Now I Know What Tony is Talking About

It's no wonder Tony left his heart in San Francisco, this is a beautiful city. I've had a lot of fun the past few days exploring the city. There's so much to see, I love it!

When I left off last time, I was writing my blog in the lounge. When I finished, I just happened to glance over and who did I see?? Yep, Peter and Phillip. It's really quite strange running into these people, they were as shocked as I was. They got in the day before and just happened upon this hostel. So, back to not being alone. That evening we went out together to get some dinner and drinks. We ate at a fantastic Italian restaurant, Trattoria Volare. It was delicious, Phillip said it was as good as any food he has eaten in Italy. After dinner, we made our way down the street and decided to go into this club for some cocktails. It was a nice little club/restaurant and everyone was out since they were off the next day. Late in the evening, I was walking out of the restroom and I couldn't believe my eyes, I saw Ben and Sophie. They are from Switzerland and I met them in San Diego. Out of all the clubs, bars, restaurants, etc. in San Francisco, what are the odds that I would randomly run it to them. It's quite strange. We ended up closing the place down. Needless to say, we caught a cab home.

Wednesday, July 4th, I spent the day seeing some of the city. I got on my bike and rode all around. San Francisco is a great city for bikers, lots of trails and bike lanes on the roads. The first thing I wanted to do was bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. Wow, I wasn't expecting the wind that was up there. It was extremely windy, but it was worth it. I then made my way around the bay. It was packed with people everywhere around the bay. The beaches were full, the parks were full, the streets around Fisherman's Wharf were full; it was a great day to people watch. I eventually made it to AT&T Park. I tried to get in and get some pics, but the people working the media gate were less than friendly. I had to settle for some shots of the outside. I made my way back to the hostel where I was going to meet the guys and go watch the fireworks. It's only about a 5 minute walk to the pier where they were having them, they were beautiful. We were all tired from the night before and my big ride I did all day, so we decided to retire early that night. I got back to the hostel and was going to update my blog until I fell asleep. Yes, I did the patented fall asleep sitting up on the couch trick. I woke up to this kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I figured I better just put the computer up and do it later.

Yesterday, I got up fresh and ready to see more of the city. Peter and Phillip had to leave, so we went and had lunch together in Chinatown. It was good food, I don't know if it's better than the Orient Wok Chop Suey in Glen Carbon though. We walked around Chinatown for a bit and then we parted ways. They are headed up north, I may run into them again?? I made my way to downtown and then caught the bus to the Haight district. What a cool section of town, you could almost feel the 60's vibe. I made my way to Golden Gate Park and checked that out. There were lots of people in the park enjoying the sun and taking in some extra-curricular activities. I of course had to find a spot in the sun and take it all in as well. The park is huge, I got a little lost and did a lot of walking before I found my way out. Last night, I went to the North Beach neighborhood and got some dinner. I met up with Ben and Sophie at their hostel and we hung out for awhile. They are headed to Seattle, Vancouver and then Jamaica. It was really good seeing them again, they are very nice people. It sometimes sucks knowing you'll probably never see these people again in your life. I know I've only known them for a few weeks now, but I do feel like we're friends.

Today, I have to check out of the hostel. I'm spending the evening with Cory Dagner, this should be fun. He lives in Martinez, a suburb of the city. I'll probably leave there tomorrow and head north to the Redwood National Forest. Maybe do a little more camping, I don't have any plans. I should be in Portland by early/mid next week.

I hope this finds everyone doing well. I think all the pictures are updated. Sorry about so many Yosemite pics, I just couldn't narrow it down anymore. Believe it or not, I actually have more.

Have a great weekend!

Dough