San Antonio makes my list of favorite American cities

We’re driving home from San Antonio, not knowing if we’ll be back for a Game 5. It’s never sad to leave a city you have no use for. But that doesn’t describe San Antonio. I love San Antone. Hope to be back soon, if not for the Thunder’s sake, at least for mine.

I was sitting in the media dining room before Game 2 Tuesday night, chatting with Thunder PR whiz Michael Ravina, and learned that Ravina is from the Bay Area. Which meant, of course, that I had to tell him how much I love San Francisco.

I talked about Alcatraz and Coit Tower and Ghirardelli Square and the cable cars and boat trips around the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf. I told him that I even went to Golden Gate Park once and saw Kezar Stadium, where the 49ers played from 1946 through 1970.

Ravina got a funny look on his face. We were sitting at a round table with some Spurs PR employees. Ravina pointed at a fellow with a “Jeff” on his nametag. Jeff Kezar. A descendant of Mary Kezar, whose estate funded the building of Kezar Stadium in 1925.

Wild. Totally wild. I mention an antiquated stadium that almost half a century ago lost the tenant that supplied its identity, a stadium that most Americans never have heard of and I think of mainly because the name is totally cool and I’m a history geek. I mention Kezar Stadium once every 10 years, and when I do, Mr. Jeff Kezar is sitting at my table. If we could only harness this telepathic power, we could rule the universe. That X-Men stuff is not 100 percent fantasy.

Anyway, four days in San Antonio, plus talk of San Francisco, got me to thinking. What are my favorite American cities to visit? I thought I’d trot out my top 10 list.

1. New York City: I wanted to put San Francisco here, but the truth is, New York just feels different. Unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’m not talking about the sights or the sounds. I’m talking about the feeling of walking the streets of Manhattan.

2. San Francisco: I’m sure I mentioned this once in a blog, but I once visited San Francisco while reading a novel set in old San Francisco. Totally surreal.

3. Chicago: I love downtown and the Magnificent Mile and the museums and Wrigley Field. But my favorite thing to do is walk through the neighborhoods and sample the food. Except sample really doesn’t describe it. I gorge. Greektown is my favorite neighborhood, though Giordano’s pizza is my favorite stop.

4. Seattle: Love Seattle. Pike Place Market, all the water, the weather. I never get enough of Seattle.

5. San Antonio: Here’s what we did this trip. Ate at a bunch of hole-in-the-wall places. Big Bob’s Burgers was my favorite. Taco Taco was good, too. Dinner on the Riverwalk was good, but the dives were even better. Great architecture, too.