Best of 2000: Best Sidewalk Pastime

This you play heads-down because ...

This you play heads-down because you're looking for something. You're an archaeologist of the fourth millennium, and you're looking for signs dating this coastal town they called San Diego. Ah! At around 4648 North Avenue, you see this imprint in the ancient concrete. "De Boer & Johnston, 9/10." De Boer and Johnston must have laid down this actual piece of sidewalk in September 1910. But wait -- now you're in Coronado, walking where Ocean Boulevard meets Loma. Your feet scrape and reveal the imprint "J. F. Over, contractor, 1898." Huh! You have to stand and ponder. What famous feet have actually walked over Over's concrete since he poured it? Teddy Roosevelt's? The Prince of Wales's? Charles Lindbergh's? Your own great grandma's? Be warned. This search for the oldest sidewalk imprint can take over your life. You'll be banging into lampposts, bus stops, and little old ladies, so wear a helmet. Eighteen ninety-eight is the year to beat.