This week’s adventure took me home to California, and I couldn’t have picked a better time to visit. The weather was hitting record highs in San Francisco just as the London heat wave succumbed to the London rain. As if that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, there were two special events on: Oyster Fest and Bay to Breakers in San Francisco.
Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
Bay to Breakers is a road race that takes place every year in San Francisco. It follows a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) route from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
While some people take it seriously (I used to as a teenager), others see Bay to Breakers as an excuse to dress in crazy costumes, drink alcohol, and have a big street party (that’s me now).
The event is my boyfriend’s favorite holiday (“it’s like Christmas and New Year’s combined,” he says), so I knew I was in for a good time this year.
We went with a group of friends, and our theme for Bay to Breakers was “What Happens in Vegas Stays in San Francisco”. Naturally, our float was a giant blackjack table on wheels.
Our crew consisted of several boxers, a bachelorette party, a few brides, some male “dancers”, two playing cards, a security guard, and a tourist from London (guess who?).
The event started at 8am on Sunday, and we watched as the people with race numbers (i.e. the people who don’t understand that Bay to Breakers isn’t about running) took off down the street.
An hour or so later, we pushed our float out from the sidelines and started on our 5-mile journey to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
At a brisk speed of one mile an hour, we walked through San Francisco with thousands of other crazily-dressed people.
As we moved our float down the street, we staged several float-top boxing matches, a few blackjack games, and lots of random table dancing (hey, it’s Vegas!).
Making our way from SoMa to Hayes Valley and the Panhandle, we spotted groups of vikings, lifeguards, and Elvises, people wearing garbage cans, people wearing Mardi Gras beads, and people wearing nothing at all (yes, that’s a thing, too).
We saw the entire gang from Sesame Street, the whole cast from Baywatch, and a swarm of salmon swimming upstream.
We passed by pantless ‘boy’ scouts, a container ship crew, a group that had an actual speedboat on wheels, and a float with a giant seesaw that made mojitos.
We walked around the Cal bear, a shopping-cart-shaped sheep, and two petting zoos. We saw plenty of Bush n’ Cheney-in-prison-garb, Obama-4-Eva marchers, and a random assortment of other past (and future?) presidents.
We made it to Golden Gate Park in record time this year (just under 5 hours!), but still missed the cut-off for the Bay to Breakers finish line (maybe next year).
Following the crowds of float-toting walkers, we wove our way to 36th Street and made friends with some yachting yuppies while waiting for our ride home.
Bay to Breakers was a great way to kick off my week in San Francisco. If ever there was an event to remind me of the uniqueness of my home city, B2B is definitely it.
The day was a fun time to catch up with friends and see the city at its most festive, and it set the bar high for the rest of my adventures in California.
If you want a uniquely San Francisco experience, I highly recommend visiting during Bay to Breakers. It’s the ideal way to get into the city’s culture and have a good time doing it.
Find this post helpful? Buy me a coffee!
New here? Join thousands of others and subscribe to the A Lady in London blog via email.
Pin it!