I went to bed earleir than I normally would yesterday, but a sort of funny biproduct of no longer being a drinker is that I don’t really know what to do in the later hours of the day or where’s fun to go hang out. Most cities night life is centered around food and alcoholic drinks and I wasn’t very hungry, so that ruled a lot of places out quick. Plus, I figured it’d be better to get today started nice and early instead since there’s still a lot of ground to cover.
It’s a little early to give any real opinion on San Fransisco, but I can say it’s a been surprising. When people talk of SF where I’m from, the focus is really on its contribution to big tech and what a great lifestyle it is here for those that live here, in fact more the people I know who have visited before me have always sang its praises and said it’s one of those cities they could see themselves living in.
I’m not quite there yet and I’m not sure we’ve been visiting the same parts of the city, but I’ll hold off on my comments on that for now.
Today’s a bit of a weird day because I actually have somewhere to be later and being mildly neurotic as I am and not wholly sure how long it’ll take me to get certain places if there are any delays (even if that delay is just me getting caught up looking at something), it means I’m feeling a little constrained because I don’t want to be late.
Right now the water is out at the hotel, due to come back any minute if not already running and I’ve gotta take a shower so I don’t feel like death going into the second half of the day. I’ve already been out and about for a good 4 hours this morning on one of my big tasks for this trip: to find the place Ben Gibbard shot the Asphalt Meadows cover art.
I was up stupid early after waking a few times through the night (normal for me no matter where I am), so by 5:30AM I was already trying to sort out the best way to tackle the day.
When the Asphalt Meadows album first came out I vaguely remember reading that Ben had shot the cover art in San Fransisco on a but of a whim while out for a run in Bernal Heights. Knowing next to nothing about San Fransisco, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to find the spot.
I left my apartment a bit after 6:30AM; it was still dark out, but it’s a Monday morning so I thought I’d see more people milling about heading to work. Not really the case, at least not in the area my hotel is and not until it goes much lighter out a ways away from here. It was a little sketchy feeling walking around so early honestly, there’s a pretty significant homeless population in this city that’s probably not unlike a lot of American cities but it’s much more than I’m used to seeing in Toronto.
As I made my way out to the main streets I passed a lot of people just hanging around, drinking liquor and getting into shouting matches with each other about things none of us were clear in understanding. I passed some cars that has been broken into and beside one a vacant store’s security alarm continued to let out it’s shrill alert.
The stuff you’re used to seeing when you’re out at 2AM in a rough part of town, but not really as you’re approaching 7AM on a weekday.
About half hour later on much wider and brighter roads I could finally ease up and find a coffee shop to get a cup for the road.
Bernal Heights is about an hour and a halfs walk south from my hotel and the strange start of the morning had me extra vigilant. I found myself on a street called Van Ness for par tof it and somewhere up in the distance I eventually caught a glimpse of a big hilltop.
“That must be the spot.”
It’s the only reasonable place I figured you could get the city of San Fransisco from the angle you see on the Asphalt Meadows album cover and it was almost directly south of where I started.
As I lunged up the steep streets that lead to the hill I laughed thinking about how my initial plan was to run up it as well. Not today and not while I’m still healing yesterday blisters – walking it is enough of a workout to be frank. It would be easy to stay in shape in this city from that alone.
There’s a couple small trails that wind up to the top of it but you don’t even really have to start the climb before you know you’re in the right area for the shot. A few other people were working there way up at the same time as me, a pretty popular spot I gathered. I picked a trail and stuck to it pretty well before pulling my phone out to view the album cover.
A lot of buildings in San Fransisco really look the same with the same beige, whites or pastels which gives the city a sort of dull look to it, but on the album there are two big rectangular buildings that are just a bit taller than the others that make for your best indicator if you’re looking to recreate the same perspective. Once you wind the trail the looks west of the city, they pop out almost instantly.
I brought my little tripod out on this trip which lets me take landscape shots but forgot my remote clicker for photos specifically and had to settle on taking a video, so that’s what I ended up using.
All in I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out – it was well worth the trip.
Just a couple blocks down from the hill is a little cafe called Precita Cafe and Grill where I was able to get a big breakfast sandwich and a latte. Everytime I’m in the United States I’m amazed by the sheer size of their sandwiches – they’re actually so obnoxious to eat I’m not sure how any of the locals stand it. But it was delicious especially after all of yesterday’s walking. Good latte, too.
I made the trek back to the hotel stopping for a couple quick snaps of some street art and some prominent buildings, like SF City Hall which has a nice little plaza to kill some time in. As I got closer to my hotel, I caught a big black tour bus that had “MTV” displayed on it’s sign – something you absolutely just don’t normally see anymore. It made a quick stop then disappeared quickly in the direction of the bridge that crosses over to Oakland.
And now here I am, hearing the water start to rush on for the showers finally (and now waiting for whoever was quciker on the jump than me to get into it) preparing for the next leg of the day.
I’m still not totally sure but I might try to grab the 3PM ferry over to Berkeley where I’m seeing Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service perform tonight – otherwise I’ve gotta familiarize myself with the bus system instead.
I’m hoping to see a bit of the UC-Berkeley area and grab another quick bite to eat before doors open for the show. A band called The Beth’s are opening and I have no idea what they sound like yet but I’m sure it’ll be a good set and I want to get a good spot at the venue for the main events.
This will be my 4th time seeing Death Cab for Cutie and 1st time seeing The Postal Service.
Not the way I’d ever expect to spend a Canadian Thanksgiving but safe to say I’ll be in some of the best company. Thank you, in advance, for today.
This blog is part 3 in my ongoing series chronicling my trip to San Fransisco.
Catch up with the previous blogs below or jump to the next one:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
In case you didn’t know, I have a couple of side projects inspired by the bands that inspired this trip.
Check out Death Bus for Blondie including my entire Asphalt Meadows cover album (and then some) and Canada Post, everywhere you stream.
Thanks for reading.
Crooked Forest 
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