A Warrior Monk in the City of St. Francis: Part 5 - Of Music, Rain, and Honor

So now the weather has become a factor in my explorations of The City of St. Francis. An unexpected rain storm has descended upon The City and my friend E. Francis Kohler and I are busy deciding what we can do in the midst of the inclement conditions. Ah! The Legion of Honor! But before I relate that story, I had and interesting time in the Outer Mission District with Francis.... a musical event and party which the host named Ham It Up.

The weather hadn't turned to intolerable on our walk to The Mission but a wind was starting to make it's presence known to us so I had my hood up. Francis snapped this picture of me (above) and know you see the reason I have titled my blogs this trip to The City. My feet were still suffering from the punishment I had handed out to them the days before, but we slowly walked down Valencia Street and looked in the shops and galleries. We even ran into some old acquaintances of Francis' at a gallery where two of them had an art opening and spent time talking to a gentleman who claimed that he had a machine that was able to interact with us using Quantum Entanglement as it's method of interaction.... yeah, right. 

We arrived at the party fairly early, stuffed ourselves on some good food and wine, and proceeded to  sit and chat with people I didn't know but Francis and his lady Deb did. I eventually got to a piano and had a fun time playing but then the rooms became scheduled with performances so I just sat and enjoyed. Two of the guitar players were especially notable as they were very good and played songs from James Bond films such as 'From Russia with Love.' But, eventually my feet got tire of standing and I sat down in the hall on a chair. I started listening to Francis' friend Laurie (spelling?) who was relating along with another woman about the gentrification that is displacing lower income people in The City and about what is now being coined as the "Google Buses."  But more about that when I've had a chance to research more of that. Soon, the time had approached midnight and many people were starting to leave so we called it a night... back to the flat we went. Ah, blissful slumber.

The next day was raining in a misty way by the time we had worked our way to our final destination, The Legion of Honor. I knew I really wanted to get there since there was an exhibition of Impressionist painters with the theme being water and boats. This was fantastic! It had been over almost a decade since I had seen any of the impressionists works in person (since my trip to Paris with my parents in Christmas time of 2003) and I really wanted to see them again.

We roamed the halls and galleries for hours, ate a bit in the museum dinning hall and commissary, and then walked back to the main hall where there was a performance of the Skinner Organ which is a 64 rank organ that had been donated to the Legion of Honor almost 40 years ago. You see it and the soloist in the above picture. The type of organ is called a Symphonic Organ as it's evidently no meant to be played with great speed as a solo instrument because of it's design but rather mostly as an accompaniment to choirs and symphony orchestras. But the performance was lovely, the soloist quite enlightening in explaining about the instrument, and the sound in the main hall was haunting. But in the end, with it either raining or a constant mist, we headed straight home after the museum closed (but it was the right weather to be inside I'll have to admit to Francis).

And so today, I found myself doing just a little stroll of Divisadero Street to some shops after breakfast then a run to the Japan Center on Geary Street for a favor for my sensei. Now to finish my blogging and await my friends return home.... tomorrow, it's time to head home to Sac. My journey's in The City at an end, for now.

A Warrior Monk in the City of St. Francis - Part 4: Morning Glory and Self-Fladulation

Well, walking the Sunset District was fun but it turns out that I carry such a heavy supply of tech around with me that as I had slung the bag over my right shoulder to the left hip, I was beating my hip pointer into a painful state of soreness. As such, I woke up today, rolled out of bed, and gave moan of agony that only sounds good if preceded by mutually enjoyable coitus. (TMI? Oh well, deal with it). After finally reasoning out what I had done to myself, I realized that a trip to the local Walgreens Pharmacy was in order; time for Therm-a-care Heat wraps and Ibuprofen.....

Along the way to the Blue J Cafe to get some brunch, I spied a lovely Morning Glory vine:

It was a good test of my new iPhone 5 and gives a great example of some of the beauty to be found in The City. Well after brunch at the cafe, a small walk to the drug store, and the walk of pain and stupidity back to my friend Francis' flat, I take the Ibuprofen and strap on the heat wrap.... when will I ever learn that less is more sometimes..... Oh well.

A Warrior Monk in the City of St. Francis - Part 3: A Place to Rest the Weary Bones

I have walked the Sunset District and found most of it to be just plain residential, which is fine but hard on the feet and not as interesting as I had hoped. The main drags appear to be 19th Ave. and Irving Streets for most of the Inner Sunset but not much as far as interesting places to go beyond that once you get west of 19th Ave. I've tried to find some sights and places to sit and watch people using the 'Layars' app on the iPhone, but many of the interesting places are back in the Inner Sunset on Irving and I've already been there.

But as my feet began to bark vociferously at me, I decided I had to take a break for a time and rest my dogs before moving on and taking my respite somewhere down the road. I happened upon the Sunset Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. But as I was waiting, I came to a realization: I spend a large amount of time in this town especially in the summers. Why not avail myself of some of The City's services when I'm here. I mean, I already have a Clipper Card (for those not familiar, I point you to the Clipper Card web site; if you're in The City a lot and hate to drive, I invite you to get one) and use it all the time to get around The City. And so, I moseyed my way on up to the Librarian's Desk and asked if there was any requirement that I be a resident of San Francisco to get a library card. Nope, just a resident of California (I think Sacramento fits the bill) and a recent ID with your current address. Score! 10 minutes later, I'm at the stacks with my SF Public Library Card... YEAH!

Now, all I need to do is get a map with the list of library locations and (as I was told by the librarian) remember that if I reserve materials, they will be at the Western Addition Branch (and finding that will be my next task). I'm starting to feel like an honorary resident of the The City... cool.

A Warrior Monk in the City of St. Francis - Part 2: A Journey to the Sunset

I need to start this blog post with a thanks to my friends... Francis for letting me stay at his flat, Steve for helping me keep track of my place in Sac, and Johnny for giving me comic relief and "my daily dose of start-ass." So with the thanks said, I'm off in the Sunset district, at a small cafe called Park Chow on 9th Ave., having a glass of OJ and a coffee. It's interesting to listen to the conversations that people have while your around and they don't know you're listening. A middle-aged couple were sitting next to me as I was starting up my laptop and discussing the way that companies and workers relate. There was this constant theme that 'I hope what goes around comes around.' in the conversation.... and I couldn't help thinking that it just seemed a bit too sunny an outlook on the human condition. It's been my experience that history teaches us that equity and equality only come after a great deal of strife (usually with those in power winning again) and the poor being killed outright if not just oppressed more than previously done. The powerful have a vested interest in the status quo because they have learned how to work the 'game' they are in.... they don't want the rules to change. And we, we ordinary, everyday, working Joe's just trying to get by are beneath them and not worthy of consideration except where we intersect their own, narrow, self-interests. Depressing... well, I'm note trying to be. I've come thru the interregnum in my life to write just as plainly and straight forwardly as I can without throwing smoke out my ass.

The present circumstances doesn't mean that you give up. Rather, face your situation with a sense of realistic dignity that you know the limitations of your present moment and that you'll do what you can in your own space to make what surounds you a better place as much or as gradually as you can. After mom's passing the quote I keep in my pocket from Napoleon became even more pressing for me... he wrote, "There is no immortality but the memories that are left in the minds of men." OK, I can accept that since I am staring my end in the face ever more clearly with every day that I advance through the Universe and my place in it. "But isn't that rather  nihilistic?" No, not in fact. It is an imperative instead... You have only this life and the time that goes with it. Do what you can, but don't waste it. I remember Tony Curtis being interviewed shortly before his death and he had a quote that has just stuck in my little brain, "Service to humanity is the rent we pay for the time we get to spend on this earth." This has helped me to know why I walk the Earth the way I do and why I teach. I am just doing what I can to make the world a little better place when I leave it than when I came into it.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
   -Mahatma Ghandi

A Warrior Monk in the City of St. Francis - Part 1: The Interregnum

I recognize that I have a bad habit of writing in spurts and fits and starts... It is a failing of mine I admit it. But the last year and some odd months have been trying. After my mother then my dog passed, I was in one of my longest periods between significant relationships, and the trials of working a year at school in  20% overtime capacity, I was a bit stretched.... stretched quite, quite thin indeed.

But now I find myself with some new energy, money to put plans into action, and a desire to travel to The City as often as I can. It is a supposition my many evolutionary biologists at this point in time that evolution is not as quite as smooth a process as we were lead to believe when we were taught about it in college. This notion of smooth, gradual change is not as readily accepted... and this is true of the evolution of a man in his life. This interregnum period of my life after the passing of my mother and the death of my plan to be BOTH a lawyer and a teacher has been one point of leaps, falls, fits, and depressions that has changed my view point again... a bit drastically. I will have to say not in a dark or foreboding manner, but one of resignation of the clarity of reality. Now comes the challenges of what to do with that reality.

Today, at this very instant of writing this newest blog entry, I am sitting in somewhat  familiar environs in a dessert shop named Toy Boat Dessert Co. in the Inner Richmond District in San Francisco. With my new look in clothing I walk the streets looking like a warrior monk in the City of St. Francis. My jacket with its built-in hood and my M-Frame Heater Oakley glasses give me a look that as a young man I would never have thought would have been me... Such has been my evolution from simple young geek to the man I am today; flush with experiences, training in many disciplines, and an outlook on the world that it is what it is and I must be the change that I want to see in the world.


Addendum:

Student: "Mr. Meredith, why are you always going to San Francisco all the time?"
Meredith: "Because, I'm trying to establish a wonderful relationship with a beautiful woman."

Asian Art and Odd-Ball Films

[This blog is out of sequence due to constraints on time and sleep while traveling with friends]

Day 7 of The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

PART ONE - Asian Art Museum

I had always wanted to go the the Asian Art Museum here in San Francisco but for some strange reason I'd never taken the time to go. After what I saw there today, I now know why... The place has so much art that I'm interested in I could just hang out there for days! The exhibition on Bali was to die for. I was not allowed to take pictures in the Bali Exhibition but the permanent exhibits were just fine as long as I didn't use flash. Well that was all well and good but I had never learned how to use my flash controls and thus how to turn off the flash. I fiddled with the controls as best I could but after a few tries I was still using the flash (and I'm happy that one of the docents didn't see it and rat me out or chew me out). Well, at least the iPhone didn't have a flash built in and it's camera was OK... not great, but OK. I took a slew of pictures from the iPhone but downloading them will have to wait until I get home and can sync my iPhone with my Main Media computer.

The permanent exhibits had examples of artwork from all over asia that was put in both chronological order and by place of origin. The entire exhibit divided the asian continent up with first India, then South East asia, then Tibet, China, and finally Japan as well as giving examples of the different religious philosophies and movements that had developed in asia over the centuries. I must have spent 5 hours at least in there. There was simply now way to see and digest intellectually all the parts of that museum. But, when I get the pictures downloaded at home, I'll be sure to post them and discuss them both here on my blog and on Facebook.

I had been standing all day from a very practical point of view and I needed to take a break. I hoped out of the museum and onto a #5 bus to head back to E.F.'s place. No soon had I just take a seat on the bus than E.F. called me and said he was home with his friend Katrina. I told him I was on the way and would be there in 10 minutes. When I got there, Katrina and I started talking. From my recollection, it was the first time I had ever met her but I had heard about her from E.F. plenty of times in the past. I think this was just the first opportunity for us to ever meet face to face. We started discussion hockey and our love for it, the finer points of the game, our injuries, and so on. Then it was time to get dinner before a treat (at least for me but surely for them too) which was a chance to see a set of archived films (yes films, on film and not tape!) at something called The Oddball Film Festival. It sounded fascinating.

We started out to pick up E.F.'s friend Johnny and his wife Giselle out on Haight. When we got there in just about 15 minutes of walking, it turned out that their new little puppy was acting up and Giselle was just too tired. So we set of without her and the four of us headed down into the Mission District. Along the way we grabbed some Indian food and relaxed then continued into the lower Mission until we reached this very, very nondescript building that if I had to find today to save my life I couldn't.

PART TWO - Oddball Film Festival

So we go inside, up this set of stairs, have to get buzzed in past this black metal door, scurry up even more stairs until we meet this gentleman who tells us it's $10 for a ticket. The place is a film vault and repository of all manner of films from 40's thru the 70's and 80's. It's evidently used by film makers as a place where old archived footage can be accessed and used in all manner of ways. The place where the films were being shown was fixed with a very small round stage and a huge part of the wall behind it was for the screen to see the films. A somewhat flimsy sound system was in use and sometimes one of the speakers would cut out. The intent of the evening was to showcase the work of this one film artist who had used the archives as a source for putting together old films into a theme which in this case was networks and communications.

The films were interesting. They were everything from old commercials with Bill Cosby talking about the virtues of Green Giant green beans to a film about the history of the telephone and the future of communications with satellites from the 1960's and Bell Labs. I hadn't seen some of these images since my childhood and it was fascinating to watch them. This is one of the things that I really love about coming to visit with E.F. in San Francisco. Every time I come there is something new and fascinating happening somewhere.

The return home was a long trek from the Mission back to Johnny's place then home. We stopped of at a corner store where Katrina got wine and I got Milano cookies and some milk (a secret passion of mine). We joined up in the living room and kept talking and eating until well after midnight. What a good day....

The Black Sword roams in The Mission

[Due to constraints on time and computer access, the blog posts will be out of order. Day 7 will be posted ASAP]

Day 8 - The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

PART ONE

It's one of the strange things that sometimes happens when you get very busy just doing what you do that there just isn't time to keep up with the writing that you had every intention of keeping up with. As such I'm actually writing about Day 8 before I could write about yesterday's adventures in the Asian Art Museum... Oh well, just try to stay with me friends.

After getting up and doing my usual computer and mobile device work, E.F. and I decide to do The Mission District today. We get our breakfast at The Blue Jay on Divisadero then walk a few blocks to the #22 Line which takes us into The Mission. After getting off the bus at 16th and Mission, E.F. has the idea to make a kind of M-shaped route down Mission, then back to Valencia and then back to Mission as these are the two main streets that make up the business life of the area. We put on our packs and we're off.... It's nice to have a tour guide with me this time.

The shops are the most incredible assortment of groceries, chain stores and kitch that could possibly exist almost anywhere. The area probably had it's heyday in the late 60's and early 70's but as you walk down the street and look at the marquees of all the shuttered movie theaters and the worn awnings over the shops, it's hard not to get this somewhat decrepit feeling about The Mission. The languages on the street come fast and varied with everything from Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Indian dialects that I couldn't identify if I had to. It is a most fascinating melange of a place.

We keep walking until we get to a somewhat secretive place for book stores and take a back way into Valhalla Books, a neat but smallish book sellers place. After checking the stacks for a time, E.F. gets a few titles and I almost get a first addition text , but decide better not. We're back to walking and finally get to a couple blocks past 26th Street when we decide to stop at El Rio for a drink, some sit down time, and a great shot of Jameson..... More in a bit.

PART TWO

E.F. has a restaurant that he wants to try with my called Radish up farther on Valencia (actually at the corner of 19th and Lexington but it's really close to Valencia) so we start off up the sort of second main drag of The Mission to see what we can see. There are more shops that we stop into than I can reasonably write about here but one worth mentioning is Paxton Gate Curiosities for Kids. This place is a science teachers wet dream I swear.... Butterflies, skeletons, rocks and crystals, science glassware, and the list goes on and on and on.

Katrina finally texts us almost right after we sit down at Radish. She's in Oakland at the Oakland Museum of California seeing a retrospective by Michael C. Macmillan who used to do work for films in the day. We tell we are already eating and she says she'll see us later...cool. After finishing, we continue up Valencia toward our final goal of the day, Brendan Lai Martial Arts supply store near 15th and Mission.

This is a store I have visited for years but they moved since I visited last which was a few years ago. We walk until we get to 13th street... What the hell and where is the store.p? Did we somehow miss it by being distracted? We double back while I look up the address again on my iPhone. Nope, we are in the right area...oh, the store is boarded, closed and no sign of Brendan Lai's. They must have gone outta business during the downturn. Damn.

We make our way back to E.F.'s place after catching a #22 bus on 16th Street. It's incredible that, as I watch some homeless and almost decrepit lady with her cart rolling past who catches a quick place to sit at the bus stop before moving on, the richest country in the world and we still have the problem of not solving homelessness and mental defects on the streets (I'm referring to people walking down the streets with auditory hallucinations, not politicians). We get back to E.F.'s flat and collapse. Both of us are beat. When Katrina arrives, we have a great time watching some British comedy that E.F. has at his place. The wine flows, people laugh... life is good.

In the Interum

It was a FANTASTIC time at the Asian Art Museum... I literally could spend days there just looking at, well, everything. But, I must not be that much of an ubergeek since I couldn't even figure out how to turn off the flash on my digital camera. I finally had some help and figured it out but not after I took most of my pictures from my iPhone. That will have to wait until I get home but I'll try to transfer a few pictures from it to the laptop as soon as I can.

So, as you might have figure, this is not really my Day 7 blog but a stop-gap. I did spend most of the day at the Museum when E.F. called. Luckily when he was home, I was on my way back to his place. I got there and his friend Katrina from Sac was there. We all headed on down to The Mission District to eat (good Pakistani and Indian food, yum!) then went to a showing of archived films (yes, actually films on a projector!) at an event called The Oddball Film Festival even further down in the district. It was fun, but we didn't get home until close to midnight. I swear, E.F. and Katrina are half billy-goat. But, my legs survived and now it's time to get the day started here... Later.

In the Place of Tall Buildings

Day 6 - The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

PART ONE

I have to be honest. E.F. and I had almost.... almost too much of a good time last night and I partly paid for it this morning. To thank him for letting me crash at his place and explore The City, I took him to wonderful restaurant and bar known as Absinthe in the Hayes Valley area. The food was delicious and I had one of the best Uptown Manhattan drinks I've ever had. But, you know there's always a 'but' in there, he took me to this literally hidden treasure of a bar called Smuggler's Cove. Wow. They specialize in rum drinks so I ordered a Naval Grog. Oh my... I think if anyone had lit a match around me I'd have been like a flame thrower at close quarters. To make a long story short, we slowly walked home and crashed for tomorrow. Thank goodness I had finished my blog for yesterday already.

Today I find myself in Downtown and the Financial District. E.F. gave me some reading material on the architecture of the area as a kind of self-guided tour of the most prominent buildings in San Francisco's past. So far as of this writing, I've visited and photographed the Wells Fargo/Crocker Center building, 111 Sutter Street, the Crown Zellerbach Paper Co. building at One Bush Street, and the Hobart Building on Market. Some of the examples of building in The City are impressive. The Wells Fargo one was actually cut down by several stories and a rooftop garden open to the public was put in it's place; really cool public space with a cool view. Several of the places I couldn't photograph inside because of security. A shame but I understand the need for security and privacy of clients in the buildings. I'll make sure to post them all on Facebook as soon as I can.

About 11:15 rolls around and I get a text message from Angie reminding me that she and the Seans are going to be having lunch today in San Francisco at the same Absinthe restaurant E.F. and I ate at last night. I catch the #5 bus up Market to McAllister and Gough then walk the couple of blocks to the restaurant where they are waiting for me. I'm starting to get my walking feet under me finally after about a week of walking everywhere. We have a delightful lunch and try a couple different absinthes than I am used to. Interestingly enough, the locally produced absinthe from St. George's Spirits is really good and smooth. I don't have much to eat as I only just got done eating breakfast at Eddie's Cafe up on Divisadero so I order an appetizer and a great brown ale. My friends wanted to specifically have lunch at this place since their calendar project involves a shoot of a Green Fairy ( which is the slang for absinthe) and the webmaster for the restaurant had 'liked' their project. Monkey brought the manager a poster, post card, and other stuff to the restaurant as a thank you for their support.

When we part I head back Downtown on the #5 bus again, get off at Montgomery and head up to catch my next building at 100 Sutter Street called The Shell Building. I turn down Sutter on the wrong side of the street and realize that I need to sit down and write. Taking the opportunity, I duck into this place called Bread and Cocoa on the corner of Sutter and Kearny to grab a drink, sit, and catch up on the blog... And here we are so far. I need to mention that the young staff here are just a great bunch. They are friendly, bubbly even, and just fun to talk to when they aren't slammed with customers. That is one of the sort of down sides to this part of The City is this almost frenetic pace that everyone seems to be in. I find it both exhilarating but also a bit impersonal and tiresome. It's meeting the people in the shops that seems to make it all worth it.

PART TWO

It's about 1:30 p.m. when I get back to my architectural scavenger hunt in the Downtown/Financial District of S.F. I'm only about half way through my list of buildings so I get right to it. Before I leave the little shop, I realize that I'm gonna need to take a couple ALEAVE even though I don't want to. I've been trying to take it easy in my walking but the arch of my right foot is just starting to get annoyingly painful unless I slow way down and there is just too much to see in this place to do that. So, I suck it up and keep truckin'.

Next stop is supposed to be just across the street. It's the Hallidie Bldg. At 130 Sutter Street. I walk on down, seem to miss the address, mistake one building for it, cross the street, and sure enough, it's completely covered for restoration work... Great. At least the building NEXT to it seems just as interesting but I'll have to wait until the work is done to see it and who the he'll knows when that's gonna be. OK, check that one now what's next?

The list has 100 and 130 Bush Street next. Hmm, I wonder if they are right next to each other? So, off I go. I arrive to find I'm right. But the two buildings are way cool in their own ways. 130 Bush is termed the "Narrow Building" and when you see it you might be tempted to either giggle or just say, "Cool!" at how it looks. The guide states, " 20 feet wide, 10 stories, Gothic revival, 80 feet deep. One of the narrowest buildings in San Francisco. Originally a garment manufacturing building... Converted to offices in 1929."

The address next door is much more majestic and when you see the ornamentation near the apex of the building you understand why. Called The Shell Building for obvious reasons it was the last of the great Art Deco buildings to be constructed in San Francisco and was finished in 1929. Sepia-colored terracotta skin with jutting projections of shells at the apex of the building, man this is really cool. I jet over to the interior and ask the security if the building allows interior photographs... Sadly, no because the interior is guilder in golden art deco shells and other adornments which are great examples of the style of the time.

I head back to Montgomery and my other important but much more modern building which I've been next to before but not in decades... The Trans-America Pyramid. The building is a bit overwhelming but what is almost the prettiest part of the place is the public park that is at the base of the place located about the middle of the block. The park has a great grove of Redwoods with a pool and fountain that has bronze sculptures of jumping frogs in various poses. The park has lots of space to sit and nice built-in benches and in typical San Francisco fashion there is a plaque commemorating two beloved dogs of the area in the 1860's named Bugger and Lazarus. I'm a dog lover and thought that was especially cool.

But mentioning dogs at that point, well, my dogs are especially tired as well from all the exploring of the past six days. The arch of my right foot is just not gonna be able to explore any more... Time to make my way to Market and the #5 bus and some rest time. I slowly trudge down Kearny to Market, bop onto the bus, put in the ear phones, and zone out for the remainder of the trip. The bus hits my stop at Pierce and McAllister and I abuse my feet just enough to get in the door and put them up.... and fall into a much needed nap. Ahhhh. Rest. What a concept.

Tonight, when E.F. gets here, we'll see what's up for the remainder of the day and evening...

Pacific Heights, The Marina, and Geek Heaven...

Day 5 - The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

PART ONE

The girls have flown the coop home and now it's just E.F. and me left to have time together. We all finally recovered and got up at about the same time, said our goodbyes and that left me to prepare for the day ahead. Showered, shaved, dressed and I'm off to Eddie's for breakfast. The ladies all give me their hello's and ask me why I'm coming in so much. I tell them about my travels in The City and how I'm blogging about it. It's so cute. The main manager asks, "Are you writing about us?" and I tell them yes but only good things which makes them laugh. I then give them my URL for my blog and invite them to read about it. The breakfast is good and I'm on my way, drop back to the flat after I remember I need a small USB cable, then it's back to Divisidero to catch the bus...#24 Line to Pacific Heights and the Marina districts.

While I was at breakfast I had to take care of two other things. First, I just had to take some ALEAVE to take care of my walking pains. Oh well, I'm not 25 anymore you know. Second was a complete surprise. I got a friend request on Facebook from Jackie Jones. Now I had a familiarity with that name but it had been a long time. Suddenly it hits me that it's a former student. I accept the request and it hits me again how many students I've taught in my life.... In the next few years it will be almost 5000!

I find the stop for the #24 Line bus, climb on with music from my iPod in my ears this time around, and cruise on down Divisidero to Jackson and Fillmore in Pacific Heights. Right at the stop is this little coffee shop named Tully's Coffee.... Ah, perfect place to stop, plan and write. And so here we are....

PART TWO

Fillmore looks like it's kind of a main drag for traffic so I head off on Jackson street. This is the bedroom part of Pacific Heights as I see street after street of upper middle to upper class apartments until I start to get toward the top of the hill. Almost there and at Jackson and Octavia I spy a road with bricks instead of asphalt with huge planters of brick and concrete in the middle of the street. The residences are huge, beautifully manicured, and no doubt worth millions. The flowers growing on the edges of the properties are lovely.... And yet even here I find a place that looks as though it has been in somewhat of a state of abandonment and disrepair.

I decide to head on up Octavia until I reach Washington. Here I find Lafayette Park. The vies are spectacular but the fog has still not burned off yet. People are in the park even now though walking their dogs and letting them play together. A puppy of a German Shepard ambles on over to me. I put out my hand, he sniffs, wags his tail, and off he runs away to play. Cute.

To live in Pacific Heights I'm pretty sure that the closer you get to the park the more you have to have a last name like Rockefeller which I just don't even dream about being able to live in this part of San Francisco.

I wind my way around to Gough, twist on down Broadway for a while, down Laguna, turn on Vallejo, down Franklin to Union. Now this is the part of The City on the border between Pacific Heights and the Marina District that seems to be really hopping! I've strolled up to Van Ness and then down the other way to Webster. Along the way I stop to talk with this Red Cross volunteer named Sarah who is a recent transplant from Chicago. We have a fun time talking about Chicago and her move to San Francisco evidently only 6 months ago. We talk a little bit of the politics of charity and giving. I try to help her out by saying I'll post her picture in her Red Cross vest and asking friends to give before a disaster occurs.... She can't because she's not an "official" representative of the organization. That's kinda hinckey as far as I'm concerned. I say goodbye and I'm off again.

Finally I stop at this little shop called Cocoa Bella Chocolates and have the BEST hot chocolate I have ever had in my life! Seriously, no hyperbole intended. Whipped whole milk, whipped dark chocolate in it with raspberry flavoring.... I'm in food heaven. It's been good so far. Perhaps it's time to stroll down to The Marina for lunch...

PART THREE

Worked my down to The Marina District for lunch. I've never really strolled off the beaten path down here. It's usually been that I go down to the water and muck around down there. But, here I am on Chestnut and Divisidero at a restaurant called A16 having a fabulous time talking with the bartender after eating a great lunch. I get the Zuppa di zucca, a fantastic Italian Red wine and we start talking about how he came out here to San Francisco from Salt Lake City. The discussion invariably turns to how The City has changed his outlook for the year that he's lived here. The talking reminds me of some of my readings and studies on the nature of cities ( see my blogging on The Triumph of the City and The Rise of the Creative Class). Well, it's 2:30 almost and I need to explore some more before getting home to finish the blog and post before my friend gets back from work.

PART FOUR

I decide to stroll down Divisadero to get to the marina proper but as I near Beach Street, I look left and there’s the Palace of Fine Art. Oh holy crap. The Exploratorium is there. If I go there now, I’ll be spending hours being a geek in a geek store. Ah! What the hell. I start down the street and every step takes me closer to the domed colonnade of the Palace grounds where the Exploratorium awaits.

When I get to the Exploratorium, I get my ticket, walk in and just do what geeks do best for the next two hours. Displays on vortecies, making giant smoke, rings, massive lenses, weird doll houses with wacked out perspectives, and too many fun things to even recount here no matter how hard I’d try. It does dawn on me that I should keep track of when the Exploratorium is moving and see if I can somehow finagle my way into getting at least one Honors Science field trip to the place next year.

I look at my watch (dammit) and realize it’s 4:15. Time to leave. I check my iPhone for location and time of the next #22 Line bus and where the nearest bus stop is, then make my way about 8 blocks to Fillmore and Beach. When I get there, I run into this couple of tourists from New York who ask me if this is the #22 bus and the right bus stop and I reassure them it is. We start chit chatting about the differences in the cities and the coasts and they assure me that they have decided they like California much more than New York. I smile inside.

The bus ambles on over the hill as it makes its way to my stop about 25 minutes later at Fillmore and McAllister. Two more excruciating blocks, open the door, come in and collapse. The dogs are really barking this time. E.F. arrives not long after and we start talking, showing photos, and I get him to let me take him out to dinner at Absinthe restaurant down in the Hayes Valley area. We make the reservations and then start seeing if maybe we’ll do Bourbon and Branch tomorrow. It’s good to be with a friend in The City.

A Black Sword, The Stein's, and Trolley Cars

Day 4 of The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

The day has consisted of mostly being with my friend Dena and Eric’s mother Dorothy. Eric is working this week, of course, and so he leaves before we wake up. So today we lounged until about 9:15 and decided we’d go get breakfast and then head out to the SF MOMA to see the Stein’s Collection Exhibit.

The standard good place to get breakfast is the little breakfast shop on the corner of Divisidero and Fulton is Eddie’s which serves breakfast all day. Coffee, juice, and eggs and pancakes with good conversation is such a nice way to start the day. Dorothy is 81 and so, even though she’s in great shape for her age, we need to plan where we’re going to go and be careful of how many hills we might need to climb (I should be doing so well at 81 if I live that long). We get done and head up the street to catch the #5 Line to Market Street and 3rd Street so we can walk on down to the MOMA.

We chit-chat on the way up to the bus stop. Dena is such a kick to have around and I sure as hell hope I can be good enough to keep Dorothy’s sense of humor when I get to be her age. When we finally get to the bus, it’s kinda crowded but we stand for a while then finally get Dorothy a seat. Eventually we all get to sit down as people come and go off the bus. There’s this one point where Dena seems to have lost her mind as she is making the weirdest faces. Then I see that a little girl in a stroller is making faces back at her and just having a blast. When we round the corner onto Market, we get off a little early at the corner of 4th and Market and slowly walk to the MOMA. Yesterday has not been kind to my legs and feet and I’m still feeling the adventure in the Richmond District. As a friend I know might have said,”Boy! The dogs are still barkin’...” and as we keep walking the barkin’ keeps getting louder. Ouch. For those who have lived all their lives in San Francisco, I have no doubt that they are just plain used to this kind of constant physical exercise. But coming from a town where the car reigns supreme, the pedestrian calisthenics that the streets and hills of San Francisco can put you through have just about done me in yesterday and today.

We get to the MOMA, get tickets, and go straight to the 5th floor. We take a look at the exhibit there on the Last 10 years of Modern Art and part of it has this exhibit of sonic sculpture called Sonic Shadows that is just fascinating. Dena and I stand in the middle of the exhibit and close our eyes and are treated to this sonic experience of white sound and oddly melodic noise that zips past us on our left, then right, then above, the left.... and it’s a really cool effect.

We finish the 5th floor, take the elevator down to the 4th, and give our tickets for the Stein Collection. It’s crowded even for a week day and we slowly make our way through the exhibit. The Matisse and Picasso work along wit some other lesser know artists is incredible. I must admit both some admiration and a touch of disappointment at both the Matisse and Picasso selections but I chalk that up to having seen a number of those along with other artists in Paris so any disappointment is just temporary.

The tour takes almost 2 1/2 hours and by the end my feet and legs are screaming at me to sit down again. We exit the MOMA and head back to catch the F-Line to allow us to get Dena’s jeep which Karen has let her park at her condo’s parking garage. The F-Line is a trolley line which is occupied with trolleys from San Francisco’s and other city’s past. We get on an island egress terminal in the middle of Market and here comes a blue and gold 1940’s Sand Francisco trolley. Cool.... but it’s packed to the gills with tourists. Oh great. Somehow we squeeze on and Dorothy finds a seat. We’re set.

Like the modern bus rides, people are squeezing on and off and we get a seat as it curves from Market to the Embarcadero and finally we get off at Sansone and Chestnut, walk to Karen’s condo garage and get ourselves in the jeep. A quick ride later and we’re parked and back at E.F.’s place in the Western Edition. A brief refresher and we’re once again on our way to an enclave at the end of the Western Edition called Hayes Valley. Basically, where Hayes and Gough streets intersect is this wonderful collection of shops and restaurants. We bop around there for another couple of hours where I pick up a cool set of antique cufflinks for a decent price and then drag ( no exaggeration this time) back to E.F.’s place. No sooner do we settle down then he comes home and the decision is made to go out for dinner while we all have any strength left. We trudge to the Japan Center for some outstanding ramen soups at Suzu’s Soups in the Kinokuniya Bulding at the end of the Center.

The conversation is light and playful as usual with our company.... but we’re tired and the Saki is flowing so it’s slow going home. We stop for ice cream for dessert ( Dryer’s Green Tea for me... yummm) and finally walk inside the door with only one thing on most everybody’s mind; go to bed. And that friends is pretty much the way the day has ended with me the last man standing and writing to you while stealing a neighbor’s internet and getting the last pictures off the SIM card from the digital camera. Enjoy the pictures and I’ll be writing to you tomorrow after I figure out where I’m off to next. Later.

The Black Sword, Friends, and the Waterfront

Day 2 in the City of Saint Francis

E.F. was great to see again but we didn't have much time to talk in the morning at his place. We had been invited to brunch with our friends Karen, Dena, and Amy down in the Northeast Waterfront area so we had to get ready and hustle. The brief trip required a run on the #5 line down McAllister to Market then taking the F Line to the Embarcadero and finally to Karen's place on Lombard. E.F. was kinda stoked to take this line because they were all old trolley cars from decades past and he had never taken it as far as we were going. Appropriately enough, we ended up on and old wooden paneled Italian trolley that the city had purchased and it was a blast. It had this somewhat jerky way of moving as it rolled down the tracks and the signs were in Italian and English so that was cool.

We get off at Sansone and Embarcadero and walk a block to Karen's. She lives in a great condo in a gated complex whose other taller building has a roof-top garden and incredible views of The City... I took a slew of pictures which I'll post soon as I get how to transfer them from the SIM card to my laptop. Karen had some great croissants and latte's for E.F. and me and when the girls came out it was like being back in high school again ( sans a crap-load of the pimples, drama, and insecurities of that time). Finally walked on over to the waterfront and went to a great restaurant named Butterflies. The view was great with big glass windows looking out onto the bay. Karen informed me that that was. The place to be when the America's Cup races come to San Francisco in 2012. Let me put it plainly, I am SO THERE.

A wonderful brunch done, we get to Karen's place, the girls change into walking shoes and attire and we're off to explore Telegraph Hill. Karen and E.F. take us on this great trip up these series of stairs, up Grant street and round to Coit Tower. This may seem crazy but in all the years I have been coming to San Francisco, I've never gone up to Coit Tower. The views are hard to describe but let's just put it that they are breathtaking. I'll be posting plenty of those pics as well. The tourists were thick so it seemed like a bad time to try to get to the top of the tower but I'll do that again before I leave if I can swing it.

We ended up going down a series of other stairs with wonderful gardens and quaint homes as we made our way back to Karen's again. The rest of the day was walking down the Waterfront and then back to Karen's again where we settled down after miles of walking. I'll end here only because I really want to write mostly about my time exploring on my own. But, man, what a great day.

The Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis - Day One

July 9th. A Black Sword in the City of Saint Francis

Day one of my explorations of The City and I find that I'm starting with some somewhat familiar territory .... I'm sitting in a cafe in the Japan Center and watching beautiful Japanese women and men walk by, having a decaf coffee ( what!? No tea? Yeah, yeah... I figured I'd be an iconoclast a bit and have coffee in the heart of Japan in S.F. So shoot me...) and waiting to decide on my next move. It was much less hassle to get to San Francisco than I had anticipated this time. Even though I packed large as I usually do, the taxis in S. F. make it much easier to get around and be a wanna be Sherpa with luggage when you remember to go do Powell Street Station which is right near a major hotel so the taxis are always hovering in the vicinity. $7.15 later and I slip the guy a ten note, tell him to keep the change, and thank him for the conversation. I'm at the inimitable E. F. Kohler's house for the duration gut he's not home. "Oh yeah! His mother Dorothy's in town for a few days too! Ok, I'm sure he's out spending time with 'mom' so its up to me to explore.... Off I go." More after I spend a few more hours out and a'boot.

Well, the shops are starting to close in Japan Town and so I slowly make my way back to E.F. Kohler's place in the Western Addition. It's a cool walk over the pedestrian bridge that spans Geary Blvd. and the views are great of the clouds just over my head. I pull out the camera and take a few pics.... I'll upload them as soon as I can. I spy a dad teaching his son the finer points of pitching at one of the local parks. I say, " Yup, 10,000 hours of practice." He spys back and says, " Yeah, you got that right." and I smile and keep moving. There's this great house only a block or two from E.F.'s place which is just this incredible example of turn of the century 19th-20th Century kitch architecture. The place is gilded with gold trim and is an interesting purple color. Gaudy is the word that comes to mind.

I get back and sure enough E.F. is there and his mom Dorothy whom I haven't seen in ages. We chit-chat and have a great time catching up when some relatives of theirs from Michigan call and say they'd like to have dinner. It's a nice trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. I can't remember the last time I did either... It's a small italian restaurant that we are in just a block off the water front. The food is vacuumed down by me when I realize that I hadn't eaten too much since I started this trip.

The return is nice and I get some idea even at night of where I wanna do some more exploring later in the week. We're all pretty tired by now. E.F. sets up a very nice air mattress and it's off to slumber land. More adventures tomorrow.