The weather these days is absolutely delightful. Of course, stepping outside can feel more like walking through a futuristic laser beam show than a blessing of nature, but it’s still way better than rain, so I find myself wanting to head out. ☀️
Having spent all of yesterday cleaning and doing laundry, I figured I deserve a break on this chill Sunday. After a quick breakfast, I lazily packed my bag and stepped out. With no real destination in mind, I often end up at the Starbucks on Fillmore, just around the corner. My imagination is so wild that I get exhausted at the thought of the journey back, so I don’t venture far. If I were a squirrel, I’d be content with my tiny, predictable world. 🐿️
Today, as always, I was walking towards Fillmore when I saw a Muni bus pulling up to the stop. Without much thought, I hopped on reflexively. Instead of the usual routine, I ended up somewhere different: the ‘Presidio’.
This place is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, but it used to be a military post for Spain, Mexico, and the USA. Just a few centuries ago, the world was like a game of thrones, with nations constantly vying for control, and California wasn’t much different, having been under Spanish rule.
Nowadays, when the sun’s out, it’s packed with people enjoying picnics and strolls like modern-day hippies. It’s hard to imagine it was ever a military base. You wouldn’t expect a military site to be decked out with rainbow-colored buildings and festive lights, would you? 🎨
The Presidio is a massive green space wrapping around the Golden Gate Bridge’s entrance. It’s surprisingly well-maintained and neatly structured. They say it’s 50% larger than Stanley Park in Vancouver, which is already 10% bigger than Central Park in New York. That’s huge! But honestly, I have no grasp of Stanley Park’s size, so I can’t fully appreciate how big that really is. Anyway, parks seem to be a big deal for Westerners, like a measure of life’s quality. Every city has parks scattered every few hundred meters. It’s like, you walk, there’s a park. You sit, there’s a park. 🌳
Presidio is home to the ILM’s Letterman Digital Arts Center, which features a small Yoda fountain in the backyard. Since the Yoda statue faces east, it’s best to visit in the morning to avoid the afternoon sun in your eyes. Inside the building, you can check out life-sized Star Wars Imperial Army models, which are so realistic it feels like someone’s just wearing a mask. But honestly, it’s not all that exciting. 🚀
There’s a Starbucks in the park, bustling with people until the clock strikes six, when everyone suddenly vanishes like magic. The tourists sipping coffee and locals reading books all head home, leaving just the reggae-haired barista cleaning up. He must be eager to get home. After sunset, the park gets eerily quiet, and you might imagine an axe-wielding maniac lurking behind a shadowy tree. Even if a priest popped out in the silence of the woods, it would still be spooky. 🌒
As it got darker, I started to feel a bit spooked, so I left the park and waited for the bus home. Suddenly, I found myself longing for Seoul’s Olympic Park. It’s not scary there… I promised myself that when I get back to Seoul, I’ll take a slow, leisurely walk there. 🏞️
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