I knew about the Excelsior– well, I was aware the place did in fact exist, but the only time I had even been though there was on either the Mission 14 bus, or a SamTrans bus to somewhere in San Mateo County.

 

And, obviously, I knew that people lived there– just didn’t actually know any of them personally. Most of my time living in San Fran was somewhere between Haight, Cole Valley, or the Inner Sunset (where I celebrated both the Giants’ World Series championship and the Warriors playoff run and championship victories). I had actually spent little time past Bernal Heights in the Outer Mission, but here I am.

If you let your eye follow down the sidewalk to the right, you can see the apartment building where I am now residing. Nuthin fancy, but it’s a place to hang the hat I really need to buy (’cause it gets cold at night). I, of course, buy my produce at the location you see above this paragraph. And the neighborhood has all the modern amenities like coffee and internet…

There’s a chain, if you like that sort of thing. There’s Cumaica, a local (as far as I know) chain, which has better coffee than Starbucks (and which I’ve only recently seen anywhere at all at a few locations around the city:

And they have a Patio (if you like that sort of thing):

 

Or there’s the place I usually go to, Independently Owned & Operated for (something like) a decade, Called Momá Art Café. They have artists posting their work, usually somehow related to the theme of returned Combat Veterans.

There’s Excelsior Heights…

…or maybe not. My friend Linda tells me it was this view (or one just like it just south of here) that inspired Joni Mitchell to sing about “ticky-tacky boxes…”

At night, the streets get pretty deserted; there isn’t much of a nightlife out here. Some homeless crazies– although I really would not want to be homeless in this area. One place that’s hoppin’ after midnight:

That’s right: the Laundamat! Where it’s ALWAYS Mardi Gras! With complimentary WiFi!

I think the only place I had ever set foot in previously in this neighborhood, was a burger place, which advertised fresh-ground chuck. It was OK if I remember correctly, but not a revelation. Let’s see what happened to this last cultural outpost in the vicinity…

How the Mighty have fallen…

Meanwhile, here I am, at the…

 

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