Now that I’m thinking of traveling away from the Bay Area for a while, I’m realizing there are lots of things I never did, or didn’t do the right way, here in San Francisco and the Bay Area. So with the helpful suggestions of friends and Lonely Planet, I’m compiling a Bucket List of things to do before I leave. Or as Andrew so graciously calls it, the F*ckIt List, as in “F*ck it, I might as well go to the Pride Festival since I’ve never been before.”

I don’t suggest I’m going to do all of these things but I’d like to do a lot of them if I can. And if you have any suggestions please let me know. And if you’d like to participate in one that would be even better!

So here they are, in no particular order, and surely to be added to continuously:

  • Visit the SF Zoo – DONE!  I went there with Tamar on a sunny Friday afternoon.  I’ll give big props out to the zoo.  It’s all very walkable and they’ve got every kind of animal there from polar bears to kangaroos to giraffes.  Kind of strange to think these animals live in the same small city as me.  A couple of the highlights included the penguin feeding at 2:30 p.m. everyday where all the penguins line up awaiting their daily ration of fish, and also Tamar feeding Rose the baby giraffe cow’s milk from a giant-sized baby bottle.  She looked like a pro!
  • SF Pride Festival – DONE!  Went there with Alan when he was in town from Ireland
  • Angel Island – DONE!  Went there with Joanna a bit hungover (I was, not she), had a beer once we got onto the island then had a great hike to the top of Mount Livermore where we lunched.  It’s an okay place, but a lot more crowded (read: annoying families) than I expected
  • Half Dome in Yosemite Park – DONE!  I went to Yosemite with Felipe and we woke up super early and started our hike by 5:30 a.m.  It was really an amazing and challenging hike, one that I’m glad to say I’ve done and maybe will never have to do again.  Kind of like running a marathon.  I’m not ashamed to rest on my laurels when they’re there.
  • The Fillmore – I have yet to see a show at SF’s biggest concert venue; Adam is interested in a couple upcoming shows so we may get this one covered.
  • Mt Davidson – DONE! Mt Davidson is the highest point in SF.  I hiked there from my place this past Monday, an amazing 3 hour urban hike, going up and down the hills around Twin Peaks.  And I discovered a park I never knew existed, Corona Heights Park where there was a coyote warning sign.  Hmmmm…  We don’t get many coyotes up here in Russian Hill.
  • Stern Grove – They have free concerts every Sunday during the summer and I’ve never been.  Update: I had planned to go to the final show but woke up with an unplanned hangover from drinking Everclear.  So it looks like this one is going to have to wait.
  • Buena Vista Cafe – DONE!  this is a cafe in Fisherman’s Wharf that is known for their Irish Coffee.  Joanna and I went here after Angel Island and enjoyed a delicious Irish Coffee.  They really are quite good.
  • Beach Blanket Babylon – never went to a show here and it’s supposed to be a must-see.  A fellow improv student from a few years ago, Cara, used to be in the show so it’d be cool to see her there if she’s still performing.
  • Mount Tamalpais – DONE!  I hiked up to Mt Tam on the 4th of July with Alan and Andrew.  It’s a great hike and I keep wondering why I didn’t do more hiking in general while I’ve been in SF.  We are really lucky here to have all these trails around us.  It took me hiking 500 miles to realize how meditative it can be to hike even for just a couple of hours.
  • Mission Street – DONE!  This is one I created myself.  Mission Street is the longest street in SF and I thought it could be cool to walk it from one end to the other.  I began from my apartment and caught Mission around 8th street, then proceeded to walk for around 3-4 hours, stopping for Nicaraguan food along the way.  It’s a relatively flat terrain the whole way which made for a really great day of walking.  What was amazing was how different the weather is in the Mission than everywhere else.  In the Mission it was sunny and warm, tshirt weather whereas by the time I got to Daly City and then Colma it was freezing and I could see the fog blowing around in front my eyes. All in all it was around a 10-11 mile hike.  And then I took BART back.
  • California Street – just like the Mission Street one, except, you guessed it, on California which is the second longest street in the city.  This could be interesting because you’ll end up at the Ocean which is always a cool thing to do.
  • Carnelian Room – DONE.  Technically I did do this, even though I didn’t get a drink here.  Andrew, who had suggested this place, and I rolled in one evening to get a drink, learned about a $20 cover due to a swing band playing live, and decided to hell with this, let’s go to a real bar.  So I may not come back and my life will be not too different for it.

Randumbness, Travel Writing

July 10, 2008

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