Sunday, September 4th 2011 San Francisco
I don't know when it was or who I mentioned it to but I was puzzling on how to meet people on my visits to San Francisco. They said: "Why not try the Meetup Groups". "The what?", I thought. Then they went on to explain what they were.
Just to give you an idea of how "with it" I am I had never heard of Meetup before. But, I thought I would take a look and see what they had to offer. And, what did they have to offer? Just about anything under the sun!
In 2009, after searching the San Francisco Meetups I joined the Mission Dive Bars Meetup group. I thought that would be a good way to see more of the Mission, have a few beers and meet some folks.
It was a good choice, Tom, the organizer is an old hand at this and made me feel right at home.
Ok, now I am no longer a Meetup virgin. What next? In 2010, while poking around I stumbled across the Meetup Group "SF-Urban-Power-Hikes". I read the description, joined and signed up for an incredible hike with a bunch of interesting people. We covered a lot of ground and the organizer, Kevin, got us to some out of the way Vistas.
I was really looking forward to another SF-Urban-Power-Hike on this visit. But, only weeks away from my arrival in San Fran, Kevin disbanded the group for lack of time. Rats!
I started my search anew for a walking/hiking group and stumbled upon the group " Making Friends in SF". As luck would have it organizer Rahul had a "Walk Across San Francisco" Meetup scheduled for the very first weekend I would be in San Fran. I joined and signed up for the walk. Smart move on my part.
The group was to meet on Sunday at 10:00. The Meetup location would be the StarBucks at 3735 Buchanan St in the Marina District.
I left Ed's place at 9:00 and rode the N Judah street car down to the Van Ness Station, crossed over Market Street and then caught the 49 Van Ness bus to the Marina and walked over to the StarBucks. I got there at the crack of 10:00 - the suggested meeting time.
When I walked into the StarBucks there was a sign-in table set up with name tags and Rahul was there greeting everyone and keeping things moving. After those formalities I moved to the sidewalk where it was cooler and waited for the walk to begin.
While hanging out I chatted with some nice folks, Sue and Frederick and a Pomeranian whose name I didn't get. Sue is a native SFer! Frederick recently moved to the area from Florida.
Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.
Many were newcomers to the area and many lived in the East Bay. A very nicely mixed group.
This was going to be fun!
Click on the photos below for a larger image.
While waiting for the walk to get underway I walked up the street and took some snaps of the old San Francisco Gas and Light building. It has been refurbed and it now houses the offices of the Walther Investment Group.
Built in 1893 this Romanesque Revival building is the only surviving industrial building in the neighborhood.
It was designed by Joseph B. Crockett, president of the San Francisco Gaslight Company which made gas for heating and lighting from coal and petroleum delivered to its nearby wharf. (Source: An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area by Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny.)
Pacific Gas & Electric closed the plant in the 1950's, and today it houses offices.
Source: noehill.com
The walk got underway and I grabbed a few snaps here and there. The weather was a bit gloomy, but it dampened no ones spirits or enthusiasm.
The leading edge of a pretty large group - 20 or so hearty walkers.
The Golden Gate Bridge was looking pretty much the same as when I rolled across it on Friday.
San Francisco has it's share of big, and beautiful houses. This one was somewhere in the Marina District.
I was so busy snapping and yakking I quickly lost track of where we where, where we had been and where we were going. No matter.
Meet Frederick of Walnut Creek, formerly of Tampa, Florida. He recently moved to the area and is lovin' it!
That's the
Palace of Fine Arts in the background.
The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is the only one still situated on its original site. It was rebuilt in 1965, and renovation of the lagoon, walkways, and a seismic retrofit were completed in early 2009.
It remains a popular attraction for tourists and locals, and is a favorite location for weddings and wedding party photographs for couples throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and such an icon that a miniature replica of it was built in Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim.
Source: WikiPedia
A must see for anyone visiting the area. It has been undergoing renovations for years and is now lookin' pretty good. The world renowned Exploratorium is located next to the Palace.
In San Francisco, if you are down, you must go up. And up we went!
This is
Broderick Street between Vallejo and Broadway.
Sach was having trouble keeping his balance! ;)
And last, but not least, our fearless leader made the climb.
Go, Rahul, go!!
Not sure if this modest little place was in Pacific Heights or Presidio Heights.
How the other 1% lives.
I thought this was an interesting mix of ethnicity and religion.
This is what I drove to San Fran from West Virginia. Elly May has been sleeping in the cab all this time.
Our circuitous route took us through Laurel Heights and then into Golden Gate Park.
Here we see dendro-geo serpentine.
We made it! Our destination, The Cliff House was the official terminus for the walk.
The two ladies were from Madrid and the fella was from Michigan. Wish my memory for names was better!
There was all manner of aquatic life out here at the beach.
These had a practical use - discourage skate boarders.
At that point most of the group went their separate ways and a small group of us went down to the Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant for drinks and munchies. I had a very tasty pint of Hefeweiss. In fact, I liked it so much I had two!
A brief history of the Beach Chalet:
As you enjoy the breathtaking views of the Pacific from your seat in the Beach Chalet, you’re not just sitting in a restaurant looking out at the ocean—you’re sitting in a historic landmark, partaking in a piece of San Francisco history.The Beach Chalet was built by the city of San Francisco in 1925, designed by renowned architect Willis Polk. The ground floor housed a lounge and changing rooms for beachgoers. Upstairs, a 200-seat bar and restaurant hosted a swanky scene featuring unparalleled views of the crashing waves. Adding even more luster to the Beach Chalet, in 1936 the Works Projects Administration, a Depression-era government funded work program, commissioned society artist Lucien Labaudt to paint the frescoes that still adorn the downstairs walls.
During World War II, the U.S. Army commandeered the Beach Chalet for use as barracks for the coast-based troops. When the soldiers moved out the VFW took possession of the building; the bar that reopened upstairs became a biker bar with a bad rep. When the city upped the rent to $500 in 1979, the VFW moved out. In 1981 the Beach Chalet was declared a national landmark by the National Park Service, but the building was padlocked, surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Promoters with plans to reopen the building came and went.
In 1993 Gar Truppelli, a senior at San Francisco State University, rode by the Beach Chalet on his mountain bike. Inspired by the building’s potential, he wrote the business plan that became the blueprint for the restaurant you’re sitting in now. He and his wife, Lara, a psychology major, became obsessed with the project. More...
Source: www.beachchalet.com
I'm not sure exactly when but my Hefeweiss impaired brain remembers it being about 5:30 when our group finally broke up.
I hated to see everyone go. I knew there was a very good chance I would never see any of them again.
Now, I had to make my way about a mile down the beach to the N Judah stop to get back to Ed's place. This was on top of the 7.5 miles we had walked. I was gettin' plumb tuckered!
I got to the stop just as a street car pulled in and it wasn't long before I was back and getting ready for a really nice dinner with some friends of Ed's.
After a tasty meal and interesting conversation we got back at 10:00. A long day for this boy!
Nighty-night!!
The route - 8 miles of pure walkin' pleasure. Click the map.