Flashback San Francisco

[Quick note...sorry I've taken so long. Been tweaking some new stuff with the links, and pulled the last week's posts til I could get them right. From here on in, anything underlined is a link, so just click and go if it looks interesting.]




These last couple of posts have pulled me back down the proverbial memory lane.
Now, taking into consideration that I work out of my home and the weather outside is a lovely hell-spawn and demon dream vacation get-away average of 103 degrees, I'm not too tempted to leave The Sacred Altar of Air Conditioning that often. So for the past 2 days, since the last post, I've spent a good amount of time going through old photos and journals and reminiscing about a life lived.
So this post is about San Francisco...where years ago I wandered to as a (or so I thought) hip, brazen, uninhibited freshly educated (hahahahaha) collegian. I was ready for the world, you know?
It only took about three days.




sweet-jesus-mary-mother-of-what-the-fuck-have-i-gotten-myself-into?

"Hip" and "Brazen" and "Uninhibited" wrapped themselves around my tail and tucked themselves so tightly between my legs that my ass puckered.
I was living with friends of friends, and they were city natives, born and bred. I got thrown into the deep end - sink or swim. Hey, they were right - no sense having a roomate if she's gonna freak out and run home to the safety of the world of Proper Southern Belle Manners.
But I stayed. And I fell in love. With the City.
My friends of friends became MY friends, and gave me entrance to their world. There is a San Francisco the world sees - that the tourists see - the landmarks...and you forget these quite often when you live among them. It wasn't until I went back to visit that I actually went to some of the touristy places.
But what I miss are the great music stores and little jewels of hidden treasure that are tucked away. God how I loved the beach and windsurfing, the mountains and rockclimbing in the afternoon and campfires at night...the wicked loud parties and the quiet moments too. And of course, there are the Only-In-San-Francisco as well.
So, jump in, put your seat belt on (I'm OCD, remember?). I've got the top down on the car and I'm driving (I'm also very alpha)...memory lane next exit, pedestrians and other vehicles be warned.


So, first of all we've got the Golden Gate Bridge. What's amazing it that when you live here, it's so easy to forget how magnificent it is. There's a toll, but it's only collected from southbound traffic (traffic headed into the city). You can walk or bike across for free, but sorry, no dogs allowed (no pets of any kind...guess you could sneak your pet hamster if you REALLY wanted to, though).

Now, find 49-Mile Drive and follow the blue and white seagull signs all through the city. You'll get a slice of everything San Francisco. Actually, your best bet is to pick up a map at the Visitors Center (at Powell) 'cause some people have been rumored (no names here, ahem) to take the signs as home decorations/ souvenirs.
Now that you've had a sample, spend some time with the hidden treasures, like The Exploratorium. I know it's a science museum, but it's in The Palace of Fine Arts, which is one place you need to go anyway, and it's just about the coolest museum ever.
One of the most beautiful places, and the place I had both the best and worst day of my life, is the Japanese Tea Garden. It's in Golden Gate Park, and that's all I want to say about that.
Now then, what I will say more about is City Lights Bookstore. This is my Happy Place. I would live here if they would let me...it's like a library and an institution and an inspiration...everytime I'm here I feel like taking my shoes off, pulling out a notebook and scribbling mad poetry like a crazy woman. The books are everywhere, but you must go to the basement. That's where the good stuff is.

Actually, there's some pretty damn good stuff a few steps away at Vesuvio ...there was a bartender there named Darren or Darek or Darryl or God, I forget...but he made the meanest, sweetest, ass-kicking-est Long Island Iced Tea. If he's still around, he deserves sainthood.
While we're in the neighborhood...god I loved Chinatown. You could buy ANYTHING in Chinatown. And I do mean anything. It doesn't matter who speaks what. If you can draw in the air and motion and make sounds then you can communicate. You would be surprised how easily some things translate. Hehe...bet you're trying it right now. See? (No, Mom, really, I was talking about collogen injections for my lips...really, seriously...that's all)
Ok, now I'm hungry. And ohmygod are there some great places to eat. Lunch at Taylor's. Anything at John Foley's (the things the Irish can do with a potato) I can't even list all my favorites because there are too many. But since this IS Memory Lane, I have to spend a moment with an old friend...In & Out Burger.
Now, this is just how life should be. Fuck the SuperWalCosco gazillion-kinds-of-everything, 75 checkout aisles but only 4 fucking cashiers. If City Lights Bookstore is my Church, then In & Out Burger is my Salvation. What would you like? You can have 1.A Hamburger 2.A Cheeseburger or 3.A Double Double Burger. Sure you can have fries too (one size), and a shake or a drink, but that's it for the menu. I love this place. And talking about memories, there was this one booth that...yeah...damn...sorry, there are things my mom just really doesn't need to know. Ever.
Rainbow Street Grocery is a different story. I just love how I was so Earth-Green-Water-Clean...for about 2 weeks. I'm sorry, but tofu-burgers do things to your intestines that are just plain unnatural. Hey, I tried, but I'm at the top of the food chain for a reason.
Oh hell, we're already here. And I've let you guys wade in slowly, unlike me, getting tossed into the deep end of the Folsom Street Fair my first week in the city.
Too late. This is it. Spanking, human pets, ass art, full-frontal-everything, hot wax body art and much, much more. But you know what? You meet some of the most straight-up, no bullshit, coolest, honest people here. And yeah, some of the most fucked-up as well.

The Haight-Ashbury Fair is not to be missed. Actually, just swing by the Haight District, even if you're just there for a few days. One of the best times I had was at the fair one year. I had just moved from my old apartment (with roommates) on Jones Street to Filbert Street (all alone now) and was feeling lonely and broke (by the way, Filbert is THE steepest street in San Francisco!). My best friends dropped in, rummaged through my bag, got my ID, handed it to me, wouldn't let me take anything else (barely let me brush my hair) and kidnapped me. They paid for everything over the next 24 hours. The fair was just the beginning. They didn't get me back home til the next day. I knew I had real friends. And life was good.
I loved the city. I lived near Lombard Street. I immediately lost my fascination with Lombard Street after the first day I tried to walk up it. Never again. Coit Tower just by itself and the walkway was /is magnificent. My fascination there never ended. The view from the top of Coit Tower is breathtaking.
One thing I did on my last trip/visit back was go to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 specifically for pictures. If you go, there's some off site parking if you look for it, but your best bet is to just go ahead and park across from Pier 39 - the parking is about $20, but chances are you're there to eat and any of the full service restaurants will validate your ticket for around half the cost (I think about $8.00 off). BUT, unless you're famous and/or famously wealthy, plan to put your name on a wait list for about an hour or more, especially on busy nights.
And oh...the wharf and the docks...and...The Boat. It wasn't my boat, but I got to work on it, got to learn the language. Even got to steer sometimes. Did I mention how much I loved the ocean in general? There's just something about being at sea.
Now, I had reason to call some old friends to check up on some things and have been informed that I MUST add the following: Teatro ZinZanni. The Slogan is "Love, Chaos & Dinner" and it is supposedly one of the wickedest, neatest, things to hit town in the last few years.

And according to the same sources, Ruby Skye is The Place To Be. One of my old friends apparently LIVES in the VIP room. Evidently I need to keep in MUCH better contact with some of my friends since it appears that they have reached the pinnacle of the clubbing social ladder. I'd probably have to literally club the guy at the door just to get in.
I was also berated for not including Mitchell's Ice Cream and Brainwash.
"Oh my god!" Lisa said, shocked. "How could you not include Brainwash?"
"Uh," I replied with astoundingly quick wit. "I dunno."
But she's right. Mitchell's is not to be missed, and Brainwash is just one-of-a-kind. I mean, where else can you go and get your lunch and your laundry done
So, for Lisa and everyone else, there. Sorry I forgot. Jesus, I did my laundry at the neighbor's, remember?
One other thing I really loved was the MASS TRANSIT-NO KIDDING. BART, light rail, the bus schedules that ran almost to the split second. I never owned a car in S.F. Never wanted a car in S.F. People who don't live in San Francisco or the Bay Area look at you funny when you say things like "public transportation" or "bus" or "light rail". That's cool, we'll keep our secret.

And I'll keep the rest of my San Francisco secrets as well as I end this trip down Memory Lane. Funny thing about pictures, especially the ones we put in albums. We always have pictures of our Happy Lives. We take snapshots of Good Moments. Of Times (at least right now) We Want To Remember. Of Love. Of Vacations. Smiling Babies. Joyous Celebrations. maybe an occasional drunken party. Lots of pics of Beaming Brides. Glowing Moms. Proud Fathers.
We're not too good at visually capturing our lives at our worst. heartbroken. emotionally devastated. enraged. insane with jealousy. betrayed. hateful. hurt.
So what do people see when they flip through our photo albums, or peruse our latest photos?
Guess we all have our secrets.