The San Francisco Tenderloin…hmmmm

Scott and I flew up to San Francisco last weekend with another couple, our 24 year old daughter and her girlfriend for the music festival, Outside Lands. Since we were covering the tab for our daughter’s hotel room as well as our own, we opted for a more economical choice and we decided to stay at the #1 “hipster hotel” in the city, The Phoenix. As we approached The Phoenix around 10:00 PM in our rental car van, my daughter said the “neighborhood looked sketchy.” I googled “the Tenderloin neighborhood” and found that it was in fact the #1 most crime ridden spot in the city. In addition, each intersection in the Tenderloin was known for a particular type of drug sale. Our new hotel was 2 blocks from the “prescription drug sale” corner and 4 blocks from the “crack sale” corner. Nice. Once we checked in and got settled, we had about 15 minutes of down time before the “club” at the hotel started up. The club was a techno lounge situated around the pool area. By the way, all the rooms were situated around the pool area too; think 2-story 1950’s motel converted into exact same 2-story “hip” hotel. What to do? We popped in some ear plugs, took sleeping pills, and managed to sleep.

For the next 3 days, we danced, drank, and ate our way through Golden Gate Park. The temperature was frigid but I was prepared this year with my long underwear and my down jacket. Best bands? The Killers, Tom Petty, John Butler Trio, Holy Ghost, Chromeo, Jenny Lewis, & Death Cab for Cutie.

Of Course my daughter invited her friends to the hipster hotel to party at the pool in the evenings after the festival ended. When the drinks turned out to be too expensive, they decided to go to the liquor store across the street. That meant going into the Tenderloin, however, which we had advised them not to do. They ventured out, dressed appropriately in their opinions, and made the journey.

Music Festival; Fame 101

Elton John, Sam Smith, And Me In The Woods