When I got out of my car in the parking lot an older Mexican gentleman from the pickup truck next to me asked if my car was an electric or hybrid. I informed him that it wasn't and he was surprised how quiet the engine was. His surprise surprised me. Then he saw my Red Sox hat and mentioned that he thought it was very special that the Sox were coming to play San Francisco next week. He felt they have a good team this year and I agreed. I told him to enjoy the game and joined the herd heading for the gate.
The Giants were hosting Baltimore today so any fans wearing gear were all dressed in black and orange since the teams have the same colors. The marvel of thousands of home fans decked out in their team's gear looks awesome and creates a community. At the Dodgers the other night and today at the Giants I wanted to be a part of that, it was tempting to go buy a jersey and a hat and look awesome too. The colors and the huge amount of people wearing them overwhelm me as a solitary traveler. I did buy a cheap Dodger blue sweatshirt the other night because I was cold.
I walked around the lower and upper concourses at the park. I took this photo of the Bay Bridge from the opposite end of where I would be sitting and as I was walking over there a guy stared at me and gave me a big thumbs down since I was wearing a Sox hat and Bruins sweatshirt.
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| Bay Bridge |
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| Garlic fries come with two mints |
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| Fog covered downtown San Francisco |
After eating about half the garlic fries I went to my section, 305. I picked this specific area because I wanted to be in the shade, day games can be brutal just sitting in the sun even if the temperature is cool, and I thought it might provide the best views of the San Francisco Bay, which it did. Once the sun came out the view was stunning. Before the game started I chatted with a guy sitting behind me who asked if I was from Boston. I said I lived in Lowell and he told me he was in Andover for business recently. He worked for some electrical company doing...I don't know, I zoned out because it was so boring. He was from Baltimore and lived in Nashville, which I did find interesting. He claimed to have landed a plane in Lowell once that he was flying himself. If there's an airport in Lowell I don't know about it, but I suppose you can land a plane anywhere, maybe he landed it on the boulevard by the bowling alley.
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| Click to enlarge |
Even though I was in the "nose-bleeds" I liked my seat better than the other night when I was 10 rows from the field on the side. A woman poked me in the back and then told me how she got caught up in Red Sox Nation when she lived in Brookline. For the whole game I play along on the Preplay app. I finished 3rd globally (out of a few hundred I reckon) and beat all the Giants fans playing along at home.
Baltimore smashed some home runs and the game was a blowout 10-2. After the game some Boston people saw my gear and hollered at me. I gave them a thumbs up. There was a lot of traffic, obviously, but somehow I managed to take a few turns and find wide open streets within a couple of blocks of the park. I was amazed because I was a complete stranger to this city. I gnawed on beef jerky as I darted though the secret passages of San Francisco. I hit traffic on the 101 approaching the Golden Gate Bridge. I had decided to cross the bridge and have a late lunch in Sausalito. It seemed like that was everyone's plan.
Since I arrived in San Francisco I have been astonished by the perpetual fog blanketing the city. I've never seen anything like it. The fog greeted me last night, I woke up in it this morning, and the sun only came out for an hour or two during the game. I couldn't even see the top of Golden Gate Bridge when I finally crossed it.
Since I arrived in San Francisco I have been astonished by the perpetual fog blanketing the city. I've never seen anything like it. The fog greeted me last night, I woke up in it this morning, and the sun only came out for an hour or two during the game. I couldn't even see the top of Golden Gate Bridge when I finally crossed it.
Over the bridge I didn't know exactly where I was going so I just drove around the coast of Richardson Bay all the way to the San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere Cove. I busted a u-turn at the Yacht Club as a woman walked her toy poodle inside. I pulled over to take a photo, it amazed me that I was in heavy fog five minutes ago and now it was bright and sunny a couple of miles away.
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| View from SF Yacht Club |
Heading back towards the bridge I pulled off the 101 at Donahue st and went into a Bait Shop and found the Davy Jones Deli. The deli was closed but there was self-serve sandwiches to-go. I grabbed one for now and one for later. I ate in the car by a row of boathouses and watched the fog engulf San Francisco.
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| Alcatraz |
The San Francisco streets have some incredibly steep hills. I drove up Divisadero and thought - one bad bounce off the backboard and a roll down the end of the driveway and your basketball is gone forever, forget about it. I wondered why people would build a city on steep hills covered in fog.
I was impressed with the intensity of the fog but I don't like my mind or my city being foggy. Listening to Creep in a T Shirt by Portugal. The Man has been making a lot of sense to me, I guess traveling alone in the summer will do that. The hip hop song I've listened to the most is Only God Can Judge Me by 2Pac. Every time Silver, Blue, and Gold by Bad Company comes on I like it more and more. And as I was in the homestretch of my short drive back this evening I was banging on the steering wheel to Sometime Around Midnight by Airborne Toxic Event. I love the lines "and when your friends say what is it/you look like you've seen a ghost".
Here was my view of the famous hill on Lombard st. The fact there is a Mini Cooper directly in view is so San Francisco.
I have a long drive tomorrow so I have to get a good rest in this ghostly fog. The San Francisco fog has to be seen to be believed, but, also, believed to be seen.
Portugal. The Man, thumbs up.
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