The City by the Bay becomes more and more infamous for its grossly overpriced rentals and real estate prices. Spurred originally by high salaries at tech companies, the average one-bedroom apartment rent now is $5k a month, and a small row home in the city sells for a million bucks.

Of course, at the same time and for the same greed-inflated reasons, San Francisco has one of the fastest growing homeless populations in the nation. It’s a daily problem for those paying the sky-high rental and home purchase prices to live there. Walking on city sidewalks requires stepping around or over many people, their belongings, trash and bodily droppings.

If your travel plans include San Francisco, expect very high prices for restaurant, hotel and airbnb private home rentals. Also, when you stroll down the street, expect to encounter many very high addicts and their very low lifestyles.

Some U.S. airports offer a unique service designed to reduce the typical problems passengers face as they endure busy terminals. In the Los Angeles facility it’s LAX PUP (Pets Unstressing Passengers).

The trained canines roam the waiting areas with volunteer handlers and offer friendly muzzles and wagging tails. They meet close-up with people worried about late schedules, cancellations, crying kids and all the other airport woes. When you have a future flight scheduled, check online with your airport to find out if you’ll meet a doggone new friend there to welcome you.

There are overwhelming numbers of thoughtless tourists with smartphones these days. The selfie has become an annoying reality in the world of travel. No monument or statue is safe from thoughtless point-and-shooters crawling all over them and posing.

Other world-respected statues have suffered the same disgraceful behavior. Think of David in Florence, Admiral Nelson in London, the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, the peeing boy in Brussels and many others. Before you attempt some offensive climbing and posing, know the local rules. If you do it on Easter Island, it could cost you $500 and/or some time in the local hoosegow.

The encouraging news from the advanced tech guys is that within a few years, super-fast aircraft will hit speeds of up to 6,000 miles per hour. That means spanning the oceans in just a matter of minutes.

However, getting to and from the airports in taxis, Ubers and cars won’t be any faster in the ever-crowded roadways. So, it has to add at least another hour to the journey. Plus check-in, weather delays, baggage sent the wrong way and the poopy, screaming baby in the seat next to you.