Easter is my favorite San Francisco holiday. Sure, Halloween is fun but people dress in costume for Halloween everywhere. And Christmas is okay but it’s a bit lackluster without many light displays. But Easter … Easter in San Francisco is like Easter nowhere else and I love that about this city. Easter is The Big Hat Contest and The Hunky Jesus Contest at Dolores Park. It’s Big Wheel Races on steep streets (although I haven’t seen that since it moved off of Lombard Street a few years back). It’s different. And sunshine-filled. And bright with joy and silliness.

bright easter Easter in San Francisco

dolores park easter Easter in San Francisco

easter colors Easter in San Francisco

easter couple Easter in San Francisco

easter holiday Easter in San Francisco

easter peeps Easter in San Francisco

flower easter Easter in San Francisco

san francisco easter Easter in San Francisco

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badge 5f768dcd2f721e32a88f382d19d893e5 Obscura Day is Coming Up

I’ve never actually done anything for Obscura Day but every year I think about it. Lots of things happen here in the Bay Area for this event so the options are varied. I’m not sure I’ll make it to anything this year either but I’m considering it.

What is Obscura Day?

Obscura Day is an international celebration of unusual places. It is a day of expeditions, back room tours, & exploring hidden wonders in your own hometown.” In other words, it’s all about seeing a different side of some things in your area that you don’t always get to see. It allows you to be a tourist where you live which is something I try to do often here and is one of the things I love about San Francisco.

San Francisco Bay Area Obscura Day

Many of the 2012 events are already sold out but some of them are still open. Some of the options in the area include:

  • After Dark Secret Tour of Alcatraz. This tour shows places that aren’t even shown on the late night tours. I actually think Alcatraz is a tourist attraction worth visiting.
  • The Art Of Dark Scavenger Hunt at the De Young Museum. San Francisco has a surprising number of scavenger hunts in general.
  • Play Old Pinball. There’s a great pinball museum in Alameda that’s fun anytime but for Obscura Day they’re opening up access to their oldest games. I recently played some old games like this at another pinball museum in Las Vegas.
  • Zymoglyphic Museum Day. Frankly everything about going to this museum is unique!
  • After Dark Under Old Sacramento. Okay, this one is kind of far from San Francisco but Old Town is kind of cute and it might be fun to explore the underground of it!
Is Obscura Day doing anything in your area this year?
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I’ll be spending the day hiking here:

hiking trail Im Away From My Desk Today ...

The photo is a 2009 picture I took from the same trail. New photos to come after the hike!

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Today’s photo is of the well-known San Francisco bar named Savoy Tivoli that’s located on Grant Street in North Beach. What a beautiful building!

savoy tivoli Photo of the Day: Savoy Tivoli

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rocketboat 300x200 SF Local Recommends Rocketboat

It’s been unusually sunny and warm here in San Francisco this week. It’s only in the high eighties but that’s close to record-breaking heat here for this time of year. Although I’m from Arizona, I’ve adjusted to the cooler temps in San Francisco and have to admit that it’s hard for me to take an interest in doing much of anything while it’s so hot here. I feel like eating popsicles and being lazy. icon smile SF Local Recommends Rocketboat

However, yesterday, I found the perfect activity for this kind of weather. Every time it gets warm here I wish that I owned a boat. Thinking about that I remembered the Rocketboat. It’s touted as “the fastest boat on the bay” and a real adventure ride for tourists. It’s a new thing that’s only been here maybe a year or so and I hadn’t been on it yet. Despite the fact that a lot of tourist stuff here is cheesy, I like to do it all at least once to get the experience of it. So, I decided to go on Rocketboat.

It was totally worth it! It’s a speedboat built for a big crowd of people.  It speeds out into the bay, beneath the Bay Bridge, and skids around a bit to make some waves and splash the riders. Silly fun. The weather was ideal – it wasn’t cold at all out on the water but there was a nice breeze on the fast boat. The skies were clear so I got to see stunning views of the city’s skyline and the two bridges. Beautiful.

I love living in a city where I can wake up in the morning and decide to do something like ride the Rocketboat!

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When I learned that there’s a peak in San Francisco where a huge concrete cross towers over the city, I had to go check it out. It’s not that I’m particularly interested in the cross itself but was curious about how I’d never heard it existed. It’s on Mt. Davidson … interesting place.

cross Photo of the Day: Mt. Davidson Cross

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Today’s picture was actually taken by my sister using my camera. We went to check out the ruins of the Sutro Baths. I’ve photographed them before but my sister had an interesting twist on them. Whereas I primarily focused on the ruins, she focused on the ocean beyond the ruins and got only a bit of the ruins in the picture. I like it. Do you?

sutro baths Photo of the Day: Sutro Baths and Ocean

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The last Friday of every month is Critical Mass in San Francisco. This is when hundreds of bicyclists take over the city streets for hours. I’m not a bicyclist and I’m not much of an activist of any kind but I’m intrigued by this event and feel supportive of it. Most months, it passes outside of my window. That’s what happened a few days ago and I captured this picture of that event:

critical mass Photo of the Day: Critical Mass

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Yesterday’s photo was actually of Coit Tower here in San Francisco. Today’s photo was taken the same day but it’s of the view from Coit Tower. This is looking East towards the Ferry building. I like the way the tree leaves frame the top of the picture.

coit tower view Photo of the Day: View from Coit Tower

Note: This is blog is more than just a photo blog. Normal posts resume August 1st.

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I live fairly close to Coit Tower in San Francisco. It’s a tough hike up a steep hill to get up there but once you do get there, you get a great view of the city. You also get to see a statue of Christopher Columbus although I have no idea why they decided to put a statue of him up there. I love the way he’s juxtaposed with the tower in this photo.

 

coit tower christopher columbus Photo of the Day: Coit Tower

 

Note: This is blog is more than just a photo blog. Normal posts resume August 1st.

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