Sannnn Francisco!

After a restless night in the hills of California, I made the brief drive down to San Francisco. As I've noted before, San Francisco is easily my favorite city (at least of those I've visited before!) in the U.S. The city pulses with activity, culture, and ethnic diversity unlike any place that I've ever been before, and has always had such a positive effect on me. With this in mind, I decided to stay a couple days rather than just blowing through like I have previously on the trip.

My cousin Elizabeth's daughter, Amethyst, lives in San Fran and is the most worthy of tour guides. Although I didn't go to the typical sites (Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, etc...) I saw San Fran for the amazing city that it is. Amethyst lives in a beautiful area of the city called 'The Sunset', one of many gorgeous areas that SF has to offer. Sunset is mainly known for its proximity to the beach, which we took full advantage of straight away. After a quick walk on the beach, we headed back to her place to get ready for a night on the town. 

Our first night out was a great time, and certainly did not disappoint in any aspect of the word. After cruising a couple bars in the Mission, we headed down to a bar called Zeitgiest, a biker/hipster/whoever you are type of bar that makes S.F. what it is. We arrived and the place was crazy! Wall to wall packed with what we would discover were supporters of the 'Tamale Lady', a local cult classic food vendor, and a San Francisco staple for over a decade. Of course I had to try one, and it was absolutely epic! Easily the best tamale I had ever eaten. In addition, we met up with a friend from Omaha who was in S.F. for a couple nights sight seeing and such. We drank, smoked, and had a really excellent time.

Day 2 was just as exciting as the first, but with very different contents. Amethyst and I started the day by walking around Berkley, including the university campus as well as the surrounding area. After working up an appetite, we met up with her friend Matt for Thai food. The food was very good (sorry, no pics!) and very spicy -- Even asking for mild on most dishes resulted in some realllly hot food -- not that I'm complaining! After a nice afternoon in Berkley, we headed over to Oakland to catch a baseball game. We thrifted for some A's gear, and then headed over to the game. Although the A's didn't win, we had a great time, and it was a beautiful evening for America's past time.

Day 3 in the bay was slightly less eventful, but enjoyable none the less. Amethyst and I spent most of the morning looking around at schools in the bay area, and then we met up with another old friend of mine. Lauren, a friend from Omaha had moved back to the bay area about 4 years ago, and lives in the Marina area. Obviously this was a good opportunity to get down on the freshest seafood in country, so we decided to grab some sushi. We walked down to a place called Naked Fish, that had some brilliant sushi -- Incredibly fresh tasting, and delicious -- This was serious sushi! After having a delectable lunch and some intriguing conversation, we parted ways with Lauren and headed to the next destination.  

After a bit of running around, we headed over to Delila's (Amethyst's sister) for dinner. The main attraction at this destination was Delila, who is 8 3/4 months pregnant and about ready to burst! We had some pizza and salad with her and her husband Adam as well as a few others from their circle. The food was good, and after another long day, Amethyst and I retreated back to her place to get some Z's.

I awoke the next morning, packed my things, and regrettably left my happy place. I had planned to drive far into the desert of Nevada, but after traffic jams in S.F. and on the highway I ended up in Reno for the night. Tomorrow I hope to drive to southern Utah (Zion National Park) and camp for the night!

Alright blogosphere, you are officially caught up on my goings on! Again, my apologies for my extended absence, but as you may garner, I was too busy having a good time (and no Internet)! More to come soon.

A.S. Bloom

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