Urban hiking runs in the family

"Urban hiking."

When I asked Sophie if she had any hobbies, she answered, "Urban hiking."

After Dina an I spent Labor Day Weekend with her and Chloe, we all partook in the ole pastime of urban hiking and had a blast. Is there any better way to truly see a city than to hit the streets and walk?

We devoted two full days to hitting the streets of San Francisco. We had dabbled in S.F. the past few years and did some cool stuff with visits to SFMOMA and Chinatown leading the charge. However, this past visit, we took our adventuring to the next level by hitting up various parts of town and constantly walking and doing some touristy hipster stuff.

Sophie is quite the adventurer. She sees EDM shows throughout the Bay Area and doesn't bat an eye with traveling to San Jose or Palo Alto. She's a public transportation aficionado, and when Dina and I visited, we had a car. We had wild accessibility to S.F.

Any good traveler likely realizes that the best way to see a city is on foot. It's good to know my daughters already are good travelers as they have an entire world to see.

Before I go any further, I must reiterate "I'm an East Bay guy." Cousin Clyde grew up in downtown Oakland, and I find the vibe in the East Bay much chiller and less tech-bro heavy than other parts of the Bay. Plus, the weather is better in the East Bay. Also, let me point out that Chloe is an adventurer as well, but Sophie truly, truly explores with urban hiking.

In the summer of '94, before my senior year in college, I spent a week in S.F. More than 30 years later, it's interesting to see how the city has changed. It's richer, more gentrified. It's idyllic in certain parts and oozes charm. It's kind of the opposite of some parts of downtown L.A. that are overrun by homeless and feel like a dystopia.

Back in '94, the attitude I had was "aw, man, San Francisco really sold out. What happened to the peace, love and hippies?" The funny thing is that premise was a myth and ridiculous from the onset. I wish I had read Joan Didion's Slouching Toward Bethlehem before then because I might have seen the truth of Haight-Ashbury and the reality of the so-called hippie movement.

Nonetheless, walking around Haight-Ashbury probably was my favorite part of urban hiking. Sophie loved it too. Shockingly, she said, "I've never been here. I didn't even know it existed. I'll be coming back. For sure."

Perhaps we Stevenses have an affinity for countercultures — or at least Sophie and I do. But Chloe pointed out that maybe I just loved the Haight-Ashbury experience so much because a passer-by overheard a joke of mine and laughed hysterically at: "Oh thank god, finally, a smoke shop!"

The original Ben & Jerry's stands on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, and it was fitting that the district's stretch now ends with a Whole Foods. What could possibly signal gentrification more than that? While Didion wrote that teenage runaways and drug addicts filled Haight-Ashbury in the '60s, now I say it's riddled with trust-fund yoga instructors.

Sophie suggested visiting Twin Peaks, and with her recommendation, we drove up to Christmas Tree Point and witnessed a breathtaking view that gave me chills. Wow! The wind pelted us so hard up there that I felt a silly moment of fright. What if we were blown off of Christmas Tree Point and into the mar?

With Chloe living in her first apartment as a sophomore and Sophie a senior, I feel I'm in a good spot with these two Cal gals. I feel close with them but am trying to give them proper space to explore and be themselves. A whole world is out there to explore, and you can't go wrong with urban hiking.

I believe my uncle and my cousin, the World's Most Dependable and/or the World's Most Sophisticated Man, every so often have done mega-walks through the streets of Cleveland. Chloe has a plan for her and me to start a walk in Newport Beach and end in Long Beach. 

When I lived in New York City for three years, I hit the streets on foot constantly throughout Manhattan and even Brooklyn and Queens. Perhaps there's a reason why I was mesmerized by the 2018 documentary The World Before Your Feet about a guy who walks every square foot of New York City.

We Stevenses want to get out there and explore. You really can only do that on foot.