Mission District: If You Find Yourself in Dolores Park

EIGHT ESSENTIAL THINGS TO DO

I look nostalgically at Dolores Park nowadays. The park's playground, where the "original" wooden boat play structure stood, stranded, unpainted and gloriously unrenovated evokes memories of my children's unfettered joy galloping and dashing about in its expansively verdant green lawn.

The view, however, remains spectacular and awe-inspiring. On sunny California days, with palm fronds in the foreground, (which symbolically reminds me of vacation, the tropics, sunshine, and humid weather even when sometimes the all-present fog on non-sunny times can be a distraction) this tableau set the tone and theme which make San Francisco's iconic landmarks stand out from the rest of the pack: the City Hall, the Trans America Pyramid, and the Salesforce tower (a fairly new addition to the scene). These, to remind the gentle readers, are all primly set on historically shaky grounds and sharply steep hills.

And so, what are the five essential that locals normally do as they chill on one of the best parks to loll around in the city?

1. Picnic with friends and family.

2. Play tennis or basketball.

3. People-watch.

4. Bring kids to the playground.

5. Visit Mission San Francisco church and graveyard.

6. Drink hot chocolate at Dandelion.

7. Visit the Community Thrift Store

8. Browse rad books at Dogeared Bookstore