Last week following a work trip to Atlanta for a conference Sunday through Tuesday, I hopped on a flight to my home away from home: San Francisco. I love that city and every time I go, it’s like I never left. I was there Tuesday and Wednesday nights, cruised to Sacramento Wednesday and Thursday nights, then back to San Francisco for one final, rockin’ evening. It was my first CA trip of the new year and the first since the October family reunion.
San Francisco: Part I highlights:
- Greeted by Dad & Pete @ SFO; we cruised from there for drinks @ The Irish Bank pub in the financial district
- Crashed @ Ben’s place and hung out with him late into the night
- Ran my then-longest distance ever: 5.1 miles from Ben’s place in Lower Haight to mine and Jen’s old neighborhood in the Inner Sunset (near 9th and Judah — here’s our old apartment) and back. Of course, two days later, I’d break that distance in my hometown (Sacramento) with a 5.25-mile run from Shannon and Mike’s place around downtown, around the Capitol, Nana‘s old office (@ The Thayer) and back
- Enjoyed lunch in the old ‘hood (burritos, of course) @ L’avenida with Dad, Pete, and Mark
- Hung out with Enoch at Ocean Beach & checked out some jellyfish
- Went out for drinks with Ben and my cousin Lucy
- Ate delicious burritos @ Pancho Villa in the Mission, where we met up with Jeanine
Next, it was time to visit my Mom, Shannon, Mike, James, and Melissa in Sacramento for phase II of my vacation.
Sacramento 2/2008 highlights include:
- Enjoyed an In ‘n Out grilled cheese, Animal Style in Davis
- Spent the afternoon chillin’ with my bro @ a pub called Streets of London
- Continued the party @ Paesano’s for happy hour & dinner with Pete, Mom, Shannon, and Mike
- Met Shannon & Mike’s kitties then hit the town for an evening of fun at Pine Cove karaoke night (we even made this funny Napkin Nights site, along with these studs in the matching duds)
And oh no, the fun didn’t stop there. Friday morning, following my longest run to date (5.25 miles — see above) and a delicious breakfast prepared by Shannon and Mike, Pete and I cruised back to the City by the Bay.
San Francisco: Part II highlights:
- Stopped at the Berkeley waterfront to bask in the sunshine with Dad & hang out with the Bay squirrels
- Enjoyed an amazing shrimp burrito & margaritas @ Juan’s Place in Berkeley with Pete and Enoch
- Partied the night away with Pete, Ben, Enoch, Val, and Maria, including a stop at the Noc Noc in the Haight (where the Knocker struck a pose)
- Met up with Jeanine, Martha, Tiff, and Miguel at Lucky Thirteen in the Castro
- Played wingman for Pete & Ben into the night
- Stayed awake until my 4:20am Super Shuttle arrived to whisk me back to the East Coast (Pete & Ben, you guys are troopers and I hope you’ve recovered by now!)
As always, it was an awesome trip and so great to see everyone. Thanks for such a kick-ass time, and I can’t wait for the next one!
View the California 2008: Trip I Flickr collection, which contains all 3 sets.
Pete also has an awesome recap of the trip on his blog.
