![[thumbnail image: the fog-obscured view toward the opposing hill, taken around the corner from my apartment building]](/log/img/200307/fog.jpg "[.jpg, 42 KB]")
Early on a Sunday morning. I wake up and open the living room blinds to a sea of white. On most clear days, I have a view of half the San Francisco skyline, a portion of the Bay Bridge, and several nearby hills filled densely with houses and apartment buildings. Today, thanks to our typical ground-hugging summer fog, I barely see a half block down my own hill. The downtown skyline, nowhere in site. A morning like this begs one to either curl back up in bed, or head to a warm, quiet cafe to work next to a steaming cup of coffee and a small breakfast. I decide the latter, and head to Canvas, arriving fifteen minutes after opening.
On my drive over, a thermometer in the car grudgingly displays a chilly outside temperature of 51°F. This, on Independence Day weekend, headed for the middle of July. What a crazy city. We had sunny, 90-degree temperatures earlier this week. Now it’s cold enough to warrant sweaters, jackets, and scarves for passersby outside on the sidewalk. Confirmation of the oft-overused quote — supposedly attributed to Mark Twain — which every tourist hears when the fog rolls in, after they’re already stuck in Fisherman’s Wharf with nothing more than shorts and a t-shirt:
“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
![[thumbnail image: early morning at The Canvas Gallery]](/log/img/200307/canvas.jpg "[.jpg, 78 KB]")
Thus, here I am again… sitting in my favorite corner of my favorite cafe. The corner is really the best spot — despite the hard, flat bench — as it affords a nice overview of the wide open space. The corner walls partially shield the bright light coming in from floor-to-ceiling windows, and provide rest for the back. Canvas is nearly empty this morning. Everyone must have chosen the first option of remaining in bed. A CD plays softly over the sound system. Appropriately enough, “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
6 comments (Comments closed)
the corner of any coffeeshop is always my favourite spot, mostly because even if i’m working, i still enjoy people watching. the other possible reason is intense paranoia of people sneaking up on me and stealing my laptop or giving me a wet willy.
I wish that we had nice cafe’s like that here. We’re a smaller town so the best thing we have are small starbucks. Which suck anyways. Our ‘lan centers’ have about 4 computers that are infected with dozens of virsus so I wouldn’t risk even signing into my hotmail account. We have wonderful weather here in kelowna (bc) but I really do enjoy a nice fog every once in awhile.. Too bad it only happens once or twice a year. I should move out to Vancouver where I can get a nice loft and live near a nice coffee shop.
It’s overcast over here too - but no fog in Potrero Hill. And Farley’s can get too crowded to sit in for long periods of time. Friends from England always think that if they come over during the summer, they’ll enjoy some great weather - I always tell them to come later in the year.
As a recent convert to the east bay, I recently discovered a drive that creeps up Claremont Ave along dead man’s curve roads that lead to Temescal park. From a few gravel turn-outs along the roadside you are given a birds eye view, looking down on Oakland, the freeways, the bay, the islands, the bridges, the ocean and the distant city. It is truely an amazing vantage point. Saturday, I took a visiting friend up there to behold the San Francisco from this cheaper than an air flight perspective, only to see a wall of fog engulfing the entire horizon. Yet, like an arm sticking out of quick sand, Sutro Tower emergerd above it all. Amazing I never got NBC from that thing, but I digress… Oh, and I was drinking coffee too (to help tie this story better into your post theme)
Sunday was nasty. It was my first trip to SF, and here I am at Fisherman’s Wharf on a Sunday morning freezing my nuts off along with all the other tourists. Aside from that, I’d say San Francisco is hands-down the best city in the US. Example: on Friday, what started out as a quick walk to find a coffee shop turned into an all day 10 hour walking tour of the city. Consider yourself lucky and blessed to live in such a cool city.
Re: Blake - There was a lot of cloud cover when my flight took off last night, and I saw some funky thingamajig poking through the top of the clouds. Looked like a pirate ship floating on the high seas. Would have made an incredible photo if I had a good zoom lense…
This makes me crave to move SF even more. Here East Coast in a beach area, everyday colse to 100F over the weekend and still now. People are exceedingly excited. Sitting in your favorite corner of your favorite cafe… such a bliss. Couldn’t find here either, Leif. Have Ben & Jerry icecream instead.
Thank you for sharing. Words could not possibly express how I am both envious and absolutely appeciating superlative work here.
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