St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

This weekend the sky was blue and the SOMA was feeling green.
Well, they were headed to the parade at the civic center but people were insanely spirited.

I grabbed lunch at Brainwash, mostly so I could people watch from the windows. I was not disappointed.

Green of all shades pranced by, often with coordinated group outfits. They even had special vendors wandering with shamrock headbands and green and white stripped hats.

A gaggle of old women laughed and snapped pictures in their newly purchased finds, and for that second their happiness became my own.

Girls with neon green tops and black shorts with tall white socks moved like a school of fish to Market street.

Leave it to San Francisco to take an Irish holiday to the extreme, with green beer and street parties and it isn't even the official holiday yet!

All the shops and bars had shamrocks in their planters and tried hard to capitalize on something the Irish don't even pay attention to. And being raised catholic, I always asked the priest what leprechauns have anything to do with ridding the snakes from Ireland.

But Americans love an opportunity to drink.