Unceded Land ~2~

 

On Monday morning, my first stop was at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Getting there, though, I encountered an unprecedented lack of interest in going beyond the lobby. I soon exited and decided to wander instead. 

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I stumbled through the financial district and made it all the way to the Ferry Building on San Francisco Bay. There was so much civic art around the city. This view of the Oakland Bay Bridge reminded me of this one of Brooklyn Bridge and this one of Manhattan Bridge in NYC. In drugstores, medications were locked behind plexiglass. This felt like damning evidence of a brazenly extortionate, one might even say sociopathic, healthcare system.

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About the orange marks on the road: I thought they were reflections
of street lights, at least the man in the foreground.
Actually, they are utility markers for city workers. 

Then I headed in the direction of the Asian Art Museum. En route, I walked by San Francisco City Hall. Once again, I chose not to visit the museum, shifting my trajectory instead towards the Painted Ladies. These famous homes on the east edge of Alamo Square Park remind me of the Gingerbread Houses in Martha’s Vineyard, and of the famous row houses in DC. I enjoyed today’s walk and my somewhat goal-less approach to it. On the other hand, I began to wonder if it was possible I’ve traveled too much. In hindsight, though, I should probably have returned to Union Square and taken a bus tour, seen more. Whatever, I saw what I saw.

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Returning to the hotel, I rested for a while before dinner, which would be eaten at Mel’s Drive-In. The name must be a throwback because this was not a roadhouse but rather a diner on a city street corner. A cursory internet search confirmed that it had started life as a “carhop destination” – carhop is what they used to call the waiters, who hopped between cars. It was crammed full of Americana, and I loved it. I’m pretty sure I had a salad, Cobb or Santa Fe. I would have drunk a beer, possibly a Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA, repeated once. Satiated, I got supplies, including tomorrow’s breakfast, at Trader Joe’s. Back in my room, I consumed another gummy, watched YouTube and rested.

And that was the second day.

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