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15 Reasons San Francisco's Fog Is Actually Awesome

15 Reasons San Francisco's Fog Is Actually Awesome

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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Sunny California? That’s funny.

You wouldn’t know it from "Full House" or "Mrs. Doubtfire," but San Francisco is not a particularly warm place. In fact, the city experiences a special summertime fog caused by hot air rising in the Central Valley, forcing a rush of cold air and fog through the Golden Gate passageway. Yep, hot temperatures inland make it foggy in The City. But when has San Francisco ever bothered to be like everywhere else?

While there are plenty of reasons to resent the city’s relentless gray passenger -- ski jackets on the beach, perpetually frizzy hair, never being able to see a solar eclipse -- we think it’s time to embrace the inevitability of June, July and Fogust. So tourists, grin and bear that Fisherman’s Wharf sweatshirt you had to buy, and remember the following reasons why what you’re experiencing is actually awesome.

1
The fog’s name is Karl, and he operates the best inanimate social media presence on the Internet.
Flickr:dsearls
The only thing he loves more than a good fog pun is a dirty fog joke.
2
Sometimes he's a bit of a showoff.
Flickr:jdtornow
3
But he tends to play favorites with certain neighborhoods.
Flickr:urbanists
So you can watch him do his thing from the sidelines.
4
The fog has inspired a special vaporized beer.
What other weather pattern can say it’s gotten you buzzed?
5
The way it dreamily drifts through the hollows of the Golden Gate Bridge? It’s downright sexy.
Flickr:Dimitry B
6
And when it swaddles the bridge in a fluffy fog blanket at bedtime, all feels right in the world.
Flickr:D.H. Parks
7
Cozying up in the fog at Outside Lands is way better than getting scorched by the sun at Coachella.
Flickr:Ivette Diaz
8
When you look down and see the city is literally inside a cloud, you can’t help but feel like it's a magical kingdom in the sky.
Flickr:D.H. Parks
9
Cue similar feelings when the fog wafts through the urban forests.
Flickr:skippyjon
Are we in Narnia?
10
Back when the Giants played at Candlestick, you got an actual badge of honor called the Croix de Candlestick for making it through extra innings -- partly because of the fog.
Flickr:Blake Bolinger
11
It inspires breathtaking works of art, like this two-year fog time-lapse video.

Adrift from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

12
And provides a mysterious, gloomy atmosphere perfect for writers and poets.
Flickr:OKViydo
"I never tire of the fog," San Francisco poet August Kleinzahler told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I find it consoling, like the rain. It is another layer between me and the world. The light is softer. Sounds are muffled. It pushes one inward."
13
It has Alcatraz as a speed bump.
Getty Images
14
Yes, it causes crazy delays at SFO...
Flickr:angeloangelo
...but it gives you an excuse to enjoy America's best airport's unparalleled amenities, including a yoga room and a museum.
15
It's not the California you see on TV.
Flickr:seligmanwaite
But fog -- just like all the other unpredictable things in this city that leave outsiders scratching their heads -- is something San Franciscans are proud of.

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