BaumBlog: SOMETIMES THE CITY GETS IT RIGHT

January 10, 2022

Sometimes

The City Gets It Right

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In deference to the surging Virus, San Francisco cancelled its traditional fireworks over the bay at midnight on New Years Eve. It always draws a big crowd, people jammed together along the Embarcadero. And, as we know, the Virus loves a crowd. The fireworks event was a real loss. It's a great crowd -- a cross-section of San Francisco, lots of families. I always felt embraced by a COMMUNITY as we all watched the lights explode and spiral and zoom over the bay.

However, there was a way to be outside on New Year's Eve and be dazzled by the lights -- in Golden Gate Park!

WHAT WE SAW WILL BE THERE UNTIL FEBRUARY 1!

What a perfect evening. There were no crowds, as the light shows were scattered across a wide area. So no worries about a sneaky virus. Elizabeth and I sauntered around the park at night, encountering just enough folks to always feel safe. What a treat to feel safe in the park at night! You could bring your children, your dogs -- it was a great evening for everyone.

We got there when it was still light and parked in the garage under the Music Concourse. When we came up, we saw a group settling in around the fountain next to the De Young Museum (the purple building on the map). They had just started on their champagne.

This is definitely what I plan to do next year, virus or no virus. It wasn't a warm evening, but it wasn't too cold.

From the Music Concourse, we headed east to Peacock Meadow, which is just beyond the Conservatory of Flowers -- that strangely shaped orange building in the upper right on the map. We stayed there as the sun faded and the light show began. ENTWINED has been created for this winter in Golden Gate Park by Charles Gadeken. All of these first photos are from the Internet. My camera wasn't fast enough to capture the rapidly changing colors.

The intense pleasure of watching the rapidly changing colors and combinations..... I never recognized any repetition. It was always new and surprising and gorgeous. We talked to a woman with a little girl who had come in from the suburbs when her New Year's Eve party was cancelled because of the Virus. What a gift from San Francisco to the whole Bay Area! I felt proud of my city. I could have stayed there forever.

Then we walked the short distance west toward the Conservatory of Flowers. Along the way, the woods were lit up....