reflections of yourself. I have never seen anything like this except at the Smithsonian Modern Art Gallery... There is a walk in closet/crawlspace that is large enough to house another entire family. Since this place is built on the side of a steep hill, there are odd shaped nooks and crannies underneath. There is a piano room that has walls that are intentionally made NOT-PARALLEL so that the sound waves will echo in an acoustically pleasing manner. It also has movable sound dampening sections... Like a classical music concert hall...

Grandpa Vanderlaan's house in San Francisco

I remember this house from my childhood. Especially the very high quality grand piano. It is on a hill near the University of San Francisco medical center between Sutro Tower and The Panhandle section of Golden Gate Park.

more pictures of Martin's new house...

Martin and Nicole on the balcony. 

The front of the house with a view into the blessed garage. Parking on the street is often difficult and a constant source of frustration. Generally, it is illegal to park in the space that you find... That is dad's white car...

dad and Vanessa near the kitchen... 

Since this is a tall and thin house 

they get lots of staircases... 

 Martin and the fireplace in the living room...