Day 11: San Francisco!! (1)

This is it kids, the last stop before LA. Michaela and I made it, the car made it, and we're all in decently good shape. I blog to you from the king size bed in my four star hotel room in downtown San Francisco. The room was acquired at a steal price from priceline.com. Val the car is safely away in the hotel's valet parking garage, grateful for four days of rest before the last 380 mile leg of our journey. And, much to my delight, my friend since childhood Mary has come to join me in the city until I leave.

On our way down from Eureka, we drove through more of the Redwood forest. They really are magnificent trees. Michaela got wind of a tree so big you can actually drive your car through it. Yes, it's true. For $5, you drive into the woods where they have a car-sized tunnel through the base of one of the Redwoods. It was a fun little trick, though we weren't quite sure about the people who showed up in SUVs...

Arriving in San Fran today was a huge thrill for us. For Michaela, it means she no longer has to be in the car for an average of 6 hours a day. I too am glad that the bulk of our driving has come to an end. Our trip has been a blast, but the charm of being crammed in a car with a bunch of crap living on the road has... fizzled. I can now enjoy four carefree days here in the city.

Already my first semi-day here with Mary and Michaela has been frickin awesome. We rode the trolley from the hotel dangling off the side to fisherman's wharf,

saw the sea lions resting on pier 39,

had a burger at In-n-Out, had our tarot cards read, ate at one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city, House of Nanking (chinatown), and returned to the hotel where I played the lobby's grand piano. We our now relaxing in our room as we're all exhausted from our respective traveling. We prepare for a very full day of running around seeing as much as possible before saying goodbye to Michaela. Alcatraz? The Castro? Stay tuned to find out!

Anectode of the Day

Today on our way to the trolley, Mary was the victim of an unexpected dive bomb attack from a pigeon, which actually hit her in the eye. She is convinced she now has herpes of the eye. Just goes to show we should always be ready for the unexpected attack of the pigeon.