After a 5 a.m. AP Mobile alert freakout about tsunami warnings, I managed to gain a much-needed sleep until 10 a.m. Huge thanks to my friends Ritu and Darian for letting me crash in their spare bedroom for a couple weeks while I apartment hunt.
Finally got moving around 11:30 and headed out for a 5+ mile run, highlights of which included lots of hills, rediscovering neighborhoods, and encountering a full-on naked old man in the Castro. Hey, it was 60 degrees, so who isn’t comfortable in a backpack, socks, and sneakers only?
Spent the afternoon just chilling, and in the absence of fish fries, grabbed a vegetarian sandwich and Fat Tire at The Crepe House after a brief stroll through the Mission. Couldn’t head back to the apartment just yet on such a nice day, so I swung by Tartine, resisting the lemon bars and opting for a latte to take to the park instead. Swung into Bi-Rite to see if they had toiletries, found they did not, but snatched up a cocktail grapefruit (intrigued after reading about them on my friend Adrienne’s blog) for breakfast tomorrow. Realized I was a total newbie once I reached the park, rocking the Brewed Cafe t-shirt Jane bought me as a going away gift, when everyone else was in long sleeves and jackets. This is not “warm” weather. Oh the Wisconsinite in me!
Headed back “home” eventually and got ready to meet my dear friend from Marquette, Ingrid, at the de Young Museum. I took an epic, beautiful bus journey there (the O’Shaughnessy route which cuts up through the Twin Peaks area — breathtakingly green this time of year). Ingrid had to represent the non-profit she works for at a film screening there, so I took some time to check out the Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico exhibit. Even though the rest of the museum is free on Fridays, Ingrid used her membership to get me a ticket to the special exhibition. Having taken so many anthropology courses in college, it was interesting to me and the time flew by in there.
Soon enough it was time to meet Ingrid, her boyfriend Ben, and our friend Ariel, back upstairs for the second film screening of Ruth Asawa: Roots of An Artist . Despite some major editing issues with the film (I always have my critical hat on), it gave me a fantastic overview of some history of public art in my new city and of art education. It made me very sad about the state of arts education in Wisconsin and hopeful that California respects it more (I’m sure I may find out to the contrary). After the film, we walked through an installation of Asawa’s wire art at the de Young and went up to the Tower to take in a nighttime view of the city.
Our tummies grumbling, our gang headed over to the Inner Sunset (where Ingrid & Ben suggested I possibly look for a place), to meet up with their friend Weber for dinner. We went to The Social Kitchen and Brewery, where in addition to grub, I could sample some tasty microbrews. We all split tempura sweet potato fries and delectable Brussels sprout chips (soooo gooooooood). Trying to stick to Lent, I got the fairly tasty Vegan Mushroom Sandwich. Probably for the best that they gave me the salad instead the side of fries, as I washed it all down with the house Kölsch. Our group stuck around for dessert (although they forgot Weber’s ice cream), and Ingrid and I each got a sampler of their specialty beers. The Double Doozy IPA was alright, but not outstanding. The Big Muddy Wizenbock lived up to its description as banana-y and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would’ve paired with the banana bread pudding on the dessert menu. Finally, The Giant S’more, imperial stout, was in fact, dessert…a very syrupy drink that I don’t know if I could’ve handled more than 2 oz. of. Luckily Weber had the fantastic suggestion that we put some of his melted ice cream (it finally was delivered as we were paying the bill) into our glasses. The ice cream actually made the beer *less sweet.*
All of yawning, Ingrid and Ben were generous enough to give me a ride back to the Mission. Ingrid recommend we pop into a bar around the corner to The Homestead for a nightcap. We ran into her co-worker and his girlfriend, and the five of us miraculously managed to snag a table in the sea of hipsters. It was really loud and I was sort of out of it, but I did thoroughly enjoy my Anchor Steam.
Though there are stresses on the horizon, with starting a new gig and finding a new apartment, I have to say, it was great to be relaxed, if only for a 14 hour window.
Brew to Bay 
Hey – thanks for the shout out! How was the grapefruit? I’m so excited for all of your new adventures!