Bay Days

Less than a week after we returned from our mind and gut expanding trip to Oaxaca, we were off on another adventure, this time to meet up with friends who flew in from Boston. We hadn't visited anywhere in the bay area for many years (not since the days of me living in the Visalia) and jumped at the chance to meet up with friends we had not seen in a few years in a city that we hadn't seen in a few more. We post-work drove up for the weekend then walked around in the magic of streetlights and shared histories.

Stacey marveling at vibrant greens the first new day of our reunion tour

Then off, down into the city from our Castro adjascent perch

Four Barrel java worship in the mission

Then, Melissa losing her mind over a completely unplanned rendezvouz with the Fitzhugh-Sagers

We opted to rent bikes for the afternoon and see Golden Gate Park and places further afield in this manner. These nerds opted to ride that upper west side with protective headwear

Tote bag backpack off into golden gate park

We came across more greenery for Renee to lose her mind over/commune with

Then spotted some of the Golden Gate bison herd

Found this Dutch specimen, something we'd never found before even though we've been in that area many time before. Apparently, this and another one to the south were largely responsible for the irrigation of Golden Gate park in its early days in the late 1800's.

Obviously, had to climb a few hills on the ride

Half bagged stick-kitten-bummer roadside attraction on said hill climb

No matter how many times we visit the Sutro Baths, it never ceases to amaze

Documenting documentation where the sea meets the land (and used to be pumped into a swimming pool for San Franciscan's bathing pleasure).

Glutted with beauty

A circumnavigation of the baths

"You think I can get up there?"

Maybe not

Renee and I scaled a nearby rock formation, and she really worked some angles

Then documented a leap from one side of a chasm to another

Waay gnarlier than it looks, promise

The descent as the tide rolled in

Got tubed for a bit

Then stepped on over into some movie history. Being in that part of the larger bath complex always reminds me of this scene from that immortal classic

We cycled a bit more north and then East a bit into the under-explored (by us, at least) wonderland of the Presidio, in search of 

this bundle of sticks pointed at the heavens

Twas most excellent to see a piece by Mr. Goldworthy in the flesh (well, bark), seeing as the majority of what he makes are quite ephemeral and the rest reside in remote regions of places like Scotland

Melissa was about as tall as it through the magic of perspective

Presidio interlude (swoon). It was around this time when Melissa and I experienced a recurrence of intense city lust we'd harbored in the past, having Renee and Stacey look up how much apartments were in that area via their pocket gods and giving it all some serious thought

The lovely couple doubling up next to rejects (?) for the spire

One last look at some Goldworthy

Soon thereafter, on to Burma Superstar for a tea leaf salad fest. Not much more (photographically) to share because, well, we were more interested in eating it. Just trust us and go there the next time you are in or anywhere near San Francisco.

Heard about this place before I even knew it was a place via this album

Eventually I learned that it was indeed a place, one that we should visit as soon as we could.

Dust stacking, beautifully

I feel like there's a joke here, but can't quite find it.

Three hundred and sixty degree of stunning interred remains

An important part of living

Fairly labyrinthine, that Chapel Of The Chimes. Really didn't mind getting lost, though

Great light in most of the columbarium, vessels awaiting their flowers

Didn't know he was inturred there. Take this as a chance to boogie, at least a little

Just like the Sutro Baths before it, the time elapsed between our last visit to the bay area and this one, the various zones in and adjascent to the city we've enjoyed the relative feral nature of have now been officially parked

Melissa got to work in the labyrinth

Seemed other people shared in our collective grief over the park-ization of this space. There was still plenty of rubble to uncover, though

and scraps reaching into the sky

bricky building bits

and plenty of opportunites to hurt yourself. I tested the waters on this thing

Then convinced Renee (who I seem to be on the same "fashion" wavelength with) to balance her weight with mine

It kind of worked

They were more on each other's level

This thing was still standing, thankfully

A seal looking dog, bay-peering melacholically

Took the long way home

A hovel of yore, still standing as well. I wonder if/when this place and treasure island like it will see full on development

Comforting to span time in these remains of that Bum's paradise

Speaking of Treasure Island, we took the opportunity (as we do any time it arises, mostly due to my insistence) to tour about the semi ghost town upon it and to wiener hop thusly

Best views, best people, best conversations

Sutro tower looming over our pathway to dinner

Here's a better idea of its grade

Gravity, take the wheel

We'd heard tell of this place for a while before our visit and made it a priority

Among a few other "sushi" plates we indulged in, it was this one in particular that had one among us crying because it was so good (hint: not me or Renee or Stacey). That is not fish atop that rice, btw. An impressive feat of vegetable trickery

The next morning, found an absolute hero embedded in the sidewalk

Still on the same fashion wavelength

Seward street slides!

We could only slide from halfway up due to some anti-fun device installed to limit the hours of full slide fun. We still harvested plenty of fun from midway up

These things, with Renee just outside of them at our starting point

Melissa making a tunnel 

Fun, despite yellow metal stoppers

Gettin tubed

Some people, half of which were repping Swans, one hundred percent of which were packing cardboard for better sliding purposes, let us take a few turns upon them

Melissa blissing between her turns sliding and bridge-making

We fully spun out of our usual SF orbit on our last day in the city and visited a place that had long taken up space on our to do list, Cayuga park.

Although we'd heard of it a while back, hadn't made it there until this trip

It's an incredibly charming space, populated with sculptures spring from the mind of one man, Demetrio Braceros. He worked for most of my life on the park (he retired in 2008), cleaning up what was once quite derelict, planting myriad beautiful plants throughout it and made the carving above and the ones below from fallen cypress trees that he found in the park itself. 

A lumpy Don Quixote, surrounded by full bloom

and this gentleman. From what I could ascertain researching this afterwards, Braceros populated the park with over 300 figures at one point, we could only find a fraction of that number though

But loved the ones we did come across. 

As with most places that we go to for the first time, especially in places that we have been to many time before, we were left with the feeling of having blown it not going there in the past/weaving it into our normal San Francisco routine. From Cayuga we headed south

and were pulled from our route by the power of a split pea. With just the two of us, these photo ops always present a challenge. We did the best we could

Found hap-pea and pea-we at the bottom of a bowl. Stay tuned for more transmissions from about a year ago. Perhaps one day this thing will be up to date. Until then, thank you for your patience.