HIKING & OUTDOOR RECREATION

If you close your eyes half way, you can almost imagine that the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets is still headquarters to the hippie movement during the Summer of Love in 1967. People fill the streets dressed in their bell-bottoms, tie-dyed shirts and love beads. On cooler days, which aren't uncommon in San Francisco, the flower children don their suede jackets draped with fringe. Even moccasins are still seen. Fingers are cramped into permanent peace signs from constant use.

But when you open your eyes you realize that much has happened in the Haight-Ashbury district since the '60s. Nixon came and went. Ronald Reagan took one for The Gipper. The computer age has taken us all hostage, and maybe most surprisingly for San Franciscans, the 49ers have become a true phenomenon in the world of football.

Still, through all the change, "the Haight" as the yuppies call it, has managed to keep its tradition while almost acknowledging current trends. The Haight is a wonderful place for the adventurous. With its many boutiques, galleries and eating establishments, the Haight has become a contender in the shopping world of San Francisco.

The streets are lined with all sorts of shops. The merchandise sold in these stores ranges from beautifully beaded sweaters and trendy shoes, to antique housewares and clothing, to holograph art and unique prints. Each store offers something different from anything else on Haight Street.

Eating establishments follow a likewise pattern. They are similar in decor and locale but unique in the foods they serve and the decade they promote. Some cafes look like they have been in business since the '60s (some of them have) and some are very contemporary both in the food they serve and the method of preparation. In tune with San Francisco tradition, there are foods from several different countries, everything from fresh bagels with vegetable cream cheese to chicken jumbalaya served over rice.

Several must-see landmarks make this area one stop not to be forgotten when visiting the city. The Victorians are magnificent. Many of them have been renovated, and they make a walk around the neighborhood a pleasant one (unlike other neighborhoods, this one has few hills). An interesting one to point out is the house at 710 Ashbury where the members of The Grateful Dead lived in the '60s.

558 Clayton Street still houses the first free medical clinic opened in the United States. The Drogstore at 1398 Haight St., previously named The Drugstore, was forced to change because the police would not tolerate such a name.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Haight is the people. The streets are populated with one of the most diverse crowds in the city; not only people of all cultures, but people of all social, economic and political backgrounds as well. It's not uncommon to see a Vietnam veteran crossing the street alongside a punk-rocker and a family on vacation wearing Alcatraz T-shirts.

Political activists can be encountered expressing their points on the street corner, and on the opposite corner a scientist will show you the spots on the sun through his solar telescope.

On the next block, a nice man will recite to you some unique-to-the-Haight poetry written during the '60s. Demonstrating his entrepreneurial style that is so characteristic of today, he will also try to sell it to you.

Maybe the most intriguing part about the Haight is the concern for the environment that is felt all over that part of the city, which is a product of the old views as well as the new. That consciousness is timeless.