SanFrancisco

Jesse and I have spent the last week and a half in the wonderful Bay Area. We headed straight to Sonoma where Jesse's friends are staying for the summer. Jumping into a reservoir ensued, along with home-cooked meals at Calla's dad's house and good times in general. Kyle and Calla had to work during the day, so we headed to Berkeley where we stayed with our friend Lindsey.

Berkeley is an amazing area. We ate great food (purchased from the greatest grocery store in the world, the Berkeley Bowl), explored a cool student co-op, and played lots of music. We saw several museums in the area, botanical gardens, and other places of interest in the Bay Area. In the evenings, the group embarked on various culinary odysseys, utilizing fresh plums and apricots that grew in the front garden.

After a few fun-filled days in Berkely, Jesse and I spent the weekend in Sonoma with Kyle and Calla, when they were finally off from work. We accompanied them to Petco (our second visit on this journey) where Calla bought a tree-frog. Grubbs Maylou Lacidar now lives in a mason jar on their bed-side table. We also took a drive out to the coast, where we spent a few hours hanging out at Russian Gulch- which is where the Russian River meets the Pacific.

Finally, we headed to San Fransisco to stay with Helen, another friend from the Israel trip. Helen lives in the Hayes Valley neighborhood in an old San Francisco Victorian (Edwardian). Our first day in SF happened to be a free museum day...so we went to more museums! Helen cooked a feast of shrimp, couscous, and raspberry creme-brulee.

Today (July 4) was also packed with activity. Helen, Jesse and I took a walking tour of the Alamo Park area, focusing on Victorian styles of homes. We are now experts in identifying the architectural nuances which differentiate Victorian homes from the 1860's through the 1920's. Helen is taking an organic chemistry class that is ruining her summer, so she was unable to accompany us on our next adventures as she needed to study uncatalyzed ionic reactions where only the anti-Markovnikov product is observed. Jesse and I visited a local art exhibit called "Propaganda III World Tour". It was a display of political artwork (posters) expressing many different viewpoints on an array of national and international issues. It was really amazing stuff.

Jesse and I took the public transportation (MUNI) over to Haight and Ashbury, where the hippie movement started in 1967. It was gentrified and touristy, but there was lots of good food around that we didnt eat, as well as gaunt, aging hipsters to look at.

We headed back to the pad for another Helen-prepared feast, which included home-made yerba mate (green tea) ice-cream, and raspberry buttercream merengue. And beet salad. And sangria with lots of fresh fruit. And burgers. I'm so full.

Finally, we headed up to Bernal Hill to watch not one, but multiple fireworks displays across the city. We could see all the backyard fireworks as well. I've never been in a city for fireworks, and it was really cool to see them exploding over San Francisco from a distance. Now I'm here. Here is now, and there is nothing more to report, except that I must carry a futon mattress through the labyrinthian apartment to my final resting place in the living room.

I think we might start posting at the end of each day so that we can post more of what we did and not get behind like this.



The reservoir and Kyle flying into it.

Cool mural (this particular alley in the Mission has over 30 murals)

Cool garbage-art at a closed landfill in the SF bay.