Go outside and play!

I don’t have any memories of my Mom ever saying this to me but it’s a typical parental outburst when offspring a) get on the parent’s nerves and / or b) squander a beautiful day by staying inside. During my recent visit to Chicago, I got the impression that more than one person was disappointed by my lack of things seen/done in San Francisco. Truthfully, I am a bit disappointed, too. This disappointment, coupled by the possible death of my car’s radiator on Friday night, conspired to drive me out of the apartment today and knock something off my SF to-do list.

As you may know, my main M.O. on a weekend is to do as little as possible. I use the weekends to relax and recharge – these activities usually take place indoors either on the couch or in bed. Going outside and playing is typically a lot more effort than I am willing to expend on a weekend if I don’t already have solid plans. However, being car-less and unable to do usual weekend stuff (e.g., go to the library, go to the grocery store, go to the mall, etc.), I reviewed my city options that could be achieved via public transportation and selected a neighborhood walking tour.

Speaking of public transportation, I’m sure at some point I’ll have an entire post on it. Allegedly, SF’s public transpo is bar none but I remain unimpressed. More on that later.

So, after some Internet research and two city bus rides, I ended up on the corner of Bush & Octavia (which is Lower Pacific Heights for those of you who know your SF neighborhoods) just before 2pm. I was early (which is shocking, I know, but being uncertain about the reliability of weekend bus schedules, I left super early) and met a charming woman named Sandra. We both arrived early for the walking tour and fell into conversation while waiting for the guide to arrive. I love talking to random people and learning a little about them.

Chatting with Sandra helped pass the time and before we knew it, upwards of 20 people had shown up to learn about Victorian San Francisco. Our guide was the lovely Karen who walked us up and down hills for the next two hours pointing out architectural styles while cleverly weaving history, cultural mores and fascinating pop culture information (hint: Danielle Steel lives at the corner of Washington & Octavia) into her monologue. Karen was awesome but even more awesome than Karen was the fact that the tour was free.

FREE!

In this crazy expensive city, volunteers take folks on 60-70 different types of neighborhood walks and they are all free. How awesome is this? I now feel like it is my sacred duty to bring attention to the organization that makes this possible, San Francisco City Guides. For future visitors, check out their website and show up for a tour – you will NOT be disappointed.

Karen was such a good teacher that I am reasonably confident that I can pick out the different architectural styles within the Victorian era. Fun fact – the Painted Ladies (made famous during the opening shots of the classic TV sit-com Full House) are actually Queen Anne rowhouses. The Painted Ladies weren’t on the tour today as they are in a different neighborhood somewhat south of where we were and there is an entire other tour, Landmark Victorians of Alamo Square, dedicated to them.

Based on today’s experience, I can guarantee that I will “go outside and play” on future walking tours. I hope you do, too!