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Published: September 16th 2006
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Half Moon Bay
Butternut Squash Ravioli I am heading back to Florida the day after tomorrow. I am really going to miss this place. My friend Gretchen came out and we had a good time sightseeing. I rented a car for the time she was here. I picked her up at the Sacramento Airport and we drove straight to Point Montara to meet up with Heather and Mark. The Point Montara hostel is so relaxing. After we all went out to dinner at a great restaurant in Half Moon Bay (it was the same restaurant that Heather and I discovered last winter when we visited…they have the best butternut squash ravioli), we went back to the hostel to sit outside on a cliff overlooking the ocean and drink some wine Heather brought for me. Gretchen and Mark were tired, so it ended up being just me and Heather sitting out there for several hours listening to the surf and talking. It was so nice, I really didn’t want to have to go inside and get some sleep. The next day we all walked (roundtrip approximately 2.4 miles) across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was very foggy and we could barely see the city or the headlands. Heather
and Mark then headed for the luxury campground, Coastonoa, and Gretchen and I headed to Vacaville to spend some time with Shay. On Thursday, the 7th, Gretchen, Shay and I set off for Yosemite. It is so crazy there with all the bear awareness. I had to sign at least 3 forms stating that I was aware that we were not to leave anything with an odor in the car. The car would be towed if any food or toiletries were seen in it. We stayed in a tent cabin in Curry Village and took the moonlight tour as soon as we arrived, since we didn’t arrive until around 8 pm. The tour was beautiful, just as I remember, but the color was not as blue this time 😞 It wasn’t cold at all and we slept pretty well in the tent cabin. The next day, Shay and I took off on a hike to Sentinel Dome (which had great 360 degree views of the valley), and Gretchen, who did not feel prepared to do the hike, stayed in the Village and shopped for four hours. Later we went down to look at El Captan to see if we could
see climbers with the binoculars. We talked to an older couple that volunteers here every year for the month of September. They stay in a tent the entire time. No RV, which is very unusual. We did see several climbers, especially after the gentleman we were talking to pointed them out to us. We then headed up to Glacier Point before making the long trip back to Shay’s, exhausted. On Saturday, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The aquarium had a White Shark in captivity, so we thought we would take the opportunity to see it. It is very rare to have one in captivity. I was disappointed in the jelly fish exhibit. It is smaller than the last time I visited. Sunday, Gretchen and I headed for the city for two nights at the City Center Hostel. The hostel was great. Definitely one of the nicest I have seen. It was in the Tenderloin, which is probably the worst area (if you consider a community of crazy, drug/alcohol addicted homeless people bad). It was surely entertaining and we weren’t harassed that much at all. In the 3 days we were in the city (we purchased a 3 day
Heather and Mark
Golden Gate Bridge MUNI pass), we covered all the neighborhoods, even Castro. Gretchen did a lot of shopping and we rode every form of public transportation available. It was Gretchen’s first time on a subway. We were also fortunate enough to see a Mae show. Shay's friend, Zach, is the guitarist in Mae and offerred us tickets to see them perform at The Fillmore. Luckily, The New Amsterdams were also playing. Thanks Zach. I ended up drinking too many tequila shots and then not feeling so great the next day, but I had a great time. Shay and her boyfriend, Mike, met us at the venue. The next day, Heather and Mark were on their last day in the city (they stayed at the Green Tortoise Hostel. Not nearly as nice as City Center, but in the great area of North Beach. When Gretchen and I were on the cable car going toward Chinatown from Union Square, I got a call from Heather wanting to meet up and go to the Buena Vista for Irish coffee. She said they were heading to Union Square to meet us. I look over and there she is, standing by a cable car stop we were approaching.
It is a small world, I tell you. We all went to Chinatown and waited (and waited, and waited…) for Gretchen to pick out some tablecloths. Finally, we went to get the Irish coffees. Since Gretchen and I had not eaten yet that day and I was recovering from the night before (tequila), Heather and Mark gave us their left over fried rice and lo mein, which we ate on the street while waiting for a bus. Heather and Mark had parked in the 4 hour parking spaces, and we took so long in Chinatown waiting, Heather had to run to move her car before it was towed. Mark, Gretchen and I waited for the streetcar. I think Heather still beat us. On Wednesday, Gretchen’s last day here, I took her to IKEA for her final tour. Of course, she was amazed by the prices. She said she is going to have a spring yard sale and sell all her stuff so she can furnish her house with IKEA. She will have to drive all the way to Atlanta (from Johnson City, TN) to get the stuff. I think that is the closest IKEA to her. I dropped Gretchen and
the rental car off at the airport on the 13th. I don’t have a car now and I have to walk everywhere. Today I walked to Sport’s Chalet (a new place here) and Border’s. I really didn’t feel like walking back (a couple of miles) so I called Shay at work and asked her if she could come pick me up on the way home. Now I am back at Shay’s. Tomorrow we are going to Chinatown to find a fake LV wallet for Shay’s boyfriend’s mom’s birthday. That will pretty much be it for this trip.
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