Happy Park(ing) Day!

Happy Park(ing) Day! I found this installation today at Grant and Bush Streets just north of the Chinatown arch.

Portal of the Past

I've run past this structure in Golden Gate Park dozens of times and have always wondered what the heck it's doing there. It sits at the edge of a pond just off JFK Drive. I always imagine that it's a magic doorway that you can step through to reach another time and place (sort of like the Pevensie's wardrobe).





It's actually called the "Portal to the Past" and came from the porch of an old mansion on Nob Hill that the 1906 earthquake and fire damaged. I found this neat postcard of it at a vintage paper festival today.

early morning walk

Top: Outer Sunset from 16th Avenue. Middle: Golden Gate Park from the top of Grand View Park. Bottom: Toward the Pacific from Grand View Park.

A stroll down Geary Street

After WWKIP day in Union Square, I walked to Van Ness and Market Street to catch the Muni home while enjoying the gorgeous weather. I walked along Geary Street from Union Square and then took a left on Van Ness Avenue to Market Street. What a beautiful stretch of buildings along Geary! I passed by the Geary (1909) and Curran (1922) Theaters, some lovely apartment buildings, and two "Moorsih Revival" buildings, including the Alhambra Apartments at 860 Geary and the Temple Garage at 650 Geary. I also stopped at Memorial Court (1936), a Thomas Church-designed garden next to the War Memorial Opera House.

From top to bottom: the Alhambra Apartments, a tree lined path in the Memorial Court, and an aerial photo of the court.

Happy WWKIP Day!

Happy World Wide Knitting in Public Day WWKIP! I left the gloomy fog behind this morning and headed east to Union Square in San Francisco to knit in solidarity. After ripping out the heel three times on my bright purple "baby cable" sock (my second pair ever!), I finally figured out a way to decrease before making the heel flap so that the heel and gusset will fit my small foot while allowing the sock to fit over my leg. So I worked on the gusset decrease while soaking up the sunshine and chatting with some fellowRavelers.

Knitting this portion of the sock reminds me of rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. I have to remember to do the cable every forth row, but I have to decrease every other row to make the gusset. Lots of things to remember to do at the same time!

these feet were made for walking

The other day I took a nice long walk after work from SoMa to the Inner Sunset, a distance of just over 4 miles. My feet were just itching to stay in shape after having walked so much during my recent two week journey through Southeast Asia. Under brilliant blue skies, I walked down Market Street, took a right at Haight Street, walked through Lower and Upper Haight, took a left at Cole Street, and then followed Carl Street into the Inner Sunset. My goal to walk every city street is coming along nicely, albeit on a slightly extended timeline. After this cross-town adventure, I've officially walked the length of Market and Haight Streets.

Chinese New Year Festival