gabeanderson.com: life: Bay to Breakers

Bay to Breakers (photos)

Ben has uploaded his Bay to Breakers photos. I like that he and Jess got a bunch of photos with our peeps in them. Most of the photos Jen and I took were crowd shots.

Bay to Breakers is one of my two favorite San Francisco events, second only to Halloween in the Castro. There's truly no place like San Francisco.

Our version of B2B this year was quite leisurely and kicked ass (we were far from walking the entire 7.5 miles across the city). Jen, James, Enoch, and I arrived at Ben and Jess' place on Alamo Square around 8:45 Sunday morning (after the top runners from Kenya had already crossed the finish line, of course). Shannon -- toting the ingredients for my favorite drink and hers (spiced rum & cider) -- and her friends Kira and Tracy arrived not long after. With mimosas in hand and Ben's amazing omlettes under our forks, we chilled by the bay windows to watch the crowd of naked, costumed people go by. We watched a viking ship sail by, a tiki bar wheel past, the Village People perform in Alamo Square, and more. We even laughed at all the unsuspecting and oblivious people taking leaks right below our eyes in the alleyway next to the building.

When the trailing members of the crowd had gone by and a row of emergency vehicles began to push the tail end of the massive party forward, we grabbed our half-full bottles of champagne, a jug of cider and rum, backpacks full of beer, and took to the streets.

We had loads of fun walking the middle mile or two of the leisurely race, stopping for dance parties, Elvis parties, girls in a mobile shower, and faux Girls Gone Wild auditions (photo courtesy of Ben). Midway through Golden Gate Park, we decided that was as far as we felt like going, so we headed south toward mine and Jen's place, stopping at a plant show to buy a plant, then proceeding into the beautiful Arboretum for a black-and-white photo shoot.

We ended the day at Naan 'n Curry, then promptly collapsed into slumber on the living room floor. Last week's Bay to Breakers was one to remember.

One of Ben's photos:

In an attempt to be artistic, I took this photo of a bunch of plastic water cups on the ground following one of the water stations:

All Bay to Breakers photo albums:

• Gabe's Bay to Breakers 2003 photos
  
• Post-Bay to Breakers 2003 photo shoot in the Arboretum
  
• Ben & Jess' photos
  

My previous post on Bay to Breakers