"We don't do fast food here"

So, our days on the West Coast being numbered, Tiffany and I decided to book it to San Francisco just to see it last week. I have long heard it is just a beautiful city and that Northern California is nothing like Southern California. Until last week I had no idea how true that was. Here is quick run down on the trip. I will try to avoid the typical, chronological accounts as that can get tedious for anyone not on the trip.

I have a Jeep now and this trip was the perfect chance to take the top off for a road trip. We planned on doing the Pacific Coast Highway all the way. Due to the hour we left and cooler temperatures on the coast, not only did the top stay on, but also the doors came back on when we ran out of clothes to throw on. Travel in a Jeep means very little can be packed unless you want to take it into every rest-stop with you. The drive was blanketed in low clouds, cooler temps and gorgeous views. Awsome.

We hit our hotel and immediately drove into the city to explore. Seems ever since England, I don't like to waste much time before exploring a new town. Funny that. I drove, Tiff navigated. That took us into the North Beach area where we found delicious pizza and salads. We found our way home happy and giddy.

Our foot travels through the city took us all over town the next day. You hear about the hills, but they really do stun you when you find yourself driving down them. I am so glad the Metro was not my ride of choice here. We saw everything and even got to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. It really is impressive. We met one of Tiff's old college friends for dinner, an artist named Lora. She was fun and very hospitable. She took us on foot to the Mission district to get food. On the way she pointed out that they "don't do fast food here." Sure enough there was a shocking low amount of chains there, even Starbucks. We walked all over after another amazing vegetarian, Vietnamese dinner. I was fascinated that Lora didn't have a car, was attempting to live off of her art, and so content with the city around her.

The next day was mostly neighborhood hopping...Haight and Asbury, Castro, more North Beach. I bought Howl at City Lit (the only place to originally publish Ginsberg's famous poem) and a couple top notch Cafe Fantasia's at Cafe Trieste. I won't lie either, I bought The Rock at Amoeba Records (used) to watch on my laptop later.

All in all, it was an amazing trip and an amazing city. Very inspiring. It stunned me that it was cool enough there to require hoodies and jackets in July. Some would hate that (please don't comment just to tell me), but I call it Heaven! I look forward to my next trip, whenever that will be.

Just do yourself a favor though before you go. Watch Eddie Izzard's Glorious first. You'll be glad you did. Oh, and for those still keeping track... I'm officially at 3 months smoke-free! Unbelievable...