I told Trixie, we can’t be in San Francisco without visiting Haight - Ashbury. She thought I was insane - and once again she was probably right. We headed off to this famous intersection to take a trip back to the 1960’s and the Summer of Love. We found it. There are still a lot of Tie dye clothes, street performers, “smoking accessory stores” (a.k.a. head shops), tourists and of course hippies - although many with “A Touch of Grey” to quote Jerry Garcia, founder of the Grateful Dead and past resident of 710 Ashbury Street. We wondered our way down Haight Street until it ends at Golden Gate Park which was home to thousands of hippies in the late 60’s. Today it is filled with bicyclers, skaters, walkers and today - Trixie and me!
Along the way, I saw a huge store front called Amoeba Music. Could this be? A record/CD store as big as a bowling alley? Hey wait a minute, this was a bowling alley years ago. Inside were albums that you will rarely find anywhere else. Anyone remember “Hocus Pocus” by the Dutch band Focus? Their album was there. Syd Barrett, one of the original members of Pink Floyd? His stuff was there too. I was like a kid in a candy store and spent over an hour roaming around in my quest to find some of the most obscure rock that I forgot existed.
On our way back to the hotel (our latest home for the week) we passed by Bia Restaurant and Wine Bar You’re kidding? A wine bar right in the middle of tie dye hippie land city? OK things have changed a little since the 60’s. Feeling a moment of obligation we have to duck inside and check it out. Where is everyone - this place is empty? It was not empty - we just were not in the right place. They had a secret garden outside in back with outdoor seating among the many plants, trees and bushes. What a nature fest. It was a total escape from the street performers and other crazies on Haight Street.
Our server asked if we would like to sample 3 different wines in a “wine flight” Trixie and I looked at each other and thought - Us? Would we like 3 glasses of wine? Do you know who we are? Do you know our reputations? Whoops, lets skip the part about our reputations. YES, we will try three wines.
We were presented with 3 Merlots, Fusee from California, Sticks from Australia and Paul Mas from France. Humm sounds like global wine wars here. The game was to swirl, sniff, sip, get all wine snobby, grade each wine and pick a winner. As our readers know, we are about as far from being wine snobs as you can get. I tried a sip from each one but I could not (would not) pick my favorite. This little contest was not fair! Pick my favorite of 3 wines? That is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. I love them all equally - just in different ways. One was a little more mellow - probably the first born of the wines, one had a rowdier character - obviously the second born, and the third one was just completely different - probably just to be different. I refuse to pick just one! I’ll leave those decisions up to the real wine snobs. I wonder if they have a favorite son or daughter?
From the Corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets - “What a Long Strange Trip its Been!”
Cheers!
Angus
