I did a lot of nothing today mostly because I didn't want to put shoes on. The blisters... ya, they're gross. I almost rode into the freeway on my bicycle. The ramp specifically forbade cyclists not to go onto the freeway. I was scared as hell. It was one of those rock and a hard place situations: either go onto the freeway and exit asap, or go up the ramp against the flow of traffic. I decided to backtrack, naturally.
Anyways, I mapped my first adventure into San Francisco. I went just to get an overview of the city and not necessarily to do anything in particular (except to visit one shop). By the end, I wanted to acquaint myself with some of the different neighborhoods. I feel that I definitely accomplished my objective though I know there is so much more to the city that I probably won't get to see while I'm here. On my next trip, I'll do a little less general perusing. Hopefully, I'll actually have specific activities planned out. Anyways, here's the map. Click it to make it bigger!
1: MISSION BAY
I think, technically, the San Francisco Caltrain Station is part of the Mission Bay neighborhood. I didn't really do much. Just got off the Caltrain and walked across the street to Safeway, the first real grocery store I've been to since arriving in the Bay Area. They have security guards. It was so strange. I wanted to walk to Valencia straight away so I started my trek. It was about two miles and I had to go through the Design District to get there. Lots of interesting architecture, but not the image of San Francisco that I had in my head. You know, not the stuff they show on television/film.
2: The Mission
I wanted to go to Valencia to visit a shop called Self Edge, which sells high-end denim jeans for $200+. My brother bought a pair and I wanted to check out the store. I'm not really knowledgeable about denim jean culture so I was kind of lost in the store despite it being so small. The guy there was neither friendly nor helpful.
After, I headed west hoping that I'd hit the Castro, but first, I found myself in the Mission Dolores Park, which I loved. It overlooks downtown (yesterday's photo) and is warmer than other parts of the city that I visited. Microclimates. They're crazy. I lazed around for maybe 45 minutes and thought, "This is why Californians are so happy." The park was populated with people lying around tanning, reading, etc. Children playing in the playground, dogs catching Frisbees and pooping on the grass, lesbian couples making out. It was awesome. I wish I could go there every day. Unfortunately, there were a lot of high school kids disrupting my peaceful moment, but it's expected seeing as how there's a high school (above photo) right across the street.
There are also lots of really great murals to look at in this neighborhood.
3: The Castro
So colorful! I didn't see any butt plug stores though. Lots of very swole men. Lots of people at the Gold's Gym. Lots of people in general.
This old woman tripped and fell on the sidewalk. And two men helped her up to her feet. It was so nice. It felt very Queer as Folk. Like this is a community in which people care about each other? Maybe I'm just idealizing? If I am, I blame Gus Van Sant.
There was a farmer's market going on. They hold one on Market & Noe every Wednesday in the summer. It reminded me of the Austin farmer markets. I didn't spend too much time here because I knew that Golden Gate Park was nearby and I wanted to walk there. And also because I assumed that I would be able to check the area out again when Cary comes to visit his cousin.
It's mostly residential so I didn't really stop except to look out east. I could very clearly see the bay. It was awesome. I had one of those moments of awe. You know what I'm talking about.
5: Haight-Ashbury
Lots of shops here. Visited a few including a shoe store, a record store, and a coffee shop, where I had awesome apple cider. Coffee to the People was the name. My barista was nice. We made small talk about the Philippines and Saipan and Guam. The place had a very social atmosphere. Lots of the same people probably frequent the place. I came initially looking for outlets because I needed to charge my dying phone before I continued exploring this unknown city. Fortunately, there was an abundance. So I sat, charged, and sipped on my apple cider for an hour before I headed to Golden Gate Park.
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I'll post the rest later!
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