San Francisco!

It’s Saturday June 28, 2008 and I am in San Francisco! I came here on a whim and as it turns out it is Gay Pride Week~ the busiest of the year here and I have seen some interesting sights……

I started my day at Taylor State Park campground. I went for a walk in a redwood grove. It was beautiful. Then I worked out with my weights and did some yoga. You gotta wonder what people think of a woman working out with dumbbells at a campground! I’m not one to worry too much about what people think though. After my workout I took a cold shower. Yes, cold! There was a place to feed quarters to the shower, but it worked without any. What I didn’t realize is that the quarters are what give you hot water! There were no instructions; I guess it’s just something that most people figure out!

Then I went to Point Reyes National Seashore. It is an interesting place, but the weather wasn’t good. It was overcast and a little misty. I think some of the overcast may have been from the fires. It was a really cool place, but I didn’t feel much like hiking around in the foul weather. I didn’t even put my feet in the ocean! The air temperature was 56 degrees; I figured the water was probably colder than I wanted to mess with! So, I drove all around the park. I did walk down to a lighthouse and got close to the Pacific : ) I saw some beautiful sights, but I’m afraid the pictures aren’t great because of the weather. While driving around the park I found a hostel and in front of the hostel were brochures on other hostels in the area. I called one in San Francisco and they had one bed available. So, I decided to check out the city. It was a drive of a little over an hour, although I made it longer because I kept stopping to take pictures of the shore!

Then, once I got to the city I just had to get out and walk on the Golden Gate Bridge~ Awesome!! The view of the city and of Alcatraz from the bridge was spectacular! I easily found the hostel and parked there, then caught a bus into the heart of the city. I went to a Mexican restaurant that someone from the hostel recommended and while there the excitement began. Suddenly there were hundreds of motorcycles going by outside. Someone explained that they were dykes on bikes! Then when I finished dinner and went outside there was a parade going on. And on and on for blocks! Mostly women, but men too. Mostly lesbian and gay couples, but friends and supporters as well. I wish I could have captured it on video. I’ve never seen so many people together in my life! Some of the women were topless. There were lots of tattoos too. I took some pictures but again photos don’t capture it. The energy was amazing~ you just had to be there! There are more activities going on tomorrow that I may check out. There are other sights I want to see too though. I’ll just have a couple of hours before heading out to visit my friend Kristi so I’ll just see how the morning pans out. I’ll probably be adding more photos to the San Francisco file though so do check back!