The Great American Road Trip: Day 10

7:16AM
My last night of sleeping in the tent is officially over. We are currently driving to our final destination on this west-bound trip: San Francisco. Tomorrow morning Tyler will drop me off at the airport for my flight back to NOVA and then he'll continue on the next leg of his trip: 7 nights of east-bound soul searching. Mark will stay behind in San Fran (Also known as Frisco as we learned from the grocery store clerk yesterday. When Tyler told her we were going to San Francisco, she replied, "Oh you'll love it. I was up in Frisco last week." To which Tyler replied, "Oh really? Where is that?") to start his internship.

I'm excited to see San Francisco, but I really wish I could shower first and meet the city looking a little more presentable. I was planning on taking one last night, but it was so cold out that I couldn't bear the thought of even removing one layer. So here I am, frizzy hair and dirty feet, headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm hoping Photoshop can work its wonders on my pictures.

8:20PM
I'm sitting in Mark's friend John's apartment in San Francisco. Mark's friend John has kindly offered up his roommate Sam's bed for me to sleep on since Sam is currently in Alaska. So right now I'm sitting on Mark's friend John's roommate Sam's bed. Got all that?

Anyway, our day in San Francisco was action packed. We started off at the Golden Gate Park area and then walked along the bay, which also happened to be the mecca of all San Francisco dog owners as well as the go-to exercise locale (probably because it seemed to be the least hilly area of the city).

The one thing that really surprised me most about Frisco (that's right, I'm using the Cali lingo) was how cold it is! Today I was wearing a sweatshirt, fleece, and wind breaker jacket and could have benefited from another layer or two. I think due to that fact alone, San Fran might be crossed off the list of my potential future residences. But other than that, San Fran is actually a pretty cool city that is definitely full of character. We took a tour around the city on an old cable car and ventured up all the hills and around the neighborhoods. That old car even managed to take us over the Golden Gate Bridge! I think my favorite part of the city (other than the dog park) is all the quirky houses. It sort of reminded me of the Fan in Richmond, but more colorful and on unreal hills. I can barely parallel park on a flat street, so parking here would essentially be impossible. Yet another barrier standing between me and Frisco.

After our cable car tour, we wondered around the Fisherman's Wharf and hung out by Pier 39. By the time we had exhausted all touristy activities and made it to John's apartment, we had definitely worked up an appetite. So John, Mark, Tyler, Me, and Sam's dog Rhonan (Remember Sam is Mark's friend John's roommate whose bed I am currently sitting on) walked about 10 blocks to Haight Street, which as I soon learned is Hippie central. I'll just say that Marijuana doesn't appear to be illegal here. But among the mass amounts of drug paraphernalia, there were actually some pretty tasty looking restaurants. We ate at one called the Squat 'N' Gobble that served some delicious crepes. It definitely hit the spot after all the campfire cooking...

When we got back to John's house, I promptly asked to use his shower. I was counting in my head on the walk back and figured out that I had taken a total of 3 showers on this trip. I've never felt so gross in my entire life. My hair was just one big knot at this point, and I could have sworn I was just going to have to cut it all off. But luckily, after a nice LONG shower, I think I've managed to scrub off at least the first layer of dirt and my hair is on the road to recovery! I figure I'll be back to normal in about a week. I fly home tomorrow and if all goes smoothly, I'll be sleeping like a baby in my own bed tomorrow night with all the comforts a house with no furniture on the first floor can offer. Compared to this trip, the garage cafe (the affectionate name we've given our makeshift kitchen that is now located where my dad used to park his car) is going to seem pretty classy.

I can't wait.