san francisco, day three

San Francisco. Day three. The day where I really saw San Francisco.

After years of hearing about Ed, Sean's friend, who lives in San Francisco, I finally got to meet him.

Ed. He's a cool guy. I only really know him from what Sean has told me. And I'm so grateful for him. If it wasn't for Ed, Sean wouldn't know anyone in the entire city, wouldn't know how to get around, where to go, etc. Ed grew up in San Francisco and has really helped Sean with all of that stuff.

So we met up with Ed for brunch at a diner and then walked to a bus stop where we hopped onto a MUNI bus, my first bus ride in the city (no, not the same things as a streetcar or a cable car aka trolley.) Which was interesting and crowded, but still better than walking.

We got off somewhere around Fillmore, got some coffee at a Starbucks, and walked around some nice neighborhoods in the Pacific Heights district which led us to the Palace of Fine Arts, a monumental rotunda situated next to a lagoon, covered in Greek- and Roman-inspired carvings essentially designed as "a fictional ruin from another time."

Then we walked across the street to the site of Lucasfilm headquarters where Sean fawned over the Yoda Fountain and all the books and cool Star Wars memorabilia and vintage B-movie posters in the lobby. (He's a dork, but a cute dork, and I mean that in the best way possible. He'd be boring if he wasn't.)

After missing one bus and then another and continually getting passed by buses in training, we eventually caught one which took us to a corner lot on Columbus where we picked up a Zipcar for the next few hours.

And for the next few hours I got to see San Francisco.

The seemingly miniscule San Franciscan skyline from Crissy Field. The crimson monolithic Golden Gate Bridge, up close and personal. The coast along Lincoln Boulevard: up and over winding hills mounted on sheer cliff faces covered in lush green trees overlooking a surprisingly blue Pacific Ocean with waves bigger than any I'd ever seen crashing onto giant rocks jutting from the depths of the water... And the Pacific Ocean, out there, stretching as far as the eye could see.

We went around to the far West side and stopped at a grocery store to stock up on essentials for the week. We couldn't afford to eat out every night...

So we got "real" food to cook in Sean's tiny dorm kitchen. Which prompted a visit to TJMaxx to get pots and pans to cook the real food in, none of which Sean had. Which then lead to purchasing a spatula to cook with. Which led to a visit to the Dollar Store to get a fork because Sean only owns one. Where Sean got distracted by awesomely illustrated B-movie plates and cups. Which Sean bought, all three of us completely forgetting about buying a fork until we made it to the car parked a half mile or so up the road.

We finished day three with increasingly sore feet and legs, a giant five-cheese store-bought pizza, and cake.

More to come...