Monday, October 26, 2009

San Francisco and a One Way Plane Ticket


Okkkkaaay. I have been one very lazy blog writer. I guess everyday California life has been repressing my creativity and will to write. I have about half an hour before it's time to serve the lunch rush their burritos so I better hop to it and fill in the blanks of the last few months. I will start with my week long trip to San Francisco around mid September.

As my grandparents live in the Bay Area I have visited San Francisco a few times growing up, but this was the first time I actually got to stay downtown and see the city. My dad very suddenly, giving me only a few days notice, decided to fly all the way from Perth to visit his parents so I hopped on a short flight North to join him. Family time was wonderful as always, but the highlight of the short trip was definitely staying downtown and exploring the city. What a neat place! It is just buzzing with culture, music, great food and more homeless people than I have seen ANYWHERE! I also really appreciated how culturally diverse the city is, with people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. We stayed in a nice little hotel in the center of town for two nights, which provided tequila shots upon check in (thanks mum), and apart from the shoot out on the street by my window at around 3 am it was a pretty good place to stay. Dad and I did all the typical tourist things, ate seafood at fisherman's wharf, zipped around on the cable cars, rode bicycles across the Golden Gate Bridge ect. One thing that really sticks in my mind though was the musical talent all over the city, especially the homeless people. Many of them were busking to survive with any instrument available, be it old guitars, drum kits, pots and pans or their own voices, and the amount of talent was unbelievable. I had one old homeless guy play me a song on his guitar with one string and sing, and he actually sounded really good!

Another highlight of my San Francisco trip was eating out in China town. Dad told me he had a certain restaurant in mind for dinner and that he hadn't been there in about 20 years. We were waking down the street in China Town when he announces "here it is!" and procee
ded to walk straight through a kitchen full of Chinese ladies cooking. I gave him a very confused look but followed behind as he headed up a flight of old stairs, thinking how could this possibly be a restaurant???. When we got to to the top it opened up into this tiny low roofed, old little restaurant with low tables and little stools. Dad told me the place had been around forever and he used to
take my mum there when she was my age. What a trip!!! And the food was really good too. The day before my birthday Dad and I parted ways with a Maori nose rub and I headed back down to San Diego.

I had a wonderful birthday. Possibly the best I've ever had. A few friends got me a camp site in Cardiff and we spent the evening surfing, drinking, playing guitar and hanging out. I felt very touched that although I have only been here a little while I have friends that know me well enough to plan such a perfect birthday! Thanks guys! When I arrived here I only intended on staying for about 2 months, and it has some how turned into 5 and a half! While there are aspects of American life and culture that I find frustrating over all I have had a
wonderful summer. San Diego is a very beautiful place and the waves aren't half bad either. A few days ago I booked a one way flight over to Hawaii, continuing on my endless summer. What can I say, I don't like to surf in a wetsuit!