In which I attend the greatest annual sporting event.

Hi family,

As you may have heard, Super Bowl 50 is being held in my new home! That’s right, this anniversary Super Bowl is a big deal right now and the city is either thoroughly enjoying all the increased tourism or despairing over the state of traffic, depending on who you’re talking to.

Downtown next to the Ferry Building, the roads have been blocked off for Super Bowl City — a sectioned off block full of food trucks, games, and a big glass box from which the sportscasters are reporting.

Security around the area is extra tight. The SFPD have officers in full SWAT gear roaming around, bomb-sniffing dogs on high-alert, and a metal-detector scan and bag check at the entrance.

It’s definitely a tourist trap, but it’s worth going through all the hubbub to get to the other side. Exit Super Bowl City and take a quick left, then walk a hundred feet to get to the best event of the year:

The Puppy Bowl!

While the actual Puppy Bowl that shows on Animal Planet during the Super Bowl broadcast is actually filmed in New York, they set up the Puppy Bowl Cafe outside the Ferry Building. On a little mock football field they let little adoptable puppies roam around with an emcee announcing their every move.

Sometimes they even pick up a pup and bring them around so you can pet them.

You can see a live-stream of the puppies here. I promise you they are adorable.

After leaving the land dogs, we went and saw the dogs of the sea. One of the big tourist attractions at Fisherman’s Wharf is the sea lions that call the dock their home. Honestly, I don’t know much about sea lions except that they’re probably the closest thing I have to a spirit animal. All they do is nap in the sun and eat. My kind of life.

From the dock, you have amazing views of the bay, including a great shot of Alcatraz Island, a former high-security prison-turned-educational-museum. I’ve never been, but I’d like to check it out sometime.

We ended the day at the North Beach Library, which makes the total count of libraries I’ve been to in the city at 3. Only 25 more branches to visit!

Love,

Bé Thư