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Predicament: The World of the Bay Area 4/1/2012 9:23:05 PM
An IPA (Indian Pale Ale) costs $7.00. Cody was a little irritated by it, especially when he questioned how much tip goes into it. Of course, he knew that a tip will cost him 15-20% but that was not the issue; rather it was very expensive to get entertained in the Bay Area. Everything is expensive in the Bay Area that one can just have a Burrito for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cost is $6.00 or so. It was one of the most affordable food one can get. People could make a lot of money here. He went into a shop and purchased a zip tie for $1.75 and he bets that the proprietor made $1.50 out of that purchase. When it came to paying for it, he asked the proprietor if he could pay with his credit card and he could; only he has to pay $0.75 more for that privilege. But when they discussed the Bay Area, it brings back the memories when I was living there. That was 28 years now and it seemed that it was just yesterday.
Cody just flew into Portland from San Francisco and immediately, he found himself at Greater Trumps rather than checking himself into his home first. He, San Francisco Mike and I discussed how the Bay Area was. Cody spent a lot of time in the Mission District. Rents had gone up, but not by much. Mission changed a lot. But Mission was still Mission unlike Valencia and Guerrero. Valencia’s rent is also going up, higher than the Mission. Valencia and Guerrero’s complexion is changing, too. Also, Valencia and Guerrero has become more expensive by a whole lot.
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Mission is like Mexico with Yucatan faire. One can be found on the corner of 16th Street and Mission. Although Mission serves Mexican and South American food, it also serves other faire such as Chinese. There was a whole diversity of shops that abounds in San Francisco. It’s not just bars like Portland has. There were laundry shops and produce markets or stands that sells mangoes, oranges and vegetables. It was not just one stop shopping but rather you go from one business to the next to buy items; and they were all in different shops. There was Yank Sin (a good Chinese restaurant) and Sushi bars. But for Japanese food, one must go to Japantown. When I was going to college, I swam in a pool by Japantown; and ate in Japantown. The food was fantastic. I had soup or broth with thick noodles and beef; spice it with some kind of hot pepper. But when Cody visited a 4-star Japanese restaurant, they served an authentic Japanese faire; no cream cheese and the lot. But Mike hangs out by North Beach because he is half Italian. He was enamored by the district’s ambience. He found the district too cool especially with the Coit tower looming in the background. But to Cody, he loved the views from Twin Peaks. It looked like a movie set. He would just sit by its ramparts and gaze at the sight. The views were stunning. There was indeed energy in this town.
Oakland, where I lived harbored a different ambience just several years ago. It was frightful, they say, especially when one visits International Boulevard and McArthur. Crime was rampant. You gotta watch your back. But that was in the days. Oakland, now, is changing. There were developments after developments that completely changed the city. A lot of condominiums sprouted out. Bars and restaurants, and even shops multiplied with good if not excellent faires and services. And there were lots of places to go to that were not frightful. Even neighborhoods that were conducive to crime which the police patrolled were cleaned up.
One place Cody had not been to is the Marin Headland. It also has a stunning view. The Headland is the northern part of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito was that enclave just by the Marin Headlands; and from there, one can go to Mount Tamalpais up to Stinson Beach. But Cody did not go to Sausalito by way of driving into it. Rather, he took the ferry and found the place fantastic.
Parking in San Francisco was a problem and it is still growing. When I was there, the population of the Bay Area was about 5 million people. Now, it is going on to 10 million. So you could imagine how parking in San Francisco is. The population of San Francisco was 700,000 when I was there. In the daytime, it grows to about 1 million. Another reason why parking was a bummer was that families who had homes rent out their garages to 2-3 families. Imagine that, 2-3 families! So you cannot blame Cody for saying that parking in the city was a “bitch”. Traffic was another problem. When flying back to Portland, he decided to go to Sacramento and fly from there. They did not eat in the city only so they could avoid traffic. Since there was no good to excellent restaurant enroute, his manager said that they should eat at a Chevy’s. After all, the Chevy his manager want to go to says that it is a good Chevy’s. Right. A Good Chevy. Aren’t all Chevy’s the same. When they arrive there, they found a chain link fence around the establishment.
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