Wanderbliss: I left my Heart in San Francisco

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I don’t know Tony Bennet’s story, but I certainly have a soft spot in my otherwise cold, callous heart for the City by the Bay.  I grew up precisely 72 miles away from San Francisco, and to me it represented all that was great and wonderful about a big city. From its diversity to its gold rush roots, there’s not much I don’t like about San Francisco.Last May, the BF and I in another rare, wonderful and grand free weekend decided to head up to the Bay Area to get away from Las Vegas for a few days.  As usual, we arrived in evening and took the BART straight from the airport to the Powell station, right smack dab in the middle of the city.  We had booked a a room at the Japanese themed Nikko Hotel.

After a good nights rest we suited up for our usual Saturday morning San Francisco activity – The Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.

Ferry Building Farmer's Market

Overpriced and filled with organic goodies, the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market always provides us with great fruit, a decent breakfast and honey sticks.  With the breeze from the bay and the city in the background, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.

Unfortunately for us this happened to be one of the hottest weekends ever in San Francisco so we had to head back to the hotel for a wardrobe change.  After putting on a dress and heels we took the MUNI bus from the financial district through Chinatown and finally to Ghiradhelli Square for some wine tasting.

                                         I think I had too much wine!
We payed $40 each to attend a wine tasting festival.  Wine really isn’t our thing, but this was an enjoyable event nonetheless.  There was live music, tons of wine, mojitos, and best of all Sangria.  After a few hours of getting liquored up, snacking on chicken tacos and collecting World Market coupons, we walked around a bit, then eventually returned to our hotel in order to recoup for dinner.I was experiences horrible wisdom tooth pains at the time and tried in vain to nap off the swelling in my gums (yes, I know it’s gross).  For dinner, we headed out to the mall in Union Square for some Mexican food.  We then topped that off with a few slices of cake from the cheesecake factory.

On the Ferry to Oakland

On the Ferry to Oakland

The next morning we took the ferry to Oakland to check out Jack London Square.  The ferry ride was pleasant and provided a nice break from the heat as well as great views of San Francisco.  We arrived at Jack London Square as the weekly farmer’s market was ending and picked up a box of strawberries to consume as we walked around.Not having been to Oakland in many years, I was surprised to see that so much development had occurred but it was still evident that the city still has a long way to go.  Beaten down by the heat, we ended up at a Barnes and Nobles where we recharged on Starbucks, and I found the greatest tote bag ever.

Stephen T. Colbert - DFA

After our trip to Oakland we returned to wind down our last day in San Francisco by further roaming its grand streets.  San Francisco has proved to be the one city I can never let go of.  It’s the mix of the history, people and culture that will always keep me coming back.  I’m learning to cherish these weekend trips to SF more and more as I realize how difficult it will be to return often when move out of the country.

Grand Canyon Road Trip

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As a resident of the Southwestern United States, the Grand Canyon is a must see.  Seeing as I plan on getting out of here soon (in hopes of traveling!), I figured that I might as well see it while it’s fairly close by. So, on a rare and oh-so-fleeting free weekend, we decided to pack up the ‘Silver Bullet’ (my ’02 Mercedes C230 Coupe . . . lamest road trip car EVER) and drive down to the Grand Canyon’s south rim.

The Grand Canyon

The trip was fairly impromptu, but we managed to leave at 8am on a Saturday morning.  Our first stop was our local Starbucks to get our much needed caffeine fix.  Then, with me at the helm, we headed out on the open road.  Our first major landmark was the Hoover Dam, which (for those of you who don’t know) is actually the marker between the Nevada and Arizona borders.

Hoover Dam

Entering Arizona was fairly mundane.  It looks similar to Las Vegas – desert, shrubbery, and blue skies.  As we entered Kingman Arizona, the Vegas radio stations began to fade and we hooked up the good ‘ol iTouch to the stereo and listened to the sweet soothing voice of Adam Carolla.Shortly after passing through Kingman, the scenery began to change from desert to something similar to a prairie.  After a few more hours of driving we hit Williams, AZ – the Gateway to the Grand Canyon.  For us West Coasters, Kingman represented a frightening look into Americana.Williams was about an hour from the Grand Canyon, and we were lucky enough to come on the one day that the entrance was free.  Armed with a free map we entered the park and could not find parking.  I ended up basically tossing the Silver Bullet in a ditch as the BF wandered into the forest to pee.We then reconvened along the walking trail along the Southern Rim of the Grand Caynon.  The Caynon was huge, and hard to take it.  I was infatuated with the ravens that occupied the area and flew so effortlessly over one of the largest gaping holes on this planet.

The BF took a liking to video taping squirrels and the like who inhabited the edge of the canyon.  After walking along the trail for a while and checking out the viewpoints, we decided that we might as well head back so that we could return to Las Vegas at a reasonable  hour.

Overall, I’m glad to have seen the Grand Canyon.  Road trips with the BF are always fun and am also proud to say that this time I pulled my weight and drove 50% as opposed to my usual 25% . . . ok . . . 20%.