Save me San Fransisco

Reno was a nice break from camping. We got ourselves a shower, internets, and a lovely lunch the next day with the lovely Carrie Porter. Reno is the guy next door, stayed away from steroids version of Vegas, which makes it nice and walking around I don't feel like I'm on some sort of drug that oversensitizes me to my surroundings. After some R&R in Reno we headed to Lake Tahoe to see some views. This time of year it is supposed to be just covered in snow and booming with ski junkies. Instead because of the weather, the only real extreme sports we saw driving up the mountain we families out with kids and dogs sledding down bunny hills at parks right off the road. It was so damn cute, that alone made me want to move there stat. The view from the top before you get into the little village area was breathtaking, the lake it self is massive then bookended, because you couldn;t see the other side, by mountain peaks blanketed in giant pine trees also powdered in a light snow. One of the worlds few alpine lakes as Caleb described, just sitting a modest 7000+ feet above sea level and clear as a Mediterranean sea. Sure it was surrounded by hippies who sold out to become rich but still smoke way too much weed but who can blame them with views like that. On ward and westward. Driving into SF right at dinner time. Yum! The air was think with food smells and we were staying in the Mission district, known for its abundant food options. It was beautiful and I could feel that warm fuzzy feeling creeping in, the one that makes big cities feel like home. I was going to like this place. When we got in Sara, our lovely host, took us on a tour of the city. We hoofed all around the Mission, in the Castro and into some down town areas. I for one had walked up and down enough of these hills to be hungry even after a huge lunch not too many hours before. So before I got to cranky, we stopped for a cookie in the Castro. Next to the penis shaped cookies with macaroons, I went for the more modest double chocolate chip... I'm not a macaroon fan. Then as if that life choice wasn't good enough we went to a place that served not just good beer, but good sausages too. I had a vegan apple and potatoesohmylorditwasgood sausage. We tried to venture into north beach, but zero parking and time ticked to fast so we called it a night, saving our energy for day light. The next day was brunch with Rose and Cait!! Two of the lovliest women I have the pleasure of knowing. I haven't seen Rose since we studied abroad in Greece but the three of us plus a couple more were always into some trouble together. It was like the four years its been weren't so long and we were giggly and chatty and all smiles. I miss them very much and I didn't realize how much until I saw them again. After bottomless mimosas and some damn good brunchy  foods Caleb and I then headed to the Haight and Ashbury and met up with Griff, probably the coolest cat ever. We had a few more drinks and snacked on some foods, then just walked Haight. Another very good face to see, Griff had to take off back home since he for one actually has a job. It's hard to describe how it felt walking around those streets. It was quiet and drizzly, a hazy yellow from street lights, it could have been 2012 or it could've been 1969 but it seeped into your skin so that it didn't matter. It may have been the patchouli and mary-jane in the air but whatever, it felt good. The next morning I headed across the bay to get my back window replaced, it felt nice waking up at normal people time for a day, a day more specifically that I didn't actually have to go to work. The little good luck I ran into was getting my window fixed right before the rains and right after our taped plastic bag art piece blew apart on the highway. When I came back we went off to 21^st Amendment brewery downtown before going to dinner at Nicks crispy tacos for dinner with the girls again! Nick's is a swanky little taco place, with relatively cheap foods and its so damn good. Nick's way with half off margarita pitchers, yes please. We came back for the evening and enjoyed some night caps before calling it quits. Caleb really tried to like gin, tried a little too hard, more then gin ever deserves. I thought it was funny, Caleb felt like hell. At this point, I feel a little bit like SF could be a place I spend some time in. But who am I kidding, we haven't even been to Seattle yet!