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Yesterday, I decided to do something a little bit crazy - I decided to walk the 49 Mile Scenic Drive in San Francisco. Needless to say, it took 16 hours and I'm more than a bit hobbled today. Here are a few things I observed while traversing our fine city: 
First, the 49 mils is a dirty lie! Just like how San Francisco is not 49 square miles (it's ~47), the drive is closer to 46 miles, and slightly shorter on foot since the detours built around one-way streets don't come into play.
Second, the route is kind of bizarre. It's definitely designed to give you the best views of the City but, in the process, misses most of the City itself. It skips all the neighborhoods outside of the northeastern part of SF entirely, opting for expressways instead.
I mean, look at this segment that somehow misses Castro and skirts the Mission, forcing you down Dolores (a fine street that captures little of what makes the Mission "the Mission") then Cesar Chavez then up 280 (I opted for 3rd Street, myself).
Third, the route is really poorly marked. I know the City pretty well and had a map but still found myself wondering if I was on the right track, sometimes for miles on end.
Fourth, the best coffee and baklava in San Francisco is at Golden Bear Trading Company at 6th and Irving. How this place does not have lines out the door, like Philz, shocks me. Plus, the owner seems to have a pretty interesting story. cc: @hooleil
Fifth, there are actually wild animals all over! Bunnies at Lake Merced! Coyotes in the Presidio! All sorts of creatures in Golden Gate Park!
Sixth, the point-in-time homelessness count was almost certainly an undercount. Everywhere that doesn't explicitly ban overnight parking has occupied cars, campers, and RVs. Some are Uber and Lyft drivers who sleep in their cars in between shifts but many live in their vehicles.
People living in vehicles are considered homeless by definition but, during the count, it's tough to figure out which vehicles are occupied and which are not. There are also well-hidden homeless camps that can only be identified if you're looking and on foot.
Seventh, it's sad how much people just trash the City. I watched all sorts of people throw their trash right on the ground, from folks who looked like they were very down on their luck on a stoop on Cesar Chavez to a woman wearing a Cartier Tank watch near Union Square. Come on!
Eighth, so much of SF gets left out of conversations about SF. The westside and the southeast make up huge swaths of this City but because they don't have BART stops and aren't the most desirable neighborhoods for new residents, they seem to be left out of the conversation.
And this brings me to my final point, which I thought about a lot: SF needs more cheerleaders and a rebirth of civic pride. This has been a tough month for the City, with articles from all over the place calling out the most dystopian aspects of life here (and there are many).
But it's easy to forget how much wonder there still is here. We need to celebrate that, nurture it, and promote it. A few still do (some Twitter folks and @FitzTheReporter and @hknightsf and @peterhartlaub all come to mind) but we need more & it needs institutional support ($$$).
The 49 Mile Scenic Drive was a product of that kind of support and civic pride. It was a whimsical way to show off all that SF had to offer to locals and tourists, alike. Now it's rarely used, poorly marked, and all but forgotten - I couldn't imagine a better symbol than that.
@hooleil *6th and Judah!
