This weekend, Ashwin and I made a pact to go have fun. Great success!
Going off of a tip I received from a friendly dog owner, we headed out Friday afternoon to check out Sterling Park. Snickers was having a sleepy day (again) so we only took Meeko, her soccer ball secretly hidden in a backpack. Our path took us up the most crooked street in San Francisco. The street itself is one way, and reminded me of one of those wooden marble chutes where you watch the ball go back and forth. There were tourists lining both sides of the street, tourists jumping out of the cars on the actual street, and of course a crossing guard at the top and bottom of the street attempting to control the herds of people taking pictures in the middle of the road.
When we finally found Sterling Park, it was just not that interesting. The few dogs we did see were all on leashes walking on the path. Maybe I misinterpreted the advice I got at the little park by our apartment, or maybe they were just wrong! Ashwin decided that we should keep walking north, all the way to the water. Meeko was up for the challenge, but I dreaded the walk back.
When we arrived at the San Francisco Maritime park, it still felt like a tourist area, but less chaotic than the crooked street. We played soccer on a big stretch of grass while people looked on and laughed at the funny little dog. At one point and adorable Chinese boy (maybe 4 years old?) started taking an interest in Meeko. He didn’t speak English, but eventually we got him to kick the soccer ball. His parents thought this was hilarious, and once the boy gained some confidence in his soccer skills he really started smiling! Meeko was wonderful with him– she seemed to understand that she needed to play differently with him than she usually does with us. When the boy decided to start throwing the ball instead, he would clap his hands and giggle every time Meeko got it.
It was a long walk home up all of those hills and stairs (or stairs on hills!) but we all had a fun time outside and I got to see another part of San Francisco!
Saturday was a little more human oriented, getting Pho in Chinatown with our roommate and then heading to the Mission neighborhood for Bi-Rite ice cream. The line went out of the door and onto the sidewalk. They actually had those little portable railings to block off parts of the sidewalk. The wait itself was not too bad, but the ice cream was pretty awesome.
Ever since I moved to San Francisco, I have been seeing the advertisements for the Cindy Sherman exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. She is one of my favourite photographers, and was really a big influence on me when I started doing photography.
On Sunday afternoon Ashwin and I finally went. The museum itself has 5 floors with a big modern staircase running down the middle. We started at the top with the rooftop sculpture garden, then worked our way down the floors. The Cindy Sherman exhibit was a collection of her life’s work so far. Many of the pictures I had only seen in books or online, so to see them in their original form and size was incredible. I loved seeing her first big project, The Untitled Film Stills. Also fun was seeing Ashwin’s reaction to her “mannequin” phase… Back when I lived in Buffalo, I volunteered at the CEPA gallery auction where I got to hold the artwork as it was auctioned off. I was the happiest 16 year old ever when I held up this huge Cindy Sherman photograph. Sadly, that photo was not in the show.
We finished the day off cooking Ashwin’s signature chili dish and watching Adventure Time while we folded laundry. I’m thinking we’ll need to start a list of everything we want to do in San Francisco so that every weekend can be just as fun!