San Francisco and All It's Glory

If you're thinking about up and moving to San Francisco just for the hell of it, let me be the first to tell you to stop right there and evaluate yourself.  The city by the bay was our original place to settle in once we got over to the west coast, but plans change.  For weeks before we left we both had been scouring Craigslist to find an apartment that was both cheap and didn't force us to have roommates, but unfortunately we figured out the hard way that that is just not possible.

As we drove over the fog-draped bridge for the first time, excitement filled both our hopeful little hearts; this was our new home.  Nearing the end of the iconic bridge, the fog cleared and the city came into view; we zipped back and forth between streets inspecting the different neighborhoods we had been reading about for the past few months.  The Presidio really is wealthy and gorgeous, Market is for business and shopping, and the Castro is lined with rainbow flags.  All of the stereotypes fit.

It wasn't long before the realization hit us that we didn't have a place to go.  We had nowhere to sleep tonight.  Trying not to let this rain on our parade, we found a little coffee shop and sent out more emails to landlords and tenants, until one finally answered us.  It was for a co-op in SoMa (South of Market).  They were having an open house that night and it was shockingly in our price range (under $1700 total for 1 bedroom), so of course we told them we'd be there.

Fisherman's Wharf

After securing a spot that night, we tried to enjoy some time in the Haight, a colorful hippie-vibe neighborhood, by exploring the overwhelming number of thrift stores.

At the open house, we quickly realized we were out of place.  1. We were the only girls  2. We didn't work in tech  3. We were definitely younger than everyone else.

Once a hotel, this co-op, which was still under construction, was turned into a home for 30-some people.  At the time they were looking for another 50 or so.  80 PEOPLE.  That's outrageous.  We toured the place, massive industrial kitchen, community living room, and floors with dozens of tiny rooms.  When they told us it was $1700 for a single and $1250 each for a double, we found an equally disappointed friend and went drinking.

That night we didn't know where to go, so we slept in the car.  Parked it in the parking lot of a Safeway, and commiserated with the homeless.  We both barely got a wink of sleep, and when the cops told us to move around 3am we were pretty much out of options.  We drove around until we found a street spot and waited until sunrise.  I don't know what was keeping us going at this point.  Exhausted from camping and driving, starving, haven't showered in Lord knows how long, and craving a warm bed that we didn't have to share.

Ain't she a sea fox

We spent a few more days in San Francisco in the car and cheap motels, but when we finally realized it wasn't going to happen for us we went to get some real food and collectively decided to head down to San Diego the next day.  It was a moment of joy and relief; we knew we had to go and were excited to be back in warm weather, a place we both had been before, and a place we would lovingly call home.

Once we had our new destination charted and the relief of finding a home in SF off our shoulders we could actually enjoy it.  We visited Fisherman's Wharf, Girardelli Square, Parks, saw the Golden Gate etc.  It is a beautiful, interesting city that I would like to see again.

Off to San Diego!

If a Redwood Falls in a Forest...

Have you ever been to the Redwoods? No? Well let me paint you a picture.

There you are standing in the middle of an empty road, flanked in every direction by trees, but not just any old trees.  These are mammoths; millions of colossal-sized plants surrounding you that date back hundreds, even thousands, of years.  It's a bit humbling to stand in the middle of of them, so vast and unbelievable.  Words escape.

After driving down the Avenue of the Giants (the main road of the Redwoods National Park) for a few hours, we found ourselves a campsite that definitely overcharged us, but it was one of two choices, neither cheap.  We set up camp and headed back out for another drive as the sun was setting.  The trees form a very dense wall-like barrier between you and the outside world so it never gets too bright in there.

 We had some fun running wild through the woods.  Plenty of tree-hugging was involved.

 

We did find one of the famous drive through trees, though the poor thing is barely standing.  There are tons of wires holding it up, the top half is completely gone, it's cracked down the center, and totally hollowed out.  I feel so bad for it.

Me and my beautiful Kia just barely made it through; you've gotta pull those mirrors in!

Much fun was had here, and it is another place I plan on seeing again.  Hopefully I get some better shots next time.

Anyone else out there have any good photos from the Redwoods? I'd love to see them!

A Stint in the Northwest

As our time in Canada came to a close, Courtney and I began to chart the next portion of our route.   We knew that we wanted to head down the whole West Coast, and try to see Olympic National Park in Washington and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, so we headed south into Washington and stopped at the first hotel we came across.  Metaline Falls, WA was maybe 20 minutes after we crossed back into the states, so we stopped there and got a cheap motel and a meal at a little diner in the middle of nowhere.  The only thing we'd eaten the two days before that were 2 or 3 juices so needless to say we were cranky and voracious.

The next morning we sped off for Seattle, excited to see a city finally.  Myself and Court were completely delighted by the surprising hipster bohemian feel of the section of the city we landed in; plenty of cool restaurants and bars around, with the typical shopping stores implanted between them.  We found ourselves at a diner, something like Lucky's Diner or some Irish name.  We were over the moon about the food (we're diner big freaks), and both enjoyed omelettes with a homemade biscuit on the side.  Stuffed to the brim with food for the first time since we left, we explored the quirky street and people-watched the tourists and locals. We spent so much time in Seattle we forgot to look for a campsite nearby until it was too dark, so again we found a motel.  At this point it felt like we were doing motels more than camping.

We quickly realized that night in our room that I had miscalculated how far Olympic was from Seattle, while I thought it was only 2 hours, it was something more like 6.  Though when I look at it now on google maps it does say a little over 2, either way we got our wires crossed and decided 6 hours was too far out of the way, so we tearfully skipped it and headed for Oregon.

After another brutally long day of 9 hours in the car we were greeted with the beauty of Oregon.  Our goal was a campground at Crater Lake, and after hours of driving in the wrong direction, missed turns, hidden signs, and ultimate confusion we gave up on the idea that we were going to find the campground before sunset.  We ended up staying at a little state campground for pretty cheap, which was plenty nice.  We were one of two people with a tent, and the rest consisted of retired couples in their RV's.

We walked the campsite, waved to our friendly neighbors, played a few rounds of poker, got baked and hit the hay.  It was a long frustrating two days and I most certainly plan on doing a trip back to the northwest so I can really spend some time there.  From the little I saw it is a gorgeous place and I intend to see it all.