https://vimeo.com/69580857 Travel time from the mission: About 20-30 minutes on the bus, depends on how crowded the bus is. Ideal trip length: 5 hours. Nice to haves: a tolerance for groups of people with dogs. Directions: Take the 33 from 18th and Valencia and get off on Haight and Clayton, walk to Ashbury.
Today, a stroll down (upper) Haight is more of an exercise in consumerism and dodging tourists than anything else, but there's still something in the air--besides the smell of pot--that reminds you of its hippie history. I always get a little claustrophobic when I am over there, and I wonder what it would have been like had I been able to stroll 30 or 40 years ago. I probably would have felt the same, but maybe I would be a little less uptight about it.
Wander over sometime to experience what it's like today. It's so close if you live in the city, and worth a stop if you are in town for a visit.
Have you been to Haight-Ashbury? What did it remind you of?