i ate san francisco, part 1.

4 a.m.

crissy park at the bridge!

Hello beloved family and friends that I have been totally missing!! Sorry for the crazy big--and totally inexcusable--gap in posts! My life has been a little loco! ...but I think there's something to be said about living it and not just writing about it, right?? That's my excuse, anyway :)

So, why the heck the loco life, Katy? Wellllll, I went clear across the nation to San Francisco, CA!!! Insofar as heading west, I'd only been to Texas + Minnesota, so I was beyond stoked to head out that way! I went to the National Communication Association's annual conference, where I also had an academic paper presented that I co-wrote at UGA. I was with a fellow H'Commer, Susan, who is from Sacremento and knows some fabulous boys                                                          in SF with an even more fabulous loft in SOMA that they shared with us!

We flew out of Logan bright and early on Saturday around 6 a.m. and had a direct flight into SF. (Larry, I saw the most beautiful sunrise right as we were taking off that made me think of you--I wanted to take a pic but I didn't want to get thrown out for having an electronic device on!) The plane ride over was spectacular! This is embarrassing to admit, but my most recent trips (even to Boston) have been when I've flown over water...so when we got up 36,000 feet in the air, I was surprised at how much you could see down there! I guess I was expecting it to be blue....like the ocean! Anyway, it was gorgeous! I saw my first big "real" mountain with snow on it (since apparently all the mountains in Georgia, according to Weiser, are not real) and Lake Tahoe! It was stunning!! I don't love flying, so that definitely kept me distracted and actually helped me enjoy it a little bit!

no fog!!

After a quick six-hour flight, we got into CA around 9 a.m. and Susan's friend Paul picked us up. We dropped our stuff at their gorgeous loft, picked up Greg, and we were off to find breakfast! We ate omelets and fruit and large quantities of coffee to get our energy flowing again and then Susan and I began our wonderful day of exploration!!

I would like you to know that when I left Boston, it was about 30* out and super cloudy. So when I was able to walk around in nearly 80* weather under clear skies and a beautiful sun, I almost cried (and I'm not even kidding)! We started at the Golden Gate Bridge--which was stunning on such a gorgeous day--passed Alcatraz, and wandered our way to Fisherman's Wharf (touristy, yes, but I had to check it off the list). Susan was the best tour guide ever because she hired all these actors to surround us the whole afternoon--some were playing frisbee, football, and running while others ran with their poodles or under waving kites! All of this, mind you, as the perfect wind blew and the sun beamed down. It was so picturesque--Susan is so thoughtful that way :)

everywhere you look (everywhere) there's
a face of somebody who needs you!!

After such a long walk, we needed an afternoon snack, of course. We stopped at the original Ghirardelli's chocolate factory for some ice cream sundaes where our taste buds inevitably fell in love and our afternoon comma began to settle in. It was beyond delicious!! Next we were off to find the oober cute houses on a hill from the Full House TV show. To be honest, we were kinda dragging at this point--we'd been awake for about 12 hours so we'd really already experienced a full day! But lucky for us, our super awesome (and totally my favorite part) ride on a famous San Francisco cable car woke us right up and got us ready to face the rest of the day! Speeding up and down hills while hanging off the side of a moving vehicle can do that to a girl...

dear boston, THIS is mexican food.

get to know each other.

We found the Painted Ladies (aka the Full House houses) right as the sun was starting to go down, so the shadows on the houses and its accompanying park were beautiful! Oh, and I swear I saw Bob Saget and Mary Kate + Ashley. Swear. Susan's best friend, Loren, picked us up afterward and we were off for a quick wardrobe change and dinner! We ate REAL Mexican food (which, I've found, Boston knows very little of) and margaritas at Tommy's restaurant...and then totally collapsed when we got home. I don't think a blowup mattress could have been more comfortable than that night.

say cheese,
katy