In Retrospect

Now that I have been home in Maine for a couple of days, I have had some time to reflect on the trip and everything that we did and saw. Before I get to that however, here is a quick recap of what we accomplished during the 80 hours that Ben, Noreen and I spent with Brian and Candace in San Fran.

We drank mojitos and listened to jazz in the Haight; watched the West Coast version of Sox/Yankees by seeing the Dodgers play the Giants; tasted wine and joined a wine club; rode the cable cars (watch your ass if you are on the street side of the car); went hiking up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais, saw the Golden Grate Bridge; walked through the Redwood Forests in Muir Woods, hung out at Pier 39 watching, listening and smelling the sea lions; we played 100 year old arcade games, found the “Full House” house; saw a submarine; drove through the Golden Gate park and saw bison, a windmill and a beautiful tulip garden; drank beers on the sidewalk in The Mission while watching Brian get kicked out of the burrito restaurant; we saw a giant camera at the Cliff House; made friends with cougars in The View and perhaps most surprisingly watched Noreen try Thai food for the first time and enjoy it! And… all of that was only scratching the surface of what the city has to offer its visitors.

Overall, this was one of the best vacations that I have ever taken. Driving across this country of ours is no small feat. It is an endurance test of your sanity and ability to be in a car of that long. One of the things we have talked about is wishing that we had more time to stop and see more of each city and place where we were. However, I suppose that even if you were fortunate enough to take an entire month off, you would probably still want more time. I am not even sure I could pick out what was my favorite part of the drive across to San Francisco – seeing the great plains and the huge farms which were 1000s of acres; driving through the deserts and seeing the canyons and ravines; watching mountain ranges thousands of feet tall rise out of nothing, seeing the mountains turn from brown to green again and the lush valleys of the west coast give way to the deep blue of the pacific ocean… it was all incredible.

Above all one of my favorite parts of the journey was the daily routine of racing the night sky across the country. As we were driving due west down the interstate with the sun setting in front of us, we could see dark night sky behind us racing to catch up. Ahead of us was the bright sun filled sky of day and behind us the eerie darkness of night. It would slowly envelope us in a rainbow of color – light blue to lavender to pink to orange to red to purple to dark blue to the black of night. We would see this parade of colors overtake us as the night came on and we would then be rewarded us by showering us with more stars than I have ever seen before. All that you would be able to see was total blackness and a star filled sky that seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, punctuated only by the occasional light of a farm house 20 miles off in the distance.

Overall this trip exposed me to areas of the county that I had only dreamed of seeing before. We met some interesting people along the way and were able to get the rare opportunity to see, smell, feel, taste and hear parts of the country in a very up close and personal way.

While I am a little sad that one of my best friends now lives 3000 miles away, I am glad that it is in a city which has so much to offer with a lady who I like a lot. I certainly can not wait to go back and see them again and to visit Alcatraz, go camping, visit wine country, see a museum or two, see the Castro, revisit The Mission (and remember it this time), and to experience everything else that the city and area has to offer!

Who knows… maybe I will have to drive out and see them again!

The Best And Worst of Cross Country Driving

Its been about 1 week since I've arrived in San Francisco and I've had a few days to put the roadie into perspective. I know how people love lists, so I've decided to lay out the best and worst of cross country traveling for folks who may or may not want to give it a try someday...

The Best...

5.) St. Louis Arch-Its a big metal arch that sticks out of the ground along the banks of the Mississippi River, but if you haven't seen it its bigger and more impressive than you can possibly imagine. I really hope to visit St. Louis again someday to take the elevator up the arch and scope out the Budweiser factory.

4.) The Change in Scenery-From The Atlantic Ocean, to forests, to wineries, to the Great Lakes, to Farmland, to Desert and mountains, to more farmland and mountains, and finally the mighty Pacific...there sure is a lot to look at while you're cruising across the country. It may not seem like it at the time, but when you step back and put the trip into perspective, there truly is!

3.) Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame-Jim Morrison's cub scout uniform, Michael Jackson's Grammy for Thriller, Elvis' Cadillac, plus lots of stuff for radio nerds like me. We spent 2 hours there and could have spent hours more if we didn't have to hit the road.

2.) The Pacific Coast Highway-Beautiful, picturesque, and legendary. Truly as awe inspiring as advertised, and with tons of camping spots and hiking trails I'm sure to return soon. Also just what you need to see after traveling for day through farmland and desert.

1.) The Grand Canyon-If its not on your list of things to see before you die, stop what you are doing right now and put it on. Words simply can't describe how breath taking the Grand Canyon is, and with hiking trails, mule rides, and great views from behind metal railings at the top there is a GC adventure for everybody.

The Worst...

5.) Niagara Falls-Beautiful and impressive, but after about 30 minutes I found the waterfall thing getting old. I really don't understand why people honeymoon there. I'd have a much better time vacationing in Boston or at a cabin on Lake Champlain.

4.) Oklahoma/Texas-After OK-City its hours and hours and hours of driving and the only cool thing we saw was a brush fire. The largest cross in the Western Hemisphere really didn't do much for us.

3.) Hotels with horrible internet connections-Nothing is worse than getting to a hotel after 8-12 hours in a car to upload pictures and blog, than having to deal with a terrible wifi signal. A process that takes a few minutes max at home can take hours when the internet connection is suspect. And yes, I'm talking about you Vagabond Inn in Bakersfield, CA.

2.) Las Vegas/Hoover Dam-Not boring, just not as exciting as I pictured them. After days and days of driving through nothing, I was disappointed to roll over the Hoover Dam, I found Lake Mead much more impressive and the mountains around it made the dam look pretty small in comparison. Vegas on the other hand was a tiny strip of casinos in the middle of the desert. All crammed together and not as impressive as its legend would have you believe.

1.) Arizona-Home of officer 5920 and his $190 speeding tickets, poor quality jeans that are available at J.C. Penny, and that nasty sugary ice tea. The only thing Arizona has going for it is a giant hole in the desert (see Grand Canyon) that hopefully someday will envelop the entire state.

Friends Gone, Time to Recover

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Sunday we caught the final pre-season game between the Dodgers and Giants at the ballpark across the street. A 3-1 victory. The game was fast paced, the garlic fries were fantastic, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time. I'm looking forward to seeing many games this season. I've never dreamed of living this close to a major league ballpark. Wish it was Fenway!

Yesterday we took Noreen on the "Full House" tour of San Francisco then went to the beach, and on to Muir Woods to see some big ass Red Wood Trees. I've seen them before, but they are still as impressive as my first visit. I think Chris and Ben were equally awed by the massive size of the giant sequoias. No uncomfortably tense moments with strangers yesterday which is a good thing because my 3 d-bag friends are now on their flight home while I'm stuck trying to learn the ropes in my new city. The last thing I need is a jacked Australian dude in a wife beater pounding me to smitherines because Ben tells him to "be a man!"

Another thing that I hope doesn't turn into a pattern here is the way the Thai food place around the corner boxes up meals. I had about 1/3 of a plate left at dinner last night and I asked to waiter to box it for me. He only boxed the rice...Where the hell are my chicken and veggies? As delicious as plain brown rice is, I'd be much happier with a little sauce to help it slide down.

Come On, Be A Man

“Oh I am a man”

Such is the exchange that we had with a rather burly Australian man in the beer aisle of Safeway. We were discussing why the hell anyone would ever want to drink Bud Light or Bud with Clamato juice (Clam juice and Tomato juice for those inquiring minds out there). We discussed with this man with Ben, Brian and I trying to convince him to buy it. After Ben leaned in close to him and said “Come on, be a man” he turned and looked at Ben and for a moment we all thought Ben was going to be punched out. Instead of that he responded slowly in his thick Australian accent “Oh, I am a man!” and walked away. Such was our encounter with the “Stranger of the Day”.


Yesterday we were further blessed by great weather. Remind me when I get home to send Mother Nature a telegram thanking her for beautiful weather that we have had since I left Maine over a week ago.

After the Farmers Market yesterday we had a realization session at Candace’s. Powernaps, Tea and snacks while lounging in the sun were on order. After a couple of hours we headed in town to catch a ride on a Cable Car down to Fisherman’s Warf. We all landed spots on the car where you hang off the side while cruising along the streets. Brian, Candace and Nor scored spots on the sidewalk side of the car, with Noreen having the money spot in front. Ben and I on the other hand had the street side of the car. Consider this a fair warning if you ever want to hang off the side of a Cable Car.: Suck in your guts and tuck in your ass cheeks. There were a few times where we almost clipped cars going in the other direction because we were essentially hanging out over the middle yellow lines in the road.

We hopped off the car at the top of Lombard Street and walked down and did the tourist thing of standing in the middle of the road and tying up traffic while taking pictures. We wandered down to Ghirardelli Square after that where after seeing gigantic tubs of chocolate being made. We then wandered over to a wine tasting where after 7-8 generous tastings Ben and I were suckered into joining their wine club. In a few weeks we will be having half a case wine delivered to The Borough!

After the wine, we were feeling pretty smiley so we headed down to the Quarter Arcade and played some really old video games. They had games and amusement machines which were over 100 years old! Some of them were lame, others were fascinating. Some were downright creepy… most notably the 1920s “porn” viewers. We then ambled on over to the Pier 39 Sea Lions where we were greeted by the site of the Sea Lions playing and fighting and barking.

After our adventures out in the city we headed back to Candace’s to cook our fresh handmade ravioli and drink the bottles of wine from the tasting room. A pretty chill day in the city which I seem to like more and more each day. Today’s agenda includes drinking beer, eating food, drinking beer and then heading down to see the Giants take on the Dodges in the final exhibition game of the Spring Training season.

I can not wait to boo the shit out of Manny.

The First 24

Ben and Noreen landed in San Francisco 24 hours ago and in that time we have had quite a whirlwind adventure. We started off at O’Neills Pub around the corner from where Candace lives. The food was so-so but the beer was tasty. We then took off for a drive around the city including a jaunt down Lombard Street and a spin though Chinatown on our way to Golden Gate Park. After that it was a drive up some more of the curviest most dangerous roads that I have ever seen, to the top of Mt. Tamalpais. From the top parking lot a quick ½ mile hike yielded some stunning views of the entire Bay Area. Despite it being windy enough to the point we were looking for Dorothy to come flying in, it was a beautiful day for the walk up the mountain.

We then drove back into the city to the Haight – Ashbury neighborhood for some dinner and jazz. The jazz club that we were at was Club Deluxe and the band was tremendous. The drinks of the night were primarily mojitos and a “SPA Collins”. Both of which were stronger than they were delicious. And they were SUPER tasty. After our first sip, we looked at each other and knew it was going to be one of “those” nights. We met some of Candace’s friends and spent a few hours talking with them and listening to the band. After several more mojitos, G&Ts and a couple of shots, we were off and running. Noreen and Ben had been awake for about 24 hours at this point and while Candace brought Noreen back to the apartment to got to sleep, Ben, Brian and I went to The Utah, a bar around the corner, for a night cap or three. After a bizarre discussion about how good Maine Blueberries are with the doorman, and despite the realization that the ratio of women to men was 1:83 we knew it was time for a drink. We had a couple of beers and listened to some more music while admiring the King Tut bust that had antlers attached to it. After a couple rounds it was about 2:00 AM and we decided we should go back home and call it a night.

We walked back to Brian and Candace’s and introduced Candace’s apartment building to which can only be described as the Drunken Maine Tornado. Stumbling into the apartment like a bull in a china shop, we came across the Flying Monkey on the table which was just begging to be thrown around. If you have never had the joy of shooting the flying monkey through the air, the arms act more or less like a slingshot which catapults the monkey through the air. And as it flies, it releases a screeching howling monkey sound at about 428 decibels for 20 seconds You can only imagine what that sounded like with Ben, Brian and myself launching it around the apartment for 30 minutes… at 2:00 AM. How Noreen did not wake up with a screeching monkey flying over her head, will be one of the great all time mysteries of mankind. I am fairly certain that the Officer 5920 heard it all the way from Arizona and was preparing to write us a ticket for disorderly conduct. Luckily the exhaustion of the day finally took over and we settled down for a few hours of shut eye.

This morning, we decided to walk off the fuzz in our brains by heading to the Farmers Market which is on one of the piers with outstanding views of the Bay Bridge. It was a beautiful morning and after coffee and food we walked around picking out the fresh ingredients to make our dinner tonight. For now, it is off to ride some cable cars, dinner and then drinks in The Mission followed by some relaxing in the hot tub.

I love vacation.

Monkey's Away!

Day 1 in San Francisco, The Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tam, and out to the Haight after grabbing Noreen and Ben at the Airport mid afternoon. Luckily we had a perfect sunny day to see the GGB and to drive up and hike the mountain to experience majestic views of the city. Its great having 3 of my best friends visiting my first weekend in SF. I like playing tour guide in my new home and encourage everyone to look me up when they're in town. My cousin Brenda from Michigan will tell you I'm a pretty bitchin' tour guide. I have fond memories of dragging her all over Maine, with her at the wheel, before I had my drivers license.

Club Deluxe is a jazz club with cool music, a bar tender with a killer mostache, and Mojitos that will get you to the altered state of mind you seek in a delicious kind of way. After the club Ben, Chris, and I had a fellas night cap at Hotel Utah, a dive bar down the street. We arrived home shortly before 2am, broke out the flying monkey and decided it would be a great idea to fling him around the apartment at each other, while Candace, Noreen, and Sheridan (Candace's roommate)tried to get some sleep. That alone coupled with the sound of 3 grown men giggling made a ton of noise, but add in the fact that the monkey makes a loud screeching sound when you sling shot him into the air and it must have sounded like a marching band came over for a middle of the night parade through the living room. I still don't understand how the ladies slept through it all.

San Francisco at Last!

We pulled in about 7:00 PM Pacific Time to San Francisco. The home of such things as Alcatraz, the Grateful Dead and most importantly the setting of the hit Robert Redford film “Sneakers” (which was completely robbed of an Oscar by the way). When we arrived we unloaded Brian’s stuff and sat down for a night of relaxation: homemade pizza and wine; followed by a walk down to the San Francisco Giants stadium and McCovey cove. It was exactly what the doctor ordered after the long week. Well that and a couple of swigs of Goslings Black Rum out of our swanky new shot glasses, courtesy of the state of Oklahoma.

This morning was a fabulous breakfast – homemade biscuits (courtesy of Candace), jams and fresh fruits. My body is not sure how to react to the change. For the past week we have been having shitty hotel breakfasts, even worse coffee and the prospect of having to be in the car for 14 hours. Not today though. Today, it was awesome food, great coffee and the joy of knowing that we have arrived and that the rest of the weekend would soon be spent with Ben and Noreen exploring one of the more fascinating cities in the country.

I am not sure what today’s adventures will bring but it will be fun to spend some time in a city for more than just five hours of sleeping. Part of me is a little sad that we will not be partnering up with Hoots and the Maine Train again. The Maine Train has been our home for the last week and at times through the desert, when there was no cell phone coverage for days, Hoots was the only other person that would talk to us. Well, except for the bat-shit crazies that we met along the way That being said to be honest, I am sure as hell glad to not be getting into the car for 15 hours again.. Living your life at 83.2 MPH for days on end (with the occasional burst into the 90s) is enough to a) make you want to choke yourself with the Flying Monkey and b) get a speeding ticket.

Here’s to San Francisco.

Here are the stats from yesterday:

Miles Traveled: 351.7
Overall Speed: 34.6 MPH
Moving Speed: 48.9 MPH
Max Speed: 82.6
Moving Time: 7:11
Stopped Time: 2:59
Overall Time: 10:10
Wineries Passed: 1,328*

*Approximate

Also do not forget to check out all of the pictures from Niagra Falls to Cleveland to St. Louis to the Grand Canyon and everything in between at http://picasaweb.google.com/bpelletier2