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Fogust has ended and I am fully enjoying San Francisco's Indian Summer... which has actually started with a bit of a heat wave (80s/90s) in the area. I know, I know, I can't complain... but I am about to buy a fan for my very warm apartment.
Anyway, this was the perfect weekend to head out to Dolores Park. I never have a bad time in the park. I've been going about once a month since early spring and besides enjoying the scenery and the sunny weather, I am always entertained by the good people of San Francisco. There was the time a group of fun-lovers took a rainbow parachute (the kind we used in gym class/playtime growing up) and ran around to cover different groups of people in it. Another time, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the drone that was watching all of us - was it friendly? was it recording? was the owner even in the park? Just realized I haven't seen the dancing robot in a long time... not sure what to make of that.
Here's a recap of the people I've been seeing around me in the park, aside from the cops, the can/bottle collectors and the truffle guy: the people who are on-trend with their park/lounging fashion. I saw a couple flimsy rompers with pom-pom fringe (not in the same group). There was a group of girls all wearing tank tops with plaid shirts tied at their waists, who were probably just getting conceived when Kurt Cobain was around. "They clearly got ready together or at least go shopping together," said a friend.
There was the guy in a big jacket and big scarf, who all of a sudden ran downhill (with an excited dog tailing him partway) and took off his scarf, then jacket, then t-shirt and collapsing on the grass in front of the tennis courts. A few minutes later he got up and calmly got dressed again.
There was the couple lounging quietly on a blanket with a blue tooth speaker and their puppy. The puppy, extremely cute, was very interested in every other dog that came within a 15-foot radius. A shirtless guy was sunbathing on an oversized blanket - made us wonder if he was waiting for someone to join though he seemed not to be interested in anyone.
There was the (I assume) birthday party where the celebrant wore a metallic cone party hat on top of her fedora. Another birthday party was across the park setting up poles with bunting to set up their space, but I looked over about an hour later and the poles were gone, and it was too crowded/flat to tell if it was the same group still there. I've never actually looked up the park rules if that's allowed. I didn't see any cops walking around busting people with open containers (the only rule I do know) so not sure if 'the rules' stopped them or just execution problems.
And me- this time I spent three hours partly in the grass, partly on a towel, always in the bright sun. I hadn't expected to hang in the park that day but caught up with friends who made their way there and claimed a spot early, and others joined and left the group as they day went on. I think I was people-watching the entire time, even as I chatted with my companions. [I was a big fan of NYC's Sheeps Meadow when I lived there- and where the dudes tossing the football turned out to be cops undercover- but this is another level.] This time, as many others, I stopped for food with a friend on the way home since there are so many options nearby. The park gets hot and really crowded to the point that you will hear your neighbor's conversations so easily, so maybe a couple hours is the average I spend on each visit, but each visit to San Francisco's backyard is well worth it.
