The Garden of Earthly Delights

One thing that always trips me out about air travel is that you can go so far without ever being outside. The last breath of fresh air that I took prior to emerging at the 16th street BART stop in San Francisco last week was a final gulp of frigid mountain loveliness as I walked through the doors of the Bozeman airport.

Former public phone booth at Bozeman airport — no idea why it's still there, except that it's gorgeous

The competing scents of flowers and Mexican food and pee that welcomed me to 16th street totally shocked my system, right before they made me feel completely at home.

After practically tearing up over my favorite meal — lunch special #6 at Sunflower Vietnamese — I headed toward my office on foot, by way of lower Valencia street, a strip that's becoming an epicenter of curated, fascinating, highly-localized culture. Irreverent, ironic, playful things lurk in every shop window and on every surface.

Great storefront

A recent photo series in The Sacramento Bee captures so much of the Mission's delightfulness.

Paxton Gate's window, courtesy of the Sac Bee

Look what I found peeking out from under a car:

During a pit stop at one of the new parklets in front of Four Barrel coffee, I thought about how if even one of the myriad of posters slapped up on the telephone poles were on Main street in Bozeman, it would be noteworthy.

One of the tamer posters

Four Barrel coffee

Parklets are cropping up in parking spots throughout the city.

I love the bold self-expression of San Franciscans. The 20-something girls with mini-mohawks. Boys who definitely spend a lot of time getting ready in the morning. The cute girl with a bright chartreuse knit hat, huge neon pink headphones, a super short skirt and neon tights whom I saw two days in row. She was having fun in that crazy outfit.

I like the shoes. I like the signs and the street art. I like the smells. I like the colors.

I don't like that my friend got stuck in a manhunt on her way to dinner with me one night. Or that our other friend's car got towed while we were eating.

There is an underbelly to all the glory. But on a 70 degree day with an artisanal cup of coffee in my hand and some fantastic people at my side, it was sure hard to see.