Long but enjoyable day. Jim took me to Japantown today. This is my old stomping ground. I spent my internship year with the delightful Christ United Presbyterian Church in J-town. Christ United is a resilient little congregation that withstood being taken over by the Presbytery of San Francisco when the members of the congregation were interned by the US government during World War II. Most of San Francisco's original J-town was destroyed during the war, what is there now is mostly commercial property centered on the Japantown mall and community organizations like the Japantown Foundation, Christ United Church and the Buddhist Church.
I grew to have a lot of fondness for that little area of San Francisco and was happy to see it again. Even happier to go to Mifune's for cold soba noodles and then to the sushi boat place just for the sheer pleasure of seeing those little boats laden with sushi glide by with their lovely treasures.
It is an amazing thing to return to the scene of one's youth and find that it is largely unchanged. I turned 30 during that internship year and felt as old as the hills. I look back now and think about that thinner, more flexible, more idealistic version of me and smile at her naivete. But it is a smile of profound affection.
Tonight, Jim and I went to the Giants game at the beautiful AT&T Park. So much fun to arrive at the gate by MUNI. Would have been more fun to see the Giants win, but any day in a major league ballpark is a good one, especially this new old fashioned ball park.
I love this city. I am not sure I could ever live or work here again, but I am profoundly grateful that I had that time when I was young. Jim and I had a conversation today about how the best time to live in San Francisco is when you are young and single and don't have to worry about educating a family or finding an affordable mortgage. I'm glad I did it when I was young and didn't mind sleeping on futon or sharing a house with two other people.
In that spirit, let me give you some of Cindy's tips for being happy in San Francisco.
1. Bring a jacket.
It gets cold in the winter. And the spring. And the fall. And the summer.
2. San Franciscans do not wear white after Labor Day.
San Franciscans do not wear white before Labor Day, either. White sneakers are the only exception to this rule.
3. Start with the movies filmed here.
There are so many classic and not so classic movies that were filmed here! "Vertigo" and "Bullit" and one my favorites "Time After Time." Get a guidebook like "Celluloid San Francisco" and check it out.
4. The real San Francisco is not at the tourist spots.
Real San Franciscans do not go to Alcatraz unless dragged there by out of town friends. It's ugly and you can't get a beer or a decent cup of coffee there. Go to Pier 39 or Fisherman's Wharf or Ghiardelli Square if you must, but know that you are in the part of town that is entirely populated by tourists or by people who work there. That is not the real San Francisco.
5. Get out into the neighborhoods.
San Francisco is a collection of all these wonderful neighborhoods, each has a history and a culture. Chinatown, Japantown, the Castro, the Haight, Noe Valley, Nob Hill, North Beach, the Richmond, the Sunset, the Mission, the Marina district are just a few of these wonderful neighborhoods. This is where actual San Franciscans live and work and shop and eat.
6. Let's eat!
A diner's paradise. Dim Sum, sushi, pizza, California cuisine, vegetarian, vegan, Thai, Russian. Don't you dare think of going to McDonald's or some other restaurant chain! Outside the tourist areas, you can find some very affordable. They brew great coffee here. I never drank coffee until I moved to the Bay Area. The coffee in Nebraska when I moved away was bitter, thin and tepid. My mom used to put an ice cube in her coffee so it would cool faster. In San Francisco I found out that coffee was thick and strong and wonderful. By the time I moved back to Nebraska 20 years later, good coffee influenced by the barista culture of the West Coast was everywhere. The premiere seafood is the dungeness crab. Good just boiled and served with lemon or in a special sauce from an Asian place.
Rice a Roni? Not the San Francisco treat. It's made across the Bay in San Leandro. The only place you will see it is the ads on the cable cars.
7. San Franciscans do not wear stupid t-shirts.
You know the ones. "Property of Alcatraz" Shirts with pictures of cable cars. Shirts that say, "San Francisco" without any affiliation to a team or organization.
If you want to blend in, buy a Giants cap or a 49ers shirt. Or if you must an A's cap or a Raiders jacket. San Franciscans dress in layers that they can add or peel off as the fog comes in or burns off.
8. San Francisco can be a deeply spiritual city
This is a minority view, but I do truly still believe it after all these years. There are beautiful churches in this city, Grace Cathedral, Mission Delores, Old First Presbyterian. Glide Methodist has a fabulous tradition of community activism. Even little churches in San Francisco tend to be architectural treasures. Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle, designed little Ocean Avenue Presbyterian where I worked in the Outer Mission. My favorite congregations in San Francisco tend to be eclectic, ethnically diverse and gay friendly.
9. San Franciscans prize people who are unique, eccentric and rebellous
So don't stare at the drag queens. Don't stare at the aging hippies. Don't stare at the transexuals. Don't stare at the Giants fans who are dressed in orange. People who walk to the beat of a different drummer are quite normal here.
10. What to do:
Golden Gate Park, the De Young Museum, Legion of Honor Museum, SF MOMA, the Giants, the Niners, music in little clubs, music with the symphony or the opera. Movies, bookstores, shopping. But please, do not miss walking on the Golden Gate Bridge. Amazing views of the city, cold winds blowing in from the ocean, the bridge vibrating in the wind or from the traffic. And it is free to walk across, free to drive to Marin County on the bridge, but if you want to get back into San Francisco by car, you have to pay the tolls.
But once you have been, you'll come back. That's why, whenever the Giants win, they play, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
On to Santa Rosa in beautiful Sonoma County tomorrow. Staying with my friend Marilee and her family for a few days and to watch the Nebraska game tomorrow. Marilee is a seminary classmate who is from Lincoln, so, Go Big Red!
blessings,
Cindy
PS don't call it Frisco. The name of the city is San Francisco. And don't bring up Barry Bonds. Just don't.
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