In mid-September, the winds in the upper atmosphere shifted and started blowing from the west. At last, cool, fresh air, rich with oxygen from 5000 miles of Pacific Ocean swept over San Francisco. After weeks of terrible wildfire smoke, we went from living in a depressing urban nightmare to enjoying a beautiful, sparkling city again.
This is one of my favorite times of year in San Francisco. The weather is generally pleasant with daytime highs in the 70s, and the evenings can be crisp and cool with hint of autumn. It’s also the time of year where there is usually a lot going on in the city. Conventions would be taking place, bringing in a huge numbers of visitors. Events like street fairs and festivals and concerts would be everywhere. Just a few of the events we would normally see in San Francisco in September include: San Francisco Symphony’s Opening Night Gala, San Francisco Opera’s Opening Night Gala, San Francisco Fringe Festival, San Francisco Green Film Festival, Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, Muni Heritage Weekend, The Giant Half Marathon Race, San Francisco Opera in the Park, Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival, Comedy Day in Golden Gate Park, Oktoberfest by the Bay, and the Folsom Street Fair. Of course all of these have been cancelled, postponed, or have gone virtual/online this year.
So we celebrate the small things. A beautiful day. A delicious meal. A long-closed favorite store or restaurant opening again. Seeing a friend we haven’t seen in months. 2020 has made us appreciate what we have and feel lucky for having it, while longing for the good old days (just 7 months ago), when the world was just doing its normal thing.