STILL WALKING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, Pt. 1 (Cheri)

45 years and three days ago, Mark and I went on our first date.

A fire alarm went off during the movie, and he kissed me at the end of the night.  We almost got put on "social."  (It was a Christian boarding academy.)  Great memories!

Over the years we have taken many hikes in San Francisco, using the guide originated by Adah Bakalinsky, Stairway Walks in San Francisco.  I loved this blurb at the beginning of the book:

Adah Bakalinsky . . . can yank back the dull scrim of ordinary perceptions
and enrich our understanding of what goes on all around us.

and this quote:

Everything of importance has already been seen by somebody who didn't notice it.
-- Alfred North Whitehead

We've bought at least three editions of this book.  I had the 6th edition spiral-bound, and today I downloaded the 9th edition to my iPhone.

The walk that we took today was uncharacteristically short on actual stairways, but absolutely worthwhile.  I'm mostly not going to identify the streets that we walked, because I don't want to further invade the residents' privacy, but you could certainly locate the area in the book.

Before starting, Mark pointed out a Little Free Library that was hidden behind bushes between our parking spot and the sidewalk.  I perused, but decided not to take any books.  North Carolina's libraries are so incredible!

The first part of our walk is built on an old quarry. 

This marker stands at the entrance of a small neighborhood which was built on the (apparently very steep) old parking lot of a church.

The church still stands, but has a much reduced area for parking.

This little marker at the entrance to an open-space park, at the end of the no-exit neighborhood, gave no clue to the magic that lay beyond:

When Mark saw this fence, overcome by the nasturtium and other vines, he said he felt like he was back in North Carolina with the kudzu:

Eventually we emerged into a different neighborhood and were greeted by some non-native animals:

We were on "ShangriLa Way," which is shortest unsigned, but legally-named, street in the City.

The peek-a-boo views were all that you hope for from San Francisco:

and an expanded view:

I was  glad to see Sutro Tower (in the background):

as I had seen a great Herb Caen quote last week:  "I keep waiting for it to stalk down the hill and attack the Golden Gate Bridge."

At this point we entered a neighborhood that was begun in 1927, and includes several Carmel-style homes of various sizes.  It is built on a different type of stone - very large - and many details are built right into it:

This was charming:

and this we liked simply for its "texture:"

At this point I'm going to halt this tour, and pick it up in a few days.  See you then!