California: Day 2

Today I saw San Francisco as it was meant to be seen. It is an incredible city, so different from any other one I know. I woke up at 8 (west coast time) and got myself ready. I knew that Andrew would be asleep for several more hours, so I thought this would be a good time to do all the touristy things that he wouldn’t be interested in. Not knowing anything at all about the city and its layout, I set out looking for some mass transportation. After a few blocks I ran into the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport). Both fast and inexpensive, I rode the BART uptown in search of some breakfast. At this point, I was feeling so jetlagged I knew that I had to eat soon or I would probably start to feel sick. I pulled out the map that Andrew had given me the night before and saw that I was relatively close to Café Gratitude. In the middle of the Mission District, this restaurant is known to me through Jason Mraz who references it in the song that’s fueling this trip. So I felt pulled towards this landmark. When I walked in, I was greeted by a young woman from Israel who handed me a menu and posed a question: “What has given you the most joy today?”. While I pondered all of the answers I could give, I perused the extensive menu. So many choices… “I Am Enlightened,” “I Am Committed,” “I Am Fiery”… In the end, I chose the Yo Soy Bonita for my meal, a shot of I Am Enlivened and the I Am Rejuvenated wheatgrass cocktail. About 3 minutes into the meal I felt like an entirely new person. I was beautiful, I was enlivened and I was certainly rejuvenated. Everything I needed. Here’s a picture of the perfect solution to jetlag:


At this point, I was ready for anything, so I walked to the next BART station, got onboard and went to the next station. When I got off, I found myself at the end of a cable car waiting line and thought it was a pretty good distraction for the moment. I watched them pull in, spin around and pick up passengers. I road up the steepest street in the country and took lots of pictures. I then disembarked and found myself (not so excitedly) in Fisherman’s Wharf. The apex of tourism in San Francisco, I was warned about coming here. But I was pulled in by all of the people there were to watch. Here are some pictures from my time with the cable cars and at Fisherman’s Wharf:






At this point, I found myself another old cable car to take back south to meet back up with Andrew and by 2pm I was back where I had started. Andrew met me at the BART station by his house with two bikes and we set off through the city to run errands. Bike riding in most cities is a pretty intense experience, but nothing compares to the extremes of San Francisco. This particular bike was a special one. It obviously didn’t belong to me, so clearly I had no idea what it was all about and what accommodations needed to be made for it. We quickly found that the handlebars and front wheel were so loose that they might as well have not been connected at all. A quick stop at a nearby bike shop solved that problem, but the bike was not about to give up that easily. It would continue to protest by not shifting into 1st or 3rd and squeaking incessantly as I broke down the many hills of the city. Not being able to shift out of second in a hilly city like San Francisco is cruel. The bike ultimately won, and I’m totally ok with saying that.

After our errand running, we called Andrew’s girlfriend Cassie to see if she would be interested in meeting us at Delores park for some sun and chatting, which she eagerly agreed to. The park was filled with the most eclectic people. People with dogs, parents and children, a young woman selling mushrooms and many more who probably can‘t be categorized. After playing with Andrew and Cassie for a while, Cassie announced her departure and we said goodbye. Incredibly, it was only a few moments after she left that we were approached by this beautiful woman:


Her entire posse joined soon after and we sat with them for several hours, talking about our lives and laughing together. It turned into the quintessential San Francisco afternoon, as if the entire day had been made with me and my trip in mind. What drew these wonderful people to our spot on the grass? How was it that I found myself in the perfect spots without even meaning to be? I see it as a gift, one I am unwrapping slowly and with closed eyes.

Have you opened any special gifts lately? What were they? Tell me all about it in the comments section below and enjoy this special gift from me to you (how I ended my night in San Francisco):