California, here I come.

My friend Rachel, from high school, got married in Placerville, California a few weekends ago. I flew into Sacramento and drove there, about half an hour east. If you ever get a chance to go to Placerville… don’t. It’s not very exciting. It’s an old gold mining town that hasn’t changed much since then. The one bar downtown was tended by a girl that was pregnant… as in 2 weeks from her due date pregnant.

The wedding was cool and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. We were less than an hour from Lake Tahoe, although we didn’t get to go. Napa Valley was also fairly close, but again no time.

Rather than sit around in an old gold mining town that looked like it hadn’t changed since 1849, Josh and I decided to go to San Francisco to see the sights. We both had an extra day to waste, so we figured why not? I could hook us up with a free hotel room through my Marriott points, so it was pretty much a no brainer. Neither of us had been there, and we only had 12 hours or so to explore.

We got into the city after noon, and went right to the wharf. We walked around to the different piers and had lunch at a little hole in the wall – crab salad sandwiches. The most interesting thing down there, besides the view of the bay, were the street performers. There were a few guys acting like robots, a few acting (or being) crazy, break dancers, a violinist, a steel drum band, among others.

After getting our fill down there, we drove up the hills into Golden Gate Park. Contrary to logic, the bridge isn’t there. It was a really cool park though, and a lot different from Piedmont in Atlanta. There weren’t a lot of wide open spaces, and a road cut right through the middle. We didn’t get out to explore, but it looked as if there were a lot of walking trails.

We made our way to the bridge via Baker Beach. The wind was gusty but the view was great. We hiked a short trail down to the beach and were surprised by two nude sunbathers. Don’t get too excited, they were both old and male. Josh got to touch the Pacific for the first time and we took a bunch of pictures down by the rocks with the bridge in the background.

From there we went to Haight Ashbury per Josh’s request. I had never even heard of it, but apparently this is where the hippy movement started. It was definitely a unique area in the city. Tie dye – everywhere.

By that time it was after 6:00 and we were both hungry, so we went downtown to check into the hotel and get something to eat. Luckily we were close to Chinatown, and ate at a place called R&G Lounge, as recommended by Yelp. It seemed very like a few of the restaurants I ate at in Chinatown, NY.

After that we hit up the bars. We found out that the Mission District is a cool and up and coming area, so we went there. After a going into a few random places, we met a few other out-of-towners and tagged along with them to places in the area. Each bar only took cash, which was different, but they were all smoke free – that made me very happy.

We got home around 2 am and had to be up early to drive back to Sacramento for our flights back east. All in all, I had a good time. There is definitely more to do in the city though. I didn’t even look into the museums, but I assume there are some good ones. We didn’t go up to Coit Tower, visit the parks, cross the bridge into Saulsalito, do anything in Oakland, visit Castro (though it’s the gay part of town, I think it would still be worth seeing).

Take me back, and soon!

Pics from the trip.

Only Fools Rush In

I knew when I met you that I was in trouble
Head over heels in less than a week
If I could imagine the perfect girl
She would be you

Your beauty inside and out
Intimidates me, mesmerizes me, draws me in
I have tasted loved before, but this is sweeter
You are everything I've ever wanted

You couldn't see it at first
But my past follows me like a shadow
And all you want to do is live in the sunlight
It's where you belong

Only fools like me rush in, you're much more guarded
I just pray for a chance
Happiness is almost within grasp
If you'll just look forward