I regret that I didn’t bring my camera on my walk. I regret that I did bring my fleece pullover and hat, as they were both totally unneccessary.

Brian’s at Buyu camp, so I decided to go exploring. Rode Muni downtown and got off at Montgomery, then walked north on Sansome, headed toward Telegraph Hill and North Beach. I was thinking of finding a little cafe and chilling out. It’s a sunny day in the city, with only a few white clouds sailing along in the sky.

As I walked up Kearny I could smell barbeque smoke. Heard people, and then music. At the top of a huge hill, I looked down into the belly of North Beach, and as I had feared, this weekend happens to be the North Beach Street Fair. Oh how I hate hate hate street fairs. Nothing but sloooow moving crowds, greasy and overpriced “food,” and vendors hawking tourist junk. Then you add beer and you get a bunch of drunk frat boys involved.

So I skirted around the street that contained the “fair,” and instead walked up to Coit Tower. I realized I hadn’t been up there in nearly ten years. It’s one of the most touristy spots in town. There was a line of cars stopped on the hill on the way up to the tiny parking lot, waiting their turn to enter. Driving to Coit Tower seems silly to me; half the fun is the walk up. Anyway.

After relaxing on the patch of grass beind the tower, I started back down. I took alleys for most of the way back to avoid street fair. I had no idea that this part of town is so full of skinny little run-down sidestreets. The apartments don’t even look that great, but you still know they cost a lot of money to inhabit. Most of the houses, however, looked pretty posh. Knowing that they cost millions is another motivator to move east.

Down near the Transamerica Pyramid again, I bought an iced coffee and walked back the way I came, through the deserted canyons of the financial district. Waited awhile for my train, and rode home listening to music from the O.C.

My feet are feeling it now. Time to rest, and then figure out what’s for dinner.