Mishmash

I've come to the conclusion that I really enjoy traveling.
Maybe it's the constant shuffle between Denver and Chicago, which sadly is drawing to a close at the end of this month, or the amount of places that I've been given the opportunity to visit, but either way, I've been in love with the world.
Luckily, however, I usually have a pretty nice bed to sleep in and this one is no exception. Soft and spacious, it's been hard to get out of. Maddie wasn't here last night, as she left yesterday to return home because Paul McCartney is more important than us, and I slept poorly. Hoping that it doesn't affect my enjoyment of today.
We've run out of steam on tourist things. We're heartbroken that we won't be able to make it to Alcatraz. I'm sick of bus transfers and swaying and holding on up and down hills. It's a much worse system than Chicago and I'm grateful for the CTA more times during the day than I ever thought I would be.

If you're friends with me on Facebook, the pictures of the trip are up. There are some necessary security precautions, so if you're a friend of a friend, you'll not be able to see the album. I'll set some of my favorites aside to post here once I get a bit more time. It's been a lovely journey through a lovely city and the place that we are staying is beyond amazing. I have a thing for any place that has granite countertops and an outdoor patio with a grill. Soft carpet. Walk in closets (not that they've been used at all).

After Cape Town, I wonder what it will be like to come back to Denver and make a life? Honestly, this trip is two parts adventure and two parts delaying adulthood. I'm not sure what it's like to make new friends or to find a new place to live in a city I no longer understand. It will be interesting. I'm going to give it a year and if I find that it's not working out for me, or that I'm unhappy in some monumental way, I'm going to pick a new city (or Chicago) and pick up and move there.
But hopefully Denver will be a suitable spot; I long ago decided I wanted to raise my children there. It's not bad crime-wise and it's just urban enough to be interesting, but also maintains a very laid-back attitude and is usually friendly, welcoming, accepting and progressive. The political culture is present and wildly different than the Chicago scene; good schools - better private ones; good prices; proximity to adventure (but sadly, no lakes/oceans). It's diverse, although I find myself at times wishing it was a more diverse city. We shall see how it changes in the next ten or so years before children are on the scene.
Colorado is the healthiest state, well-educated, apparently good for singles (ugh, dating). Maybe this will end in my  favor?

More of San Francisco

I am wholly in love with this city. San Francisco reminded me at first of Boston, but now I've come to the conclusion that it's nothing like Boston at all, in any way.
It's not like Chicago, either. Last night, I asked a group of people where the nearest 24 hour liquor store was and they looked at me like I was absolutely crazy and asked me where I was from. Late bars? I asked hopefully. Not a chance. Apparently they do things differently around here.
The public transportation is insane. And not necessarily in a good way. While I feel like it does a decent job of covering the city, there are cable cars, street cars, buses, trains....any and all vehicular forms are used here and it makes it quite confusing.
 A big disappointment was the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn't planned out for tourists very well at all. There were three working bathroom stalls on the side of the bridge that we were on, and for the women, a line that extended quite far into the parking lot. I was glad to have brought hand sanitizer with me that day, definitely. The parking lot had service by one bus line, and buses to go to separate areas of the city left from the same spot and were numbered the same.
But.
This has been one of the greatest adventures of my life thus far. I could not love the women that I am with any more if I tried. It's been stressful, at times, relaxing, at other times, amazing, fulfilling, perfect.
Katie, Carolyn, Madeline, Anna and Leah are five friends I shall carry these memories with for life.
Last night was our big "going out" night because three of them (Madeline, Katie and Carolyn) are leaving today. We went to Asia SF last night to get dinner and watch gender illusionists lip synch what we thought were going to be show tunes. It was definitely a bit more raunchy than show tunes, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Delicious three course dinner, dessert, drinks - free shots (an experience a selected few of you will hear about).
After, we got lost in a rough part of the city, made some quick decisions and got out of the situation. Along the way, we saw a huge group of police officers and firemen. They honked their truck horn at us and waved, which we found hilarious.
After some confusion and terror, we ended up back on the cable car/street car and got off at a random stop. The Mint bar was doing karaoke. This is where our night ended. Madeline and I did "Wonderboy" by Tenacious D. The other girls did something from Fiddler on the Roof.
At some point, I was outside and a man who told me he'd fallen in love with two girls who'd moved to Denver let me ride his street bike, something I had never done before. Another man who was out there had friends with him from Denver and we all danced for the rest of the night.
It was great.
Today we are planning on doing some walking tours of the city and riding a cable car and doing an at home dinner.

I keep forgetting I'm in California

Hello from San Francisco!!


Madeline and I are on our way to watch the World Cup finale but after that, we should be exploring the Haight today and then the evening is undecided. Perhaps Chinatown?

Tomorrow, if things fall into place, Katie Morton and I shall be riding over the Golden Gate Bridge on a tandem bike. It may very well be the most interesting thing we've ever done.

Last night was interesting. Maddie and I both landed about the same time, and then after getting my luggage, we went down to the BART and paid $7.95 each to take the train to 24th and Mission. From there I was quite distracted by a cart selling bacon hotdogs for $3.50. However, I was more intent on arriving at our destination alive, so we headed to the house on foot.
Hills. There were hills. At some point, we realized it was going to be a much more difficult endeavor than we had originally planned and I hailed a cab. Six dollars later, we had arrived.
Katie, Anna and Carolyn had been out in the Castro at the gay bars and were slightly worse for the wear, so Maddie and I left them to sleep and went out back to a bar we had seen on the ride to the house.
We had barely been out of the house five minutes when a motorcyclist made a U-turn and mumbled something odd. We walked on.
The Dubliner was playing a wonderful selection of music and we settled in to drink a couple in the last hour before the bars closed. I told the man who sidled up next to me that we were spending the summer backpacking up the west coast, starting in San Diego and ending in Seattle.
A man from Hungary tried to steal my camera (possibly), and after prying it from his hands, we left him to go home as the lights had just come on.
We made it home safely, read for awhile, and slept peacefully and woke this morning refreshed and ready for today.

We've got reservations at a restaurant that features feminine-looking Asian men lip-syncing to show tunes for the thirteenth. Excitement.

The odd thing about this place is that everyone seems to know we're outsiders. It's strange. I feel as though I normally can manage to blend into the places that I go.
Expect pictures; this is a beautiful city.