Day 149: May 29, 2011

When Nick and I started condo-hunting five years ago, we quickly found our Sundays to be dominated by open houses and scouring of the neighborhoods of San Francisco. And after we found *home* we continued this weekly discovery mission. Every weekend, since we were kind of new to the city, we would pick a 'hood, hop on a bus (or put on our walking shoes) and go on what we call like to call an Urban Hike. I would like to say that we coined the term ourselves, but I think we stole it from someone, I have no idea who. We have covered the city, neighborhood by neighborhood, so it's no longer a weekly outing, but we still try to go for frequent hikes around our favorite City by the Bay.

In San Francisco we do not have traditional hiking (although we do have some fabulous parks and open spaces). San Francisco is not a big place (it's only about seven square miles). But if you've ever seen our famous hills, you know that we are not a stiletto-wearing city...just walking to the bus stop could be considered a hike!

The Rose definition of urban hiking includes, but is not limited to:

Exploring a neighborhood(s) on foot

Shopping for indigenous specialties

Tasting the local cuisine

Enjoying neighborhood parks and landmarks

Checking out dog-friendly spots

"Hiking" some serious mileage and lots of hills

Bonus: getting a little bit lost

Today we laced up our tennies and headed for the Castro. It's my new favorite walk because I get to stroll through three distinctly different neighborhoods on the quite end of Haight Street, passing awe-inspiring Victorian mansions on the way. Today we picked up a crazy good cup of coffee at Philz before stopping at Duboce Park to let Zoe stretch her legs a bit.

Reasons why Urban hiking rocks (and may be better than real hiking):

1. You run into friends randomly (we ran into a co-worker and a bald South African).

                           

2. There is almost always good food or beverage involved. (Fancy some Coffee in the Castro? Sure. Craving a burrito in the Mission? Got it! Dim Sum in China Town? For shizzle.)

3. When you get lost you will not risk starvation, dehydration, or hypothermia, you'll only learn more about the neighborhood you're exploring and probably have a bit more fun.

4. You will probably not get eaten by a bear or mountain lion. (Although you may feel like you are going to get shot when you get off the bus in the middle of Bayview. Oops.) 

Today I am thankful for the Urban Hike.
Because I've never been on a bad one.