San Francisco, February 27th 2008

February 28, 2008 on 9:15 am | In wanderings | No Comments

I flew to San Francisco yesterday to attend the Open Library meeting in my boss’ stead, and saved enough money not flying on the weekend to pay for an extra two days in the Bed and Breakfast. A 5-day trip for the price of 3 – yes!

I got off to a rocky start. My flights were delayed, I spent the extra time in the waiting area on the phone with AT&T trying to figure out why I couldn’t use my iPhone’s data plan, and I never would have thought that at age 31 sitting still in a seat for 5 hours without e-mail, phone, twitter or myspace would be so hard. Instead I alternated between reading Bart Ehrman’s book on the Gospel of Judas and comparing dining recommendations with the lady in the seat to my right. She grew up in LA and lives in NYC and loves SF restaurants. She says I can’t pass up The Slanted Door, now at the Ferry Building, or the vegetarian Greens at Fort Mason. Now I need a dinner partner!

Things started looking up once I touched down at SFO. My bags didn’t get lost even with the scrunched-up layover in Charlotte, Hector of the Red Line picked me up in the hotel shuttle just as he did for the Open Content Alliance meeting back in October, and we pulled away from the airport before there was any noticeable reason for the bomb squad’s mobile unit to have been parked right outside the front door.

My Bed and Breakfast is beautiful, an old row house upgraded into a perfectly decorated place to sleep in the perfect spot in town. Within walking distance of the Castro and Mission districts, and 1.5 blocks from the MUNI’s Castro Station, a hub of the city’s transportation lines. I wasn’t able to reserve the room I originally wanted, but the room assigned to me has its own bathroom. A smile from Providence which I hadn’t recognized at the time.

I’m directly across the street from Midnight Sun, Something Rainbow, Chaps, and hee hee, the Sit n Spin Laundromat. I know where to go if I need to do a load of laundry and sip a mean martini at a sidewalk table while I wait. I walked to the AT&T store on Mission and met Jen, who not only fixed my plan but recommended some great Caribbean places in the Latin Mission district. Her wife is a school teacher so she was really interested in hearing about ibiblio and the Open Library project and the Internet Archive. I left with her mobile number in case I had any more trouble with my phone, and in case I wanted to meet her friends out at several bars she recommended on Castro.

Back to the Bed n Breakfast for a shower and to decompress a bit. When I got onto the Bed n Breakfast’s stoop, the sounds of nail guns combined with the smell of weed from the contractors working on the building next door. Not a good combination. Good thing the door opens easily and quickly – no fumbling with the keys!

Time to work on having fun. I met the owner of the Up hair salon next door, his friends sitting outside the Mix bar, and spent some time in the Castro shops, picking up a shirt, a MUNI visitor passport, and yum, a coconut latte! I used my passport to hop on the historic F line streetcar, which stretches from the Castro down Market past Union Square, through the Financial District, past the Embarcadero and to Pier 39. An excellent way to rest and people-watch on a chilly evening.

I checked out Midnight Sun for its American Idol viewing party and met some really nice people. It was starting to get a little crowded, and the guy who came up to me made a point to tell me he earned 6 figures (right…), so after a drink or two I bounced over to Badlands, the Castro’s dance club. I was having fun but my body was beginning to complain, having been awake from 4 a.m. EST to 2 a.m. EST the next day. I came back and crashed. Now it’s 6:10 PST and I’m waiting for the continental breakfast that Dion serves out of the armoire in the BnB’s parlor. I may even be able to sleep for a bit longer!

I’m very much looking forward to wandering around the city today – Haight/Ashbury, Chinatown and Grace Cathedral’s Thursday Evensong service are on my itinerary. Wish me luck!

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