Only the Brave Swim in SF Bay

It was a gorgeous--and hot--day in San Francisco, as this man with a giant cupcake would attest.
Jack Cesareo brought his giant cupcake all the way from New York to San Francisco in one month. You can read about his journey here.

So I told Ace that I wanted to try to realize my four-month-old ambition of swimming in the Bay. Our plan was to ride our bikes to Sports Basement, where I would rent a wetsuit. Then we would ride back to Aquatic Park, where I would try my hardest to get into the freezing cold water. If I didn't succeed, well, at least we could take the wetsuit back.

On the way to the store, though, we noticed that the door to the Dolphin Club was open. I'd been thinking about joining this swimming and rowing club, which has been around since 1877, as a motivation to get me into the water. Once inside, I poked around the old three-level clubhouse, and noticed that many people were swimming, but no one was wearing a wetsuit.
View from the top level of the Dolphin Club

So I thought, what the hell... I walked down to their little beach and took my clothes off.
Step one of swimming in the Bay: take off your clothes. It's best if you have a bathing suit on underneath.

Then, inch by inch, I eased myself into the water, until...voila!
My first swim in the Bay. No, I'm not screaming. That's a big (foolish?) grin.

After I got out of the water, I put my clothes back on, which meant I immediately became soaking wet. That didn't dampen my spirits, though. A long-time Dolphin Club member I met today said once she got in the Bay, that was it, she was hooked. I think I know what she means...
Swimming in the beautiful San Francisco Bay made me happy

The Bay waters are calm inside the protective circle of Aquatic Park

Ferlinghetti Reads a Poem

LitQuake's big LitCrawl event is tonight, and I'm stuck going to a school benefit for work. :(

This is what they call a #firstworldproblem on Twitter. I love that phrase, because it acknowledges that we who have choices have no serious complaints.

The LitCrawl will take over multiple venues in the Mission District. Each hour, participants have 10 or so free events to choose from. Just looking over the schedule makes me feel excited. The school benefit will... Well, you don't really want to know.

LitQuake nearly passed me by entirely this year, due to conflicts my schedule (#firstworldproblem). I did manage to pop in to City Lights Books one night, though, and hear the legendary Lawrence Ferlinghetti read a poem. I barely managed to squeeze into a spot on the floor, and the camera angle isn't good, but you can hear his voice clearly. Consider it cinema verite.


Lawrence Ferlinghetti reads a poem at City Lights

Many people recited poetry and literature, including poet Michael McClure, and various translators of foreign works. Most praised New Directions publishing, which was the first house to publish Ferlinghetti, for bringing important authors to the attention of this country. I thought the best poem read that night was Lament of the Frontier Guard, a moving anti-war poem by Ezra Pound, another author nurtured by New Directions. After the readings were over, I went across the street to have a drink with Ace at Spec's.

City Lights as seen from the patio in front of Spec's

Italians Take Over North Beach

I heard that there would be a parade in North Beach on the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day, but I had no idea it would totally take over the neighborhood and be so much fun. When we walked out of our flat Sunday morning, we found Stockton and Columbus streets lined with tables where people were sitting and eating antipasto and waiting for the parade. Bacchus--the Roman God of Wine--was standing near one of them. He was planning to give wine to all the paraders as they passed. He must have had a lot of it.

Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, getting ready for the Columbus Day parade

Washington Square was full of Ferraris on display. And on Filbert Street, across from Saints Peter and Paul church, an Italian accordion band was playing. Check out the groovy outfits on the musicians.



We hopped on our bikes and road down to the wharf to see the staging area. All kinds of groups were practicing their acts. One that looked fun was the Los Tranchos Woods Community Marching Band. Later, I saw them perform in the parade.



Hundreds of sailors and marines were in town for Fleet Week, and also marched in the parade. They were a big hit with the ladies, as you can tell by the women who run out to pose with the sailors as they pass.



The scene was very casual, with people weaving through the paraders, like these restaurant workers trying to get some food to a table across the street.
Waitresses dash through the parade with a rolling cart of food

One highlight for me was seeing several of my students from the San Mateo High School Marching Band and Color Guard. I followed them around for awhile, trying to get a good video clip. "Ms. Fergusson!" one cried. "Did you come all the way up to San Francisco to see us?"

"No," I laughed. "I live a block away." :)