SAN FRANCISCO TRIP

++ SAN FRANCISCO TRIP

The left coast was great!

I left Friday morning from Dayton at 5.30am and flew in at 11.30am. We pretty much just went to outdoor stores (REI and AnyMountain) and went to Bay Street over in Berkeley.

Saturday we went bouldering down at Castle Rock State Park (about an hour and a half south), then went to Palo Alto (Stanford is there) and walked around downtown and ate. Palo Alto is filled with smart and rich people. I wouldn’t say beautiful people. but well dressed and they hold themselves well. Saturday night we met up with most of the college people out there, 8 or 9 of them. It was good to see all of them, briefly, but just the right amount of time.

Sunday one of our friends took us down to the Lin De Mar, down in Pacifica (about 45 minutes south), Pacifica is just south of Daly City which is just south of San Francisco. We went surfing out there for pretty much the entire morning and half of the afternoon. It was awesome! A little cold at first (even with the wetsuit), but you warm up, and the sun even came out! I’d have to say that was the most all body just exhausted I’ve been in a really long time. I’d equate it to maybe the first time I’d ever gone snowboarding. Later that evening we went up to Tiburon (just north of Sausalito, which is just north of san Francisco, across the golden gate, up in marin county) we ate at this little place called Guaymas. We met up with two other friends for dinner who I hadn’t seen yet. so we’re standing in line waiting to be seated and all three of them turn to me and say, ‘that’s george lucas!’ but with a quiet exclamation point. so I turn and blankly, rudely, (blatantly) just stare at this guy standing no more than 5 feet away from me. graying hair. beard. no taller than me. wife. daughter. little kid with a star wars t-shirt running around. I look back to my friends, ‘that’s not him. there’s no way that could be george lucas.’ he continues to wait in line. we go get seated. seafood dinner was amazing. sure enough I get back to heather’s place, do a google image search for george lucas and there are 10,000 hits of george lucas staring me in the face. it was him! ghiradelli ice cream after dinner topped it off.

Monday we went down to fort funston (far southwest side of SF, about a 3 minute drive from daly city) and watched hang-gliders go jump off a 150 foot cliff over a beach. that sport seems nuts to me. I want to try it! we watched them zip back and forth for a while. a walk on the beach. we watched people flying radio controlled airplanes around for a while. (that also seems like something that would be fun to do.) then it over to the beach chalet for lunch/dinner. seafood was good there as well, not quite as good as guaymas though. view was just as nice though. back to the city to walk around downtown one last time. a stroll through the newly renovated ferry building and then we met up with samee for another go at ghiradelli ice cream on the go. (about 5 minutes before I had to leave for the airport he arrive in the city. he had just gotten back from LA.) literally he came running across the street. we said hi and walked straight into the ice cream shop. ordered. then the three of us started walking (ice cream cone in hand) to heather’s to pick up her car. dropped samee off at his place, then to the airport. flight left at 10pm. red-eye. atalanta at 5am. 3 hours of waiting. never seems so long as it does at 5 in the morning. 8am flight. Dayton at 9.30am. and in to work at 10.30am.

it’s weird. every time I go back to SF it feels like home. sort of. you know, after you’ve lived someplace for 6 months, you are used to it. I already know the area. I don’t need to be entertained. I’m just there doing the local stuff. falling back into a routine. or checking out all the odd-off the beaten path (non-touristy) stuff. (That doesn't mean I'm going to move there. Don't get the wrong idea. You know who you are that I'm directing that comment to. I've just been there a lot times and so I feel comfortable.)

next trip, Taiwan in the beginning of December…++