When thinking about climate in San Francisco our minds are usually nowhere near as foggy as the layer of of clouds that typifies what we know of the West Bay’s peninsula city. Temperatures in the mid 50s up to the low 70s are the typical highs throughout the year. When visiting the city in late August I was filled with joy in belief that I would get to wear jeans and a hoodie with brisk, mild days. But leave it to me to get the great misfortune of strolling into town and getting to experience a couple of the hottest days on record in the City by the Bay.

Our first couple days were absolutely on point to what we expected from San Francisco’s weather, mid to high 60s during the day and low 50s at night. But as the week went on the mercury began rising. Soon days were in the 80s and by Friday and Saturday the upper 90s — even pushing 100. These types of temperatures are not something new to me. South Florida has gotten me more than acquainted with sweaty days outside but the fact that nearly no building in the city have air conditioning made this heat spell just a tad uncomfortable.

Carrying around bottles of water —  and constantly refilling them — was an absolute must. You would judge the best side of the road to walk down based off of shadows from the buildings. You would stop into a stuffy dive bar, that would have every fan turned up to it’s “holy shit this is hot” setting trying to make for more comfort, and order a cold drink only to be on your way after that one. You’re sweaty. You’re tired. You’re feet are burnt from an ill thought of run on the beach. This sounds like utter misery but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world. Continue reading…