We’re in San Francisco, staying with the owners of a 1967 totally restored Volkswagon twenty-one windows van (picture tomorrow).
They picked us up at the Embarcadero BART station and we were transported to an earlier, spacious, ‘feelin’ groovy’ style of automotive travel. Perhaps most fun of all, there’s a huge window on top, which is great for viewing the fog roll into the San Francisco sky, the tops of colorfully painted Victorian brownstones, the complicated solar panels on top of a new green Morpheus high rise.
These VW owners, who happen to be my sister and brother-in-law, took us to dinner in the Upper Haight, a pan-South American tapA place called Cha Cha Cha. Along the way, onlookers greeted the van with wide-eyed stares, cameras, and general curiosity and wonder. Just down the street from Cha Cha Cha we stopped in what I think may be one of the coolest record and CD (new and used) stores ever. Amoeba Records, in the site of a former bowling alley, is like a musical universe unto itself, a real record store, not a corporate conglomerate.
Our San Francisco relatives are a dashing couple. They own four cars (three of which are vintage) and a coffee cart business; dart around the world for Formula One races and generally lead an enviably fun life.
Today, San Francisco awaits. We’ll join some Park Slope friends for sight seeing…
Feelin’ Groovy.
You’re making me a little homesick. We lived on a funny little street (Downey) in the upper Haight, ate at Cha Cha Cha, and went to movies at the Old Vic (is it still there?). If you have time check out the new DeYoung in the park — it’s gorgeous, and some great bay area painting to boot. For some reason I get very nostalgic for the great hearty breakfasts we used to get in SF — cup after cup of strong coffee, and long leisurely breakfasts in funky restaurants –Kate’s Kitchen on Divisidero comes to mind, as does Bugaloo on Valencia.