san francisco bliss

finishing off my weekend at shoreline park where the sun is on my cheeks, the wind is cool, and the water is calm. boats are sailing by with ease and i'm looking across the water to the bay bridge. feels almost too perfect.

i'm here in san francisco for a medical appointment (which went very well by the way), but even better . . . to spend a long weekend with my girlfriend alethea. fortunately, she was able to fly in from utah and i'm so grateful. it was so nice to have this time with her. its been too long.

an overpriced, but delicious fruit stand at fisherman's wharf. i brought a mango home to alaska because i never could get my hands on a knife while i was there and it was so juicy and delicious that i wished i had bought more!

we stayed at a funky,cool hotel downtown just a couple of blocks from union square. we relaxed, wandered the city streets, went shopping, and found a great little bar for happy hour. we went there two of our three nights and both nights met interesting, fun people. there is such a friendly vibe in this city. and to my new friends . . . you were all such a nice surprise to the weekend. you are all welcome in alaska ANYTIME! Really.

susan and tim from ireland & ras from chicago

on one of our aimless drives on friday, we stumbled on a tiny, out of place cemetery. as we slowed to take a look at it, we noticed its uniqueness. we weren't sure if we liked it or if it creeped us out.

yesterday we rented bicycles and rode the bike path along the waterfront, over the golden gate bridge, and into sausalito.

it was windy, foggy, and cold by most people's standards, but i was loving it! maybe its coming from alaska, maybe its my extra insulation, maybe its just being naturally warm blooded . . . anyway it goes though, while everyone around me is in jackets and scarves, i'm good in just my tshirt. alethea must be as close to opposite to that as you can get. she was so cold the whole weekend.

i felt terrible on the bike ride because despite 5 layers, she was still shivering. she was a trooper though and braved it with a smile on her face. and the prize at the other side of the bridge was cute little sausalito, which was sunny and warm. a bit too hoity toity, but still very charming.

we wandered with the rest of the tourists looking at overpriced jewelry and various other san francisco garb. and we ended up having our best meal there at a nice little italian place. although we had planned to bike both ways, in light of how chilled alethea was, we opted for the ferry ride back.

on our way back to the bike rental shop we had one of the best parts of the ride. we weaved through quiet city streets amid towering buildings that sheltered the wind and just let pockets of sunshine in at a time. i think it must have been the business district which would explain the quiet streets on a saturday evening. there was something really great about being in that sort of scene.

after dropping the bikes we hopped on a trolley car (i just had to hold on to one of those side bars and ride around those hilly streets, such a damn tourist i am). we got off when we realized we were getting too far from where we thought we parked our car. we ended up walking around little italy and up and down various streets looking for something that was familiar to get back to our car. we obviously found it eventually, but i've got to say that i highly recommend not paying attention and allowing yourself to get lost. its such a good way to see the city. after we found the car, we took a quick trip down the crooked lombard street and then back to the hotel for a night in.

after i dropped lee off at the airport this morning, i went to berkeley to perouse a few thrift shops, and then again got lost trying to head to ocean beach. but, i stumbled on shoreline park (in oakland i think), which accomplished my goal of finding a place to sit on the water. so, here i am with a few hours with nothing to do but watch the boats go by.

sublime weekend, and now i'm looking forward to getting back to alaska. this coming weekend i'll be staying home for a change. going to see an outdoor concert, wilco, on saturday night with a bunch of friends. should be a blast!

time for a walk before i have to sit on a plane for 5 hours. i can't believe I just typed all this from my phone. ridiculous, but sorta cool too.