Top SF Realtor POV: City Living 2020-21

by Shelly Sutherland

reading time: 1 minute

Shelly Sutherland is a top San Francisco Realtor who has partnered with buyers and sellers of residential property for nearly 25 years. Explore her website at ShellySutherland.com.

Never before have I considered bocce ball or horseshoes to be a highlight on my social calendar.

Nowadays, I get giddy when planning, organizing and motivating friends to meet at the new bocce courts or the very old horseshoe courts, all in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The park is looking amazing, thanks to my city’s understanding its citizens’ need to congregate and socialize. The walk through the madrone grove near the horseshoe court is an added benefit when you’re all tossed-out from throwing those shoes!

Then there’s the new tennis AND pickleball courts that will soon be opening, in Golden Gate Park. As a former competitive sand volleyball player, never in a million years would I have thought I’d be excited to play pickleball. Yet here I am – plotting for my world tour launch on those courts. I thought the game was just for seniors, but this is truly not the case. All ages play pickleball and everyone is really welcoming (unlike in the volleyball world).

These activities lure me out of the house and out of my comfy “home attire” (translation: sweats). Yet open-air venues are still not the places for showing off your latest shoes or glam new blouse. I just bought a beautiful ring and can only wear it around my house. And I put on makeup for a Zoom call the other day and my eye became swollen since the product was out-of-date. I didn’t know makeup could expire!

Urban hikes, picnicking, social games, meeting a friend at a park bench, gardening and so much more – these are the new San Francisco experiences. I have adapted. But don’t get me wrong: As soon as the bars and nightclubs and art galleries open, no more horseshoeing for me.