Sunday, June 29, 2025
Pride Sunday. Patrick had a family emergency to attend to, so I went to Above It All at Charmaine's by myself. DJ Hawthorne did his usual fantastic job spinning the tunes. I encountered Suzan, Tim, East Bay Steven, Lizzi, Leo, Andrew, Valter, and more whose names I forgot. Paul arrived early and snagged great seating on the east side of the building, bringing Jeff C and David M along for the ride. Patrick joined us after a while. We snacked on fish tacos, beef sliders, french fries, and more. Wait staff were frequently confused about whether we could order from our couch even after we had done so many times. When food was brought to us, it was never with any napkins. But these are minor quibbles. We had a great time enjoying the sun and sounds and watching the parade from above. Afterwards Patrick and I walked around the Pride festival at Civic Center, then walked to Hayes Valley for ice cream at Salt and Straw. Patrick had a double scoop of (we can't remember the name) gooey chocolate brownie and coffee with candied nuts. After that, we walked to Whole Foods on Market Street for groceries, then returned home on the F Market bus. Patrick and I returned home and rested. I realized I got a bit more sun than I had expected. My arms had darkened significantly, but there was no actual sunburn. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared basil and ricotta ravioli (deli) with marinara (jar) with fresh basil. Later I joined Paul for barhopping. We had intended to go to The Mix, but the line was too long. Instead we went to Midnight Sun where we encountered Mark H, Tommy (who tended bar at the speakeasy at The Academy), and Sonny (Class of 2011). Then Paul and I went to Last Call where we met Petey and Irwin. Then we went to Moby Dick where we met Raymond and Justin. Afterwards Paul went home and I got a veggie pizza slice at Oz before going home and to bed.