City by the Bay II: Carnaval, Ocean Beach, Twin Peaks, Fort Point
Dress the way you please and put your mind at ease
It's a city known for its freedom
- Village People, San Francisco
I've given up trying to apologizing for loving this city. I just do. No apologies, no regrets. Until further notice, that's the way it is.
First, Carnaval. Carnaval is an annual celebration of multicultural diversity that takes place in SF's Mission District. Although it is Latin American and Caribbean dominated, it also incorporates Polynesian, Asian, and African cultures. It was an interesting reminder of something that I love about big, diverse cities. Such cities are at once comforting and terrifying. Why? You're there, you're probably outside the norm in some way or other (who isn't?), and everyone has to tolerate you. It's ok that you're there. This is comforting. Simultaneously, everyone else is there, everyone else is outside the norm in *some* way that you might find bothersome, offensive, or scary - and you have to tolerate them. It's ok that they are there. This is terrifying. The internal dissonance produced by the joint feelings of comfort and terror (term used very loosely) is intense - and exactly what I think people should feel. The suburbs, in allowing some people to exclude others whose differences seem scary, only achieve monotony by virtue of their conformity. At least, this is my opinion.
In any case, Carnaval was an exuberant celebration of the melting pots that are America, California, and San Francisco. I do not think that the random pictures that I have selected for upload do it justice, but here they are, such as they are.
Afterwards, the three of us went on a driving tour. I only got a few pictures, but I'm pleased with how they came out.
From Twin Peaks, you can look down on the entire city.
Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from Twin Peaks
In addition to thinking that it was a good idea to build a city on Mount Everest + fault lines, SF's illustrious founders had excellent foresight. They knew that inhabitants and tourists would have to deal with a great deal of fog, and that it would be wise to create a city in matching colors (not that I'd want to suggest that they were stereotype-fulfilling gay men, or anything >:) Accordingly, they paid people to spray paint the City gray.
San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks (bridge fans like myself - note the Bay Bridge in the right corner of the picture)
After Everest, fault lines, and matching colors, the next ingredient in creating a desirable city is to locate it next to beaches that might kill people who want to swim in them.
Ocean Beach - waters unsafe for swimming
San Francisco, as seen from Ocean Beach
Next, we went to Baker Beach, but we couldn't park, so we didn't stop. Sadly. There are great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from there.
So, it was on to Fort Point, where I was able to continue my love affair with the Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from Fort Point
After one last shot of SF, we headed back towards the Mission District for more roaming.
San Francisco, as seen from Fort Point
Definitely a fun trip, although the water at Ocean Beach was so cold that my legs/feet got numb. I'm repeatedly getting frustrated that my camera cannot do this city and surrounding areas justice. They are just so incredibly gorgeous.
In all honesty, I know that some portion of my appreciation for the SF Bay Area is because I've gone into it with an incredibly positive attitude. But then, I realize that that's not a reason to chastise myself *too* much. It's impossible to view every place in the world with the exact same combination of emotions, and if an positive attitude is causing me to appreciate any given place, then I'm not convinced that it's in any way a bad thing. I'm sorry that I can't see certain other places with the same exuberance that I see this one, but then again...oh well. I'm just interested in finding ways to continue to make this one work for me.
It's a city known for its freedom
- Village People, San Francisco
I've given up trying to apologizing for loving this city. I just do. No apologies, no regrets. Until further notice, that's the way it is.
First, Carnaval. Carnaval is an annual celebration of multicultural diversity that takes place in SF's Mission District. Although it is Latin American and Caribbean dominated, it also incorporates Polynesian, Asian, and African cultures. It was an interesting reminder of something that I love about big, diverse cities. Such cities are at once comforting and terrifying. Why? You're there, you're probably outside the norm in some way or other (who isn't?), and everyone has to tolerate you. It's ok that you're there. This is comforting. Simultaneously, everyone else is there, everyone else is outside the norm in *some* way that you might find bothersome, offensive, or scary - and you have to tolerate them. It's ok that they are there. This is terrifying. The internal dissonance produced by the joint feelings of comfort and terror (term used very loosely) is intense - and exactly what I think people should feel. The suburbs, in allowing some people to exclude others whose differences seem scary, only achieve monotony by virtue of their conformity. At least, this is my opinion.
In any case, Carnaval was an exuberant celebration of the melting pots that are America, California, and San Francisco. I do not think that the random pictures that I have selected for upload do it justice, but here they are, such as they are.
Afterwards, the three of us went on a driving tour. I only got a few pictures, but I'm pleased with how they came out.
From Twin Peaks, you can look down on the entire city.
Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from Twin Peaks
In addition to thinking that it was a good idea to build a city on Mount Everest + fault lines, SF's illustrious founders had excellent foresight. They knew that inhabitants and tourists would have to deal with a great deal of fog, and that it would be wise to create a city in matching colors (not that I'd want to suggest that they were stereotype-fulfilling gay men, or anything >:) Accordingly, they paid people to spray paint the City gray.
San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks (bridge fans like myself - note the Bay Bridge in the right corner of the picture)
After Everest, fault lines, and matching colors, the next ingredient in creating a desirable city is to locate it next to beaches that might kill people who want to swim in them.
Ocean Beach - waters unsafe for swimming
San Francisco, as seen from Ocean Beach
Next, we went to Baker Beach, but we couldn't park, so we didn't stop. Sadly. There are great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from there.
So, it was on to Fort Point, where I was able to continue my love affair with the Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from Fort Point
After one last shot of SF, we headed back towards the Mission District for more roaming.
San Francisco, as seen from Fort Point
Definitely a fun trip, although the water at Ocean Beach was so cold that my legs/feet got numb. I'm repeatedly getting frustrated that my camera cannot do this city and surrounding areas justice. They are just so incredibly gorgeous.
In all honesty, I know that some portion of my appreciation for the SF Bay Area is because I've gone into it with an incredibly positive attitude. But then, I realize that that's not a reason to chastise myself *too* much. It's impossible to view every place in the world with the exact same combination of emotions, and if an positive attitude is causing me to appreciate any given place, then I'm not convinced that it's in any way a bad thing. I'm sorry that I can't see certain other places with the same exuberance that I see this one, but then again...oh well. I'm just interested in finding ways to continue to make this one work for me.