Friday, October 9th

At about 4:00 I started out on foot to the Mission. I was surprised by not only how quickly I got there but how short a distance it actually is from where I am staying - less than two miles to 24th and Harrison where I had been the day before on my mural walk. The walk was quite enjoyable. The temps were in the high 60s and the late afternoon sun made it just warm enough I was able to do without my fleece pullover for most of the walk.

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Out of the door I hung a right up to 18th, then a another right past Farley's and the recently closed Eliza's Chinese restaurant. Eliza's was open for 13 years and had a very loyal clientele. I continued on past Lingba Lounge and Christopher's Books. I crossed Connecticut Street where I saw the above flyer and then started the steep grade down to Arkansas Street.

 

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This green tunnel was near Connecticut and 18th. As I recall these trees were newly planted when I was here in 2007. They are looking pretty well established now and are ready for a little pruning.

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At the bottom of the hill this sign gives fair warning to truck drivers.

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When I reached Rhode Island there was a great view of downtown from this little mini-park on the corner.

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Up and over and then down again to where 18th is bisected by US 101. Fortunately there is a pedestrian overpass.
How would like to go through this traffic ever day?

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I continued on to Harrison Street where I made a left. I saw this cast iron vent and thought of the one I had salvaged back in 1969 while dumpster diving.

After nearly 40 years of storage I just recently put the salvaged vent to use as a warm air vent for an above ground water supply.

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Not sure if this row of houses can be called genuine Victorians or not. They looked just different enough to make me wonder when they built. They reminded me of tract homes.

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This building was on 22nd near Harrison.
Check out the old V Dub.

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I continued on down Harrison to 24th Street and took a right. There were lots of people out and about. I took some time to poke around a few of the storefronts and side streets.

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Here is something I am not used to seeing - Lucha libre masks.

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There were some really wild looking masks! They have an interesting history.

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Lucha Libre means free fight. It dates back to the 1930's. Matches have sparked riots that have shut down large cities. The first to wear a mask was Rodolfo Guzman Huerta. In the early 1940's he became known as El Santo (The Saint). Many of the holds of todays wrestlers were first used by him. He was the Mexican equivalent of John Wayne. He did about 50 movies and became a huge Latin American star. He died of a heart attack in 1984. He had one of the largest funerals in Mexican history. He was buried with his famous silver mask.

Source: The History of Lucha Libre Wrestling by Carl Benjamin

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I may have to come back here and pick myself out one these.

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There were murals in just about every direction.

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This is the backside of Micky D's at 24th and South Van Ness.

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These two are detail shots from a large mural in the parking lot behind Micky D's.

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The last shot of the day. It is wonderful to see so many nice street trees all over San Fran. And, for the most part, they are well taken care of.

I continued on up 24th to Mission Street passing the branch library where I had met with Steven on Tuesday. My plan was to find some supper and I wanted to try out another dish from El Trebo, but they were closed.

I stopped in to look over the menu at Big Mouth burgers at 3392 24th St(between Orange Aly &Valencia St). Everything sounded good and the food looked tasty, but I decided that wasn't what I wanted.

I continued on up to Valencia, took a right and started scoping out places to eat. Nothing piqued my interest and I finally decided to head back down to Mission and take a look. It was then I decided to give Taqueria Cancun another try.

My first meal there was less than satisfactory. But, Steven had urged me to give it another try so I decided to.

I got in line with only two people ahead of me and then there was a crush of people and it stayed that way the entire time I was there.

I ordered a regular burrito ($5.25) with beef and extra cilantro. I staked out my table and then went back to use the restroom. Locked. After standing there a while one of the employees came aback and said. "Not working." Great. I asked where he used the bathroom and told him I wanted to use it as well. He said. "Ask manager." I did, and it got me nowhere. He insisted all the employees were using the facilities at the place next door. Not likely.
Nothing like trying to enjoy a meal when you have an urgent call of nature.

My burrito was soon ready. It was quite hefty. Tasty and filling, but nothing to rave about. I have to say I just don't understand the popularity of this place. Maybe I am spoiled by the burritos we make at home with all fresh ingredients and made exactly as we like then.

I left, full, but somewhat disappointed again. OK. I admit it. I am jaded and hard to please.

Next stop: Thieves Tavern at 496 14th St(between Guerrero & Valencia Streets)
During the planning stages of this trip I decided to check out the activities on MeetUp.com. One of the Meetups which caught my eye was " Mission Dive Bars" which met twice a month.

Generally, I don't make it a habit to frequent bars. They are usually two noisy and everyone is usually talking about or watching sports - or both. But, I decided this might be a way to meet some locals and also get me out of the house for the evening.

The MeetUp started at 7:00 and I was a bit early. So, I walked around the neighborhood looking for a place to sneak a pee, but found none. I went back to the Tavern and there were already some MeetUp folks there - I could tell them by the name tags. I also recognized Tom, the Meetup organizer. There were introductions and I got a name tag and a beer then dashed to the rest room. Ahhhh...

Things got off to a slow start. I am not used to striking up conversations with strangers, although, I must say, on this trip I have found I am not bad at it. I started yakking with Nerissa and Jeremy, a youngish couple next to me and found out there were newlyweds from north eastern New Jersey and had been living in The City about 4 months. From what I gathered Jeremy was not yet employed, but Nerissa worked in Palo Alto - a 1 hour and 15 minute one way train commute. I just can't imagine doing that every day, twice a day. But, it would beat the hell out of driving! And, Nerissa said it allowed her to do a lot of reading - always a good thing.

 

Photo: © Tom Rapp

Nerissa and freinds.

I then stated talking to a gal names Molly and here cousin Rachel. Molly was originally from the Twin Cities in Minnesota and loved it there. I told here about my 6 week stay at Lake Itaska Biological Station once up on a time. Here cousin was originally from Baltimore and that was about as much as I could get out of her before she wandered off.

After a while I found myself sitting there more or less alone when Dana plopped herself down next to me. She had decided to rescue me from the blank stare/day dreaming I had slipped into. She was quite fun to talk to and we yakked about food and The City in general. She had lived in SF since 1995. Dana told me she was a web developer and worked on the coding end of the process. I told her of my modest web efforts and gave here one of my ERT cards and we made tentative plans to try to get a bite to eat at some point.

 

Photo: © Tom Rapp

Dana and me at Thieves Tavern

I shot the breeze with Nerissa a bit more and she told me her dad lived here and worked at Alioto's at the Wharf! I told her I would try to look him up at some point. That area is my old stomping grounds - I used to work at nearby Cost Plus Imports waaaaay back in the early 70s.

I gave Nerissa one of my ERT cards and she kept saying how cool it was. I told here I couldn't take the credit for it. (Thanks, Matt!!)

By now I had two beers and one bottled water and it was getting very crowded and noisy. So, at about 9:00 I hit the streets. The sidewalks were full of people and most of the restaurants crowded and busy.

I made my way back to 16th and Mission and was soon riding the 22 home.
A late nite for the likes of me. Most enjoyable.