Leaving San Fran

After a full day in San Francisco yesterday, we are getting ready to make the coast-to-coast trek again, this time eastbound. Yesterday we started off the day with a hike to Burnel Heights (pictured above). In the photo we are with three of our hosts here in San Francisco: Ariel, Andy and David Bowie. Burnel heights is a huge hill rising above the mission area of San Francisco, with beautiful 360 degree views of the Bay Area. We had previously noticed that this is a very dog-friendly city, but it was not until we came to this hill that we realized the extent. We saw over one hundred dogs during our 45 minute hike.

We then managed to find an American style deli in our neighborhood, a great relief from the delicious yet repetitive Mexican food. Next we rekindled our bus system expertise and ended up on a trolley that was originally a train car in Milan. Although we got on the wrong transportation system let alone route, we managed to make it in the right direction and found ourselves back in the massive Golden Gate Park. After wandering much deeper into the park than we had the day before, we set up camp in a field for some jogging/exercise. We feel that exercise will be one of the few ways for us to retain a morsel of sanity in this state of constant travel.
Next we got on a bus that took us up the west coast, all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, which we walked on but did not have time to walk across. We made our way through fisherman's wharf and back down to our temporary home where we showered and headed back out.




We rode the train to San Mateo where my Aunt Sally and Uncle Jim live, and Biff got to take a ride on a very interesting vessel. It was a Laser with a shallow water engine mounted on its rear. After Biff and Jim returned, it was too dark for me to go out, but now 50% of our goal to go on a boat is completed. We then had a fantastic homecooked spaghetti dinner, consisting of sauce made from Aunt Sally's homegrown tomatoes, with garlic bread and homegrown green beans on the side. In addition, we had some Mexican beers (Dos Equis Amber and Tecate) and red wine.
After our fantastic dinner we went back to the city and met up with another friend, Lulu Ford. She took us around her neighborhood, the Castro. Being the most homosexual neighborhood in San Francisco, it was an interesting scene. Next we went to yet another Mexican establishment, and had a beer. Then we headed home, content that we had absorbed all that is San Francisco culture in 48 hours.
Although we knew San Francisco was a laid back, liberal town, we were absolutely blown away by how laid back it was. We did not expect to see pot growing in window sills and being smoked in public like it was Woodstock. We also were very amazed by the relaxed attitude of everyone, with seemingly no rush to do anything. It truly seemed as though nobody has a job or any obligations. We both felt that it was an amazingly cool culture, but neither of us were sure if we could survive it long term.

Best local beer in San Francisco: Big Daddy IPA