What I miss about San Francisco

Am I looking at San Francisco though rose-colored glasses (nostalgia covered glasses?). Perhaps. Probably definitely. But I'll share with you this quote from a friend of a friend who moved to the city;

"This is a city full of people who really love it here. I ask almost everyone I meet, and only the ex-New Yorkers feel differently. Yes it's expensive, yes it's frustratingly leisurely for an ex-east coaster, and yes it's wicked cold. But it's also a friendly place with positive energy, it has an extraordinary exterior, and it offers as much opportunities as cities several times larger."
Aaah..... cold. *tear*

So - in no order whatsoever - here is what I miss (some of these things are not exclusive to San Francisco, but they are definitely not in Boston) :

-Guerrero’s Taqueria

-Ocean Taqueria

-Land’s End

-Davies Hall

-The Zoo

-the zoo has Aye-ayes. I'm not even kidding. Real, honest-to-god Aye-ayes. They are so amazing.

-the Academy of Sciences

-the DeYoung (Hey! It's the fifth most visited museum in the US!)

-the Palace of the Legion of Honor

-Manor Coffee Shop

-Golden Gate Park

-China Beach

-The Warfield

-the Dickens Faire

-the Giants (hey! Did you know? The Giants have won more games than any other team in the history of American baseball. Wikipedia told me so.)

-veggie dogs at AT&T Park

-the Marin Headlands

-Point Reyes (ALL of it. Stinson Beach, Tomales Bay, the entire Seashore, especially Drake's Beach, the lighthouse and Chimney Rock, and Toby's Feed Barn in Point Reyes Station.)

-Ano Nuevo and the elephant seals

-In general, being able to get out to wilderness that actually feels wild

-And the fact that most of that wilderness is chaparral

-Bay Area ecosystems. I miss black widows. I miss Brown Pelicans. I miss Monterey Cypress trees and California Live Oaks. I miss Sage and Manzanita and Yerba Santa and Toyon. I miss Scrub Jays, Acorn Woodpeckers, Turkey Vultures, California Quail, Great Horned Owls, Red Tailed Hawks and California Gulls. I miss California Poppies.

-the entire GGNRA. It's one of the largest urban parks in the world and one of the most visited national parks in the US. And it contains more endangered species than any other park in the continental US.

-Rouge et Noir camembert

-the Cowgirl Creamery grilled cheese at the Hog Island Oyster Co.

-Really, all of the ferry building

-Jamba Juice

-Louis’

-Bay to Breakers

-the view of the Farallons

-Coit Tower

-Greens

-Muir Woods

-griping about El Nino

-diversity. Actual, honest to god, diversity.

-the silent film fest at the Castro

-the Japanese Tea garden

-Pride

-Mitchell’s Ice Cream

-In n’ Out

-Girls Chorus concerts

-Chinese New Year

-sushi in Japantown

-taking the 1 down to Monterrey

-Cal Basketball and Volleyball

-Angel Island

-I actually miss MUNI. I swear to god. Get me off the T.

-FOG.

-Irish coffees at the Buena Vista

-Victorians

-local writers (yes, I realize I can read them anywhere. Shaddup.)

-the murals

-earthquakes

-being near mountains

-NO FUCKING SNOW

-the weather

-drag queens

-vegan food

-avocados

-our city motto; "San Francisco. Not smug. Just Better." (and our runner-up motto; "Back door. BACK DOOR! Step down. STEP DOWN!")

-Zante's pizza

-Actually, Round table pizza, too

-Amoeba records

-concerts at Stern Grove

-ACT and the Berkeley Rep

-pedestrian safe

-Noah’s bagels

-Trader Joes

-real, honest-to-god sourdough

-Dude! Did you know there's a trampoline park in the Presidio?!? That. I miss that.

-vegetarian friendly

-public art

-the Blue Angels

-IT’S-ITs

-people wearing leather, tattoos, vinyl, piercings, hell – TIE-DYE – I don’t care so long as it isn’t J. Crew.

-the Exploratorium

Other facts to love about San Francisco: the most college degrees per capita (yay nerds!), the thinnest city in the US, the most walkable city in the US, the best large city for young professionals, the only American city in the global top 10 happiest cities (I love the description), the second best city for singles, the third most veggie friendly city, the third healthiest city in the US, the sixth best biking city, in the top 20 Green cities, we won the NL West, actually there's a whole list that is like Who's honoring Me Now? and hey! SF is one of the least bad areas in the state for unemployment... That's encouraging for a job seeker.... Kinda...