Day 2: Ghost Town
When the sun is out in June in San Francisco it is quite the anomaly. This soon becomes apparent by the fact that people dare to risk going out without a long sleeve, which is something you never do in this city. On my walk today people were smiling and the homeless were sunning themselves. It was the perfect day for a stroll! I decided to conquer some of the famous hills, which I’ve done plenty of times, but never this weak. Nothing will push you up a hill faster than seeing a 65 year old Asian woman lapping you and knowing she probably does it at least 5 times a day.
Huffing and puffing my way up a few steep hills (seriously I could have knocked over that third little pig’s brick house) I found myself walking down the ghost town that is the business district on the weekend. It has always fascinated me that such a bustling part of the city can be so sleepy during the weekend. I walked by a closed meatball restaurant (awesome) and I swear that I smelled meatballs. It really is a ghost town!
The goal of this walk was to find an antique store that sold wedding bands. I’m a bit obsessed with history, and the thought of owning a vintage band is one I haven’t been able to shake. My quest for the perfect ring sent me down through Chinatown and straight into a wind tunnel. Let me tell you…wind tunnels are real and they are cold and they really fuck with your hair. After battling my way through the tunnel and a group of tourists, I found myself strolling by my old office. I really believe that it was because of that office that San Francisco became home. It was nice to walk by and feel nothing but a smile.
After the second location failed to have antique wedding bands, I ended up turning around and walking all the way back to the other side of the city. Good thing I have an hour to kill! Cranking up Beyonce in my earbuds, I began to sashay my way to the next antique store. I’ve got big hips that swing anyways, but when BeyBey is blaring in my ears I could straight knock someone across the road with how much these things move. Luckily it’s Pride weekend so I wasn’t the only one making the sidewalk my personal catwalk. The whole city was feeling fabulous! I absolutely adore Pride weekend. Everything has a jubilant feeling to it and is covered in rainbows, and I mean everything. I even saw rainbow vomit. I mean it was still vomit and gross, but it was strangely perfect. Walking around I couldn’t help but feel such pride for this city and its open arms policy. Rainbow vomit and all.
I ended my walk finding the perfect wedding band and with another green tea. Starbucks is bound to make a lot of money from me with this challenge. I always wonder if the Starbucks people are tempted to spit in my drink when I order a medium instead of whatever it is they call it….I never remember. This is why I just say medium. Oh! I also discovered the San Francisco Church of Scientology and it made me feel weird.