Day 164 – September 18, 2014

A resident visits tourist sites mostly on the first two weeks and last two weeks of residency. You either explore a little at the beginning or race to see everything before you leave. Pretending to move in a month, I’m trying to see all of San Francisco’s remaining sites. This city still has some life left in it.

I trooped to the Golden Hydrant at the top corner of Dolores Park. This sacred fire hydrant saved a swath of the Mission during the 1906 earthquake and fire. While many water mains had broken, this hydrant still tapped into a repository of underground water. Every April, Mission residents parade to the hydrant in gratitude.

Today I visit Mission Dolores, the oldest building in San Francisco. I may live two blocks from this Spanish mission, but many hipsters claim I live outside of the Mission District. To them, the Mission means cheap tacos, fancy bicycle shops, and used-clothing stores. I do live near some of these stores, but the bolus of Mission “culture” has indeed moved south from my 14^th St residence to 26^th St and beyond.

A few days ago, I ran to the Inner Sunset hills to visit AJ, Matt, and his new kid Xavier. On AAA’s recommendation, AJ and I climbed two tiled staircases based after a famous staircase in Rio de Janeiro. Last December, I ascended that Rio staircase. Today, AJ and I discover tiled suns, moons, butterflies, and flowers – so San Francisco and yet so unknown to most in the city. AJ snaps scenic photos before the fog obliterates the view.

Earlier in the week, Greg and I poked around the Jewish History Museum, located downtown near 4^th and Market. We had a great lunch in the museum at the Wise Sons deli. We feasted on bialies, reuben sandwiches with smoked trumpet mushrooms, and matzo ball soup. Although Greg and I admired the Libeskind-designed museum, we found the collection rather lacking.