Sunday excursion: Bay to Breakers and more

As committed as we’ve been to getting fit I really didn’t think Kate was serious when she agreed to do the Bay to Breakers with me on Sunday, especially since that meant leaving San Jose super early to get there in time for the 8am start. I sent her a text on Saturday night letting her know I’d pick her up at 6am on Sunday and she said that sounded great.

I picked Kate and Bryce up at 6ish and off we went to San Francisco to be in the Bay to Breakers. Since we hadn’t paid to register for the race Bryce and Kate were nervous the cops wouldn’t let us in, but I knew it wouldn’t be a problem since they had plenty of nudists and drunkards to deal with. I didn’t think we’d be nude or drunk (at least at the start) so I was confident we’d be able to slip in un-noticed. We found great parking on Delancey Street in South Beach and I was sad that Crossroads Café wasn't open until 8am that morning, too late for me to get some coffee and their wonderful Irish oatmeal. We ended up getting our coffee at the Bayside Market on Brannan and followed the crowds toward the starting area.

After stopping to pet the cutest, friendliest bulldog ever invented. Stella is her name and she is adorable. The three of us found our way into the crowded corral at the end of Beale Street and proceeded to wait for the massive crowds of people to start moving forward.

It probably took a good hour before we made it to the starting line all the while corn tortillas were flying through the air and knocked Kate’s head repeatedly. She seemed to be a tortilla magnet while Bryce and I remained untouched. We slowly made our way to our first stop along the way: the hideous Port-o potties.


While the line wasn’t particularly long, it was incredibly slow which never ever bodes well for what will be waiting inside the potty once it’s your turn. We were a few people behind one lone nude man who was waiting in line and Kate said, “I can understand running through the streets naked with a bunch of people, but what kind of person stands alone and naked in line for the toilet?” Her question has haunted me since Sunday and I still have no answer other than; perhaps he had to pee. We had lots of fun walking with the costumed runners and walkers and there were quite a few clever outfits. There were a lot of people wearing some variation of a pig costume which I think represented the swine flu. We stopped at a bar for some pear cider halfway up a gigantic hill and one girl in a pig outfit said, “I’m the swine flu” to the guy sitting next to her and he said, “So am I, except I’m the virus!” We drank our drinks on the go and continued on past people lining the streets all partying and blasting music. The final stretch through Golden Gate Park was beautiful and as we reached the end of the race Bryce and I finished strong with a sprint to the finish line. I came in at a record shattering 3hours and 19 minutes. We were able to hail a cab back since none of us wanted to walk (even through Bryce insisted he had the energy to run back, but didn’t want to embarrass us by beating the cab). The cab ride back to the car was terrifying and boring in turns. We either sat, rotting in traffic or had to hang on for dear life as our driver floored it over blind hills and didn’t really seem interested in trying to avoid pedestrians. We picked up the car and it was on to lunch in the Mission where we went to Ti Couz for delicious crepes. The food was very good and, with the exception of the weird cheesy remnant on my spoon that went unnoticed until I licked it, the meal was enjoyable. Afterward we walked around the Mission for a bit looking at the different stores. We quickly stopped in at Dog Eared Books, but since I couldn’t find the cat who lives there we didn’t stay long. We stopped at Bombay Ice Cream where they have flavors like cashew raisin, fig, lychee, coconut, chai, and other exotic flavors, but we ended up being too full so we just decided to come back later. We went on to Monument, Therapy, and a second hand furniture store on the corner of Valencia and 16th and then headed down Clarion Alley to look at the amazing murals. Our last stop was Paxton Gate where we admired the taxidermied mice and variety of eyeballs and exotic plants. Kate bought two new plants and we headed back to San Jose. After I got home I took a little nap and then had dinner with family. I made chicken w/balsamic vinegar and orange marinade, roasted potatoes, vegetable medley and pie & angel food cake w/real whipped cream for dessert (pictures and recipes to come later). Then I immediately went to bed and slept like a log. This was a great Sunday trip to San Francisco and I can’t wait to go again next year.