Fire Escape

I ventured out to take photos Sunday morning - for the first time in weeks. It was a bright sunny morning, which was great in some respects. But I can't seem to figure out how to set my camera to avoid the type of overexposure I see in most of my pics. Any tips? My camera is pretty limited in it's options (Canon PowerShot G3), but if y'all have any general hints I can use, I'd love to learn. Thanks!