7 Hours in the Bay

it wasn't so much of a travel as it was an outing but there are a few points that made me want to share.


the main idea was to go to sf for the 6th annual pillow fight on valentines day. drove a car full of people down after i got out of school.

a youtube video from the previous year was part of the encouragement:
skip to the one minute mark for the actual beginning


also from the previous year: areal view


it was raining a little this year so the turnout was nearly as good, but still hundreds and hundreds.



it was amazing. outside of the fact that it was incredibly fun running around for hours pillow fighting with hundreds the people, the vibe blew me away. with all those people, and with the aggressive nature of the game, i couldn't believe how easy going it was. i know we are talking about a pillow fight, but i still would have expected way more actual fights or confrontations, but almost everyone there had an amazing attitude.

it was at embarcadero square


most people there were probably between 16 and 28. i'd guess half guys half girls.

what really got me about all this was how grassroots it is.

it started with people spreading texts and social media messages, now its a known party.

-no organizers

-free

-everyone is welcome

-no sponsors, corporations, or profits

-loose rules as follows:
1) Tell everyone you know about PILLOW FIGHT!!!
2) Tell everyone you know about PILLOW FIGHT!!!
3) Wait for the Ferry Building clock to strike 6:00pm
4) Don't hit anyone without a pillow (unless they want it)
5) Don't hit anyone with a camera
6) HAVE FUN!!!

everything was self-regulated. if someone got hurt, people would stop and help them. if someone was getting ganged up on too hard, people would stop it, etc...

-crowd is pretty much limited to fun people. its kinda like hitchhiking or couchsurfing. if you are interested and participating in something like this, you're probably pretty cool. assholes and naysayers wouldn't bother to show up.



after a few hours when things were winding down we met another friend and got some good eats in berkely, then went hot tubbing in the rain for a few hours.

made it to bed by 4 and slept through my first class.





good times.