“Your journey has molded  
you for your greater good,  
and it was exactly  
what it needed to be.” 
Aysha Tyson 

I am often asked why I go to San Francisco so often. I’m never quite sure how to answer the question, because there are so many different reasons I enjoy spending time in The City. The most obvious, I guess, is that it is my birthplace. From birth to the age of 18, I lived in The Sunset District on 38th Avenue between Vicente and Wawona Streets. 

I attended preschool (“Tiny Tots”) at South Sunset Playground at 40th & Vicente, kindergarten at Ulloa Annex at 38th & Ulloa, and grades one through eight at Saint Gabriel School at 41st & Ulloa. I graduated high school at Saint Ignatius College Prep at 37th & Pacheco. 

In my early years, when I was old enough to ride my bike around the neighborhood, my mother informed me that my boundaries were Sloat Boulevard to the south, the Great Highway to the west, Sunset Boulevard to the east, and Lincoln Way to the north. That rectangle of civilization is, for the most part, where I spent my formative years.   

I moved away from The Sunset District to attend college in the South Bay. That was in August of 1972. Although that was more than fifty years ago, I have vivid memories of many of the people and experiences I encountered during that time of my life. I feel a tremendous sense of peace revisiting the neighborhood.

I have also reconnected with old friends and met a number of new friends who grew up in, or currently live in, The Sunset District. Two of my favorite hang-out spots in The City are the two Java Beach Café locations, the original at the corner of Judah & LaPlaya, the other at 45th & Sloat. Each has a different vibe, but both are places I feel very much at home. Almost without fail, at either location, I run into someone I know, someone I knew years ago, someone with whom I have a mutual friend, or someone who went to one of the schools I attended. On some visits to The City, I enjoy an early-morning breakfast at Java Beach on Judah and interact with others hanging out there. Then I walk along Sunset Dunes Park (the old Great Highway) to the Java Beach on Sloat for lunch. On other visits, I simply reverse the order. I always have a book with me, just in case I don’t have the opportunity to engage in conversation with others. Java Beach is like my home away from home. 

I mentioned Sunset Dunes Park. From Sloat Boulevard to Lincoln Way, it’s a comfortable two-mile walk along the Pacific Ocean. The fresh ocean air, the views of the water and Mount Tamalpias to the north, and the friendliness of most park users makes the experience one I look forward to every visit. 

When I drive to The City, I usually park my car at the center median on Sloat at 45th, directly across from Java Beach. It’s free parking all day and it’s in a high-visibility area, so the car tends to be safe there. When I take the train to San Francisco, I walk across the street from the CalTrain station at 4th & King and hop on the “N” Judah streetcar. That particular location, on the center median, is the first stop for the westbound “N” car. Then I sit back and enjoy a ride across The City to the last stop at 48th & Judah, one short block from Java Beach. It doesn’t get more convenient than that. 

Of course, I don’t always limit my City visits to The Sunset District. I also enjoy walking along the Embarcadero, through the Marina, around Noe Valley and Glen Park, and through Golden Gate Park. So many options!

One of my favorite experiences in The City now is watching the sun descend upon the horizon from Ocean Beach. I grew up a mere ten blocks from the beach, yet rarely, if ever, did I take the time or make an effort to go down there to enjoy a sunset. Only as I began to consciously embrace gratitude in my life did I realize that the beauty of a sunset exists only when we make an effort to enjoy it as a moment of wonder and awe.

Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins said it best when he wrote, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”