Man, was the weather glorious this weekend. I don't know if you've ever been to San Francisco, but it's rare that the mercury tops 80 degrees, and when it does, the whole city comes out to play.
A combination of wine, champagne, stellar company, and absent taxis meant we didn't get home from a dinner party on Friday night until almost one, but that didn't stop us pulling our bleary-eyed corpses out of bed on Saturday morning to walk down to the Giants game at AT&T Park, where we sat along the first base line under a cloudless blue sky. The blazing sun convinced every beer-bellied man in the entire stadium that it would be a fine idea to disrobe, and if I were a wiser woman, I would have bought stock in after-sun lotion the very minute I saw the first dude pull his shirt off. I bet those same men, wherever they are---rolling around in a vat of aloe, probably---are regretting it now. In fact, you know what, I'd go so far as to say that they're sorely regretting it. (Get it? Get it? Thank you, I'll be here all night.)
Sunday, with the grocery shopping complete, we packed a picnic and headed out to Baker Beach. We chose Baker Beach because it has a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. See?
What we didn't quite bank on, however, is that it's also a total nudie beach when the weather complies. I mean, we knew it---in some distant part of our brains, I think we knew it---but I guess we just weren't prepared for how.....well...TOTALLY STARK RAVING NAKED three-quarters of the beach-going public would be. I tell you, when the sun shines at Baker Beach, you see a whole lot of.......well, a whole lot of places where the sun don't shine, if you catch my drift.
But hey, what's a little nudity among friends? This is San Francisco! People are naked all the time! They run races naked here! In fact, I'll tell you what, there's actually nothing more awkward than not being naked in a sea of naked people. Suddenly, you feel like the odd one out, in your puritan tank top and your prude-ish skirt. Come on, you Victorian, live a little!
We lay fully-clothed on our picnic blanket while naked dude after naked dude hiked past us---yes, hiked; have you ever seen a naked man wearing nothing but a pair of Tevas and a backpack? It's quite a sight, I assure you---and read our books and ate our baguette and drank our Izze natural sodas, and every so often we'd look up and whoops!, a pair of bronzed buttocks would go strolling languorously by. After a while, we got so used to it that when we saw a person actually wearing a bathing suit, we got the urge to point and stare.
The man behind Sean was wearing his boxer briefs. He was---aside from Sean---probably the most conservatively dressed man on the beach.
A few hours later, hopped up on vitamin D, we packed up and made the twenty-minute upward hike back to the car---Boobs on the left! Bollocks on the right! Just keep looking straight ahead!---where we admired both the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory and our wise decision to move to San Francisco.
Then we went for ice cream, where I had a flavor called Secret Breakfast, which contained both bourbon and cornflakes. In case you were wondering, it was pretty much about as life-changing as you'd think.
Apr 19, 2009
Wasn't it amazingly gorgeous today? I went to Ocean Beach, which made up for its lack of a beautiful view of the bridge with a beautiful lack of nudity. Either one, though, would be amazing. Even as I type this, about to crawl into bed, it's still beautiful outside.
Apr 19, 2009
Yay! Summer is almost really here! We live in England, which in my experience can be an awful lot like San Francisco weather wise. As soon as the sun comes out, the villagers bust out of their houses and the crazies all come out to play... but the sunshine is totally worth it.
Apr 20, 2009
And here I am, trying to stay out of harms way(aka the sun's rays)! The sun's a killer in my part of the world right now.
Apr 20, 2009
YOU WENT TO HUMPRHYS AGAIN? WITHOUT ME??? Some friend. Harumph.
(Kidding.)(But you better damn well take me next time.)
(Beautiful pics as always.)
Apr 20, 2009
Hi, Holly. Long-time reader here. I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how very much I enjoy reading your journal. They can be a lot of work at times, I know. Thank you for consistently entertaining us.
Kind regards.
Apr 20, 2009
Ah, San Francisco in the springtime.
For some reason I find it amusing that that the only nod Sean made to being a beach was to remove his shoes. Bare feet! How daring!
Thanks for sharing your lovely weekend with us.
Apr 20, 2009
I love that Sean is wearing approximately 10x the amount of clothing as the next most conservative dresser.
The thought of a guy hiking naked (with shoes and a backpack) makes me a little queasy - it's too early to contemplate naked hiking.
Apr 20, 2009
Amen to Janssen's comment...
Nekkid Hiking is wrong on so many levels..
* Oh... and "Secret Breakfast" sounds too good to be true.. Bourbon and Cornflakes?... brilliant!
Apr 20, 2009
How weird is it that I have sunglasses just like the ones you're wearing and ones just like the ones Sean is wearing? And that I just bought both pairs on Saturday? Pretty weird...
Apr 20, 2009
I once (unexpectedly) found myself in a similar situation in Prague. The friend I was with just told me to pretend that everyone was a statue. It worked remarkably well. Right up until we contemplated heading to the snack bar but couldn't reconcile the thought of our butts on those same stools as the nekkid butts.
Apr 20, 2009
I was at the Giants game on Sunday, where, believe it or not, it was even warmer than it was on Sunday. (I have the painfully burned shoulders to prove it, unfortunately.) And the shirts were coming off yesterday too at the park. :\
Also! I tried Humphrey Slocombe for the first time last week - Vietnamese coffee. It was good, and not to compare, but I've decided that I like Mitchell's and Bi-Rite better. :D
Apr 20, 2009
Just one of the many reasons why I heart San Francisco so much. It's such a fantastic place. Honestly, I'd feel so embarassed to be naked too. But once I got naked (to comply with the rules and all that), I'd be so mortified that everyone was scrutinizing my bits.
Apr 20, 2009
INTERESTING. So that's why when I went to Humphrey Slocombe at 7:45 for a little Secret Breakfast, THEY WERE OUT OF ICE CREAM AND CLOSED.
Saddest end ever to the prettiest day ever.
Apr 20, 2009
I was at Baker Beach yesterday too! And was also surprised by all the naked people. We felt bad for the couple trying to take wedding pics with the GG bridge in the background...I hope her photographer has really good photoshop skills!
Apr 20, 2009
NYC had it first real spring day on Saturday and the sign near my house said it was 81 degrees! Pretty much all of NYC spilled out onto the sidewalks and into the parks and into the line for Pinkberry. It made me very anxious for more of the same.
Apr 20, 2009
It was like 70 here in Chicago on Saturday and I was SO EXCITED! SUNGLASSES! T-SHIRTS! NO SCARF NEEDED!
And now it is going to snow tonight. Oh and then be 80 on Thursday. Goota love Spring in Chicago. She's a fickle bitch.
Apr 20, 2009
I never thought I could well and truly miss a place I had only been to once, but I opened your pictures and sighed.
Apr 20, 2009
I know. I always think it's odd when nudies wear shoes, although I know I should be more open-minded about it. But considering that I spent a lot of time fully clothed but barefoot, the contrary seems weird.
Hope your sunshine lasts a bit.
We've inadvertently ended up on nude beaches in Hawaii & California, and nude hot springs in Oregon. What is it about the West Coast? And then we were on holiday in Senegal, and a topless French woman popped up out of the pool next to our son, then 5. "Oh. Nice suit," he told her in apparent sincerity. We still have no idea what was going on in his head.
Apr 20, 2009
Glad to see you're reading What is the What - one of my favorite books!
Apr 20, 2009
We only live about 40 minutes south of you, Holly, and every time you post about The Wonders of The City I realize just how utterly and totally stupid (!) we are not to make it up there more often. What is it about frequent failure to explore your own back yard?
But, let me tell you...your revelation about the existence of something called "Secret Breakfast? That just ramped "Drive to San Francisco, ASAP!" waaaay up toward the top of my list :-)
Apr 20, 2009
All gorgeous pictures, but that first one is especially gorgeous!
and holy bejeez is ?e3%a@ really the "make sure you have a pulse" code?!
Apr 20, 2009
Sarah -- it was actually Sean reading What is the What (I was reading some Bill Bryson!), but I read it last year and just loved it.
Apr 21, 2009
You mentioned you were worried about crows' feet in your Flickr photo caption, but at least you didn't forget sunblock like Kim Kardashian! - http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20273503,00.html
Apr 21, 2009
Sigh...I am envious of your warm weather! Our forecast for the next two days? SNOW. In April.
Apr 21, 2009
You know I adore you to pieces, but I am just the TINIEST BIT UPSET that you didn't take me to this mystical ice cream parlor when I was in town last year. Why, Holly, WHYYYY?! ;)
Apr 21, 2009
Metalia, I would have done but IT WASN'T OPEN YET! It only opened a month or two ago, I swear. You'll just have to come back to San Francisco.
Apr 21, 2009
OHHHHH to be in the sun on the beach where it is nice and breezy and warm. Instead, I am in an office with artificial light that gives me headaches and makes me stabby.
Apr 21, 2009
I'm in San Francisco, today and tomorrow for business and I was planning to leave early tomorrow eve but now I'm not leaving until I have cornflake bourbon ice cream.
Apr 23, 2009
Isn't that last photo just about where Norman fell to his death in
Sales of the TittyTales of the City?Apr 26, 2009
We used to live in the Bay Area years ago and I will never forget taking a picnic lunch to Rodeo Beach in Marin one beautiful Easter day. When we arrived, it was pretty well deserted, but it wasn't long before we were joined by quite a few nude people. The one that boggled my mind (and eyes, if I'm perfectly honest) was the nude dude rock climbing. Is that an official sport?