Busy in San Fran

Wow! It's been a busy time here in San Fran. My friend Aaron doesn't let any daylight slip by without something to do!

It was great to get back to the city. I've really missed it here. I passed by my old apartment on Fillmore and became a little nostalgic. It was fun trying to figure my way around again. I am leaving tomorrow and feel like I actually kinda know where I am at and where I am headed. I will certainly make San Fran a stop when I return to the states from Germany.

Aco has been pretty good. She is getting a little confused by all of the different house rules and many different doggie friends that she's encountered, but overall adjusting well. She is sleeping in a sunny spot on the carpet right now.

My hosts, Peter and Brent here in San Fran have been wonderful. I have felt completely welcome and comfortable. Brent and I took the dogs to the Golden Gate Park Panhandle to walk and they had a good time. Aco was just lovin' smelling all the new smells. Brent and I also enjoyed a nice sidewalk lunch at one of the local cafe's. You just can't go wrong with food in San Francisco. It's always a pleasure no matter when or where and great company makes it even better.

Aaron drug me all over the place (and I enjoyed every minute of it). I got to go to one of my favorite restaurants here in SF for some Asian Noodles...CHOW! We caught a great show The Sun Road and Other Works: Multimedia Dance from The Trey McIntyre Project at the Jewish Center and then went for drinks after at a local place with a couple of friends of Aaron's. It was a late night and I slept like a baby!

Aaron and I spent some time on Halloween day at the Open Studios on the south side of the city. It was a great time. I was impressed by how many artists were there. I found several pieces that I wish I could have taken home with me but alas, another day! I'm not even home enough to enjoy them anyway! We then spent a while at Cafe Flore with Aaron's friend Derek over a cold beer and watched all the costumed people walking by for Halloween. For dinner we ended up with a deep dish pizza that I think weighed about 12 lbs and some fabulous garlic bread with tons of butter and fresh roasted garlic at Little Star Pizza on Mission. I ended up vegging out for Halloween night and spent it relaxing catching up on emails and watching a couple of episodes of Flash Forward. Lame? YEah...whatever! I enjoyed it...

It's almost exhausting being on the road so much. It's been great to visit with everyone but I think I am ready for a day of nothing. Looking at my on-going travel plans, it doesn't seem that there will be much time for that.

On Sunday, Peter, Brent, Leo, Aco and I went out to Ft. Funston on the beach and I was able to let Aco off leash. She had a great time chasing the waves, playing with sticks and generally being a dog! After, I took her to the dog-wash and she now smells a bit better! Oh...and there were some huge Parrots at the park! Story told is that there is a guy that brings his dogs here as well as his parrots (3 of them) and lets the parrots fly around while he walks the dogs. I am amazed that the parrots don't fly off never to return. They were certainly tame and very pretty.

Sunday night Peter (and sous-chef, Brent) fixed a wonderful meal of Red Wine Braised Beef, mashed potatoes and broccoli. For desert we had cooked apples over ice cream with a tasty home-made camel sauce. I have to say that it was better than most restaurant meals I've eaten. Good job guys. Over the course of several days with Peter and Brent, I think we consumed about 4-5 bottles of wine too.

Today is my last day in SF and I will be leaving my great host's and heading over to Aarons for the final night. Tomorrow I am headed to Los Angeles (hopefully to meet with another traveler, Judy).