The Frisco Trip Epilogue

No tears, Nathan, no tears. Be strong, and maybe one day you can return to this amazing land.

As I packed up my clothes, and various accumulated items, I was studied by Puck, the giant, social cat of good humor. He was keeping my company and seemed expectant and polite. It was nice, because it didn’t seem like a good-bye. More like a “See ya, later.” And that’s how I would like to view this part of the trip to Frisco.

We had to get up early to head to the Jack London Square Bus Station in time for my train. Dennis had even gone so far as to cook up some pesto pasta (homemade pesto, at that!) for my return trip to Anaheim. It was a much better choice than the stale sandwiches that I might have had to assemble.

We got to the Train Station with over half an hour to spare. So Veronica and Dennis sat with me for a while and we talked about the trip and other potential trips on the train. It was a nice send-off. They soon took off, and my train arrived within a few minutes.

The trip back would also be Train-Bus-Train, but this time around the leg of the trip on the bus would only be four hours, which was a VAST improvement. I finished up the last of my pod casts that I had on my iPod, and started reading The Gone-Away World, the book I had bought at City Lights. The book is pretty interesting so far, if a little scattershot at the moment. I’m not sure if this is the point, or if the author honestly can’t make up their mind on what they want to write. But still a good choice of a read (thanks for the suggestion, Sarah!)

I shoot some texts around, play a hand of solitaire, briefly contemplate trying to grab some sleep, and wonder at what the kid in front of me was crying about. His mom was definitely at a loss to what the fuss was about. Though I don’t speak Chinese, so I’m at a loss as well.

I arrive at Anaheim at around 9:00 pm, and get to my car, and head home. After I detail some of my exploits and memorable moments in Frisco to my parents, I haphazardly unpack and go to sleep. Cuz the vacation is over, and I have work at 8:00 am tomorrow morning.

Ugh.

But my last thoughts about San Francisco? It’s a helluva town, with amazing food, and crisp, cool weather. But what’s even better? I have family there, and now I know that’s a fact, instead of just in theory.

BIG THANKS TO DENNIS AND VERONICA, THE BEST DANG COUSINS A MOOK LIKE ME COULD ASK FOR! See ya down the road, cuz…

-Nate

Frisco Trip - Day 04: Task Saturated & Time Compressed

March 28, 2010:

One of my favorite things that Dennis had ever said was “We are task saturated and time compressed!” And now that I only have today to enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of San Francisco, I think that phrase is even more relevant now.

We woke up still full from Tadish Grill, so we didn’t eat any breakfast, and we planned my last day. The first order of business, was to go to Zachary’s Pizza to meet up with my Great Uncle Eugene and my Great Aunt Rinata. Planning this had been an ordeal in of itself, because of scheduling and confused math. But we were on and out the door.

Zachary’s Pizza was a cool little joint that was known for its Chicago Style Pizza Pies. The pizza was pretty good, but the lunch company was even better. We chatted a bit with each other, but, as I had already been said, time compressed and all that. Our next destination was the heart of the city of San Francisco itself.

We decided to use the BART system of subway trains, both to let me get to try it out for a bit, and to give Dennis and Veronica a break from driving. The BART ain’t a bad way to travel. Southern California could use something like it. But our love of the car here has delayed any real headway in that area.

Back to Frisco…

Our first stop off the BART was the Cartoon and Comic Book Museum. Man, I’m easy. Dennis and Veronica had me pegged. That was fine, because I caught a glimpse of some original Frank Miller art from The Return of the Dark Knight, not to mention tons more original comic book, manga, anime, and cartoon art. It was an incredible display.

We stopped off at the Hotel that Dennis and Veronica held their wedding at. Apparently, this hotel is known for the Doorman that works there. He’s dressed as a Beefeater from England, and they get paid an insane amount of money. In fact, the same Doorman, Tom, that had been working there when Dennis and Veronica got married was actually there today. He was very nice, and helped us grab the Street Car to go deeper into inner San Francisco. I finally got to ride on these little cable cars, though they didn’t head straight to the stars, they were certainly packed to the gills. We got off in Chinatown, which we walked through to get to Little Italy.

Little Italy was the sight for most of the Beat scene establishments. We went to Café Trieste and had a snack and sit down. We walked over to City Lights book store, where I bought The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. After the book store, we ambled over to Vesuvio, the bar that Jack Keroauc liked to hang out at. I only grabbed a half-pint of beer, still trying to settle down from all the walking.

We then walked UP THE HILLS of San Francisco, which were designed to break lesser men. I’m may refer to myself as Nate the Greater, but I’m just barely great enough for these hills, but at least I didn’t keel over and die. As we neared an intersection, I could smell burnt car brakes. We had arrived to the famous windy street!

We walked up the side, and I was surprised to find that people actually lived right off this windy street. I couldn’t help but wonder at who would want live on such a busy, and yes, famous, one-way street, but to each their own. We headed down to the Fisherman’s Wharf, which Dennis and Veronica referred to as the “most touristy and barely San Francisco area” we could go to.

We walked through the wharf, stopping here and there to get a good look at certain shops. We ended up taking a tour of the USS Pampinito, a WWII era Submarine. It was pretty cool, and I knew that I would have gone crazy in such cramped quarters. We continued on to the Museum Mechanique, which had a huge collection of old arcade games from early 1900’s to the recent 80’s and 90’s. I even took a picture in one of the old school photo booths. We headed further down the wharf, grabbing some sourdough bread from Boudin’s, and watching some street performers.

I felt exhausted, but more than happy to have had such a busy weekend. The last place we would eat dinner at was a place called Fog City Diner. And yet again, I was blown away at the quality of food to be had within San Francisco. I had a Pesto Pasta with chicken that was really, really good, while Dennis and Veronica had a sampling of crab cakes, chili releno, and other delicious choices. After we ate, we headed back to their home, with a stop at a grocery store for some drinks and snacks for my ride home.

It didn’t hit me till I was buying a Diet Dr. Pepper that it truly had been my last day in San Francisco. The first sip of that soda was bitter indeed.

Topics of Conversation @ San Francisco: Hippie sniffer, tax season, France, carpeted vs. plastic, embers, 100 Proof alcohol, Evil Chocolate Companies, career choices, the urine aroma of LA, upper/downer topics, snoring as a sign of enjoyment, the beauty of pesto, D.I.N.K. living, etc.

-Nate

Frisco Trip - Day 03: A Lame Goal Achieved

March 27, 2010:

The Golden Gate Bridge isn't all that big. Go figure.

I’m a total newbie and tourist, so we started the day with visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, the symbol of Frisco if there was one.

We started on the side of the bridge that was opposite of San Francisco. And as it turns out, the cliff that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge was a perfect spot for an artillery, a place called Battery Spencer. I was never aware of this, but Spencer was, until the mid-40’s, one of the main lines of defense for any attacks on San Francisco. It had a cool look to it, and reminded me, movie geek that I am, of just about any local where you needed an abandoned military base/ghost town feel.

We crossed the bridge and parked on the other side to walk across the bridge. We only went half-way, seeing as we had to pack a lot into the day. I’ve been noticing as of late, and especially when I walk around areas that are both high up and have an open view, that I have a mild fear of heights. Its not so bad that I can’t even look down, or get terrified, but that I have to focus on anything that has nothing to do with how high up I am. I felt it at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I’ve felt it when looking out over office building windows, and I definitely felt it on the Golden Gate Bridge.

My opinions on the Golden Gate Bridge? What hasn’t already been said a thousand times? Let’s just say I’m for it.

Afterwards, we headed to Haight and Ashbury to grab lunch and to earn the right to say that I’ve been there. We ate at a place called Magnolia Brewery, where one of there claims to fame is that they have direct access to some of the purest water in the entire city. The water was cool, but the food was even better. And the beer was pretty dang good, too.

We exited and walked down the street to head to my requested destination, which was the San Francisco Amoeba Record Store. With this store, I would complete my easy quest of being to every Amoeba Store in the world. But before we got there, we tried a number of the stores along the way. Ranging from musical instrument stores, book stores, and even the area Goodwill store, which was impressively stocked with nice vintage clothes and items. Not a big surprise, considering the address, but an all around world of difference.

But besides the businesses, the people on the street are incredibly interesting, from the everyday citizen, to the homeless man, to the new generation of deadbeat hippies. Within a block of walking, we had been offered a gold watch, a used newspaper, a cell phone, and metamphetamines. Veronica had even been sniffed by someone. Very strange.

But within this entire myriad of questionable antics, not once was I offered marijuana. I was a little sad at that.

We arrived at the San Francisco Amoeba, and I soon achieved my admittedly weak sauce goal of being in every Amoeba in existence. It felt cool. A simple accomplishment, but it was all mine, darn it. I even picked up a hard to find copy of Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment by the band Bad Astronaut. Used, even! Good on ya, SF Amoeba.

We exited Amoeba, found our car, and headed off to check out even more of Frisco. One such place turned out to be a set hills called the “Twin Peaks” (nothing like the movie or show, darn it), and got a panoramic view of all of San Francisco, from the Pacific Ocean to the Bay. Beautiful city and location, to say the least. We then went to the Golden Gate Park and walked around for a bit, though we were too late for the Japanese Tea Garden. By the way, the Golden Gate Park is staggeringly gi-normous.

Following the King of Public Parks, we went to lazily named Ocean Beach and walked through a defunct salt water park and a mysterious cave. I love caves. I don’t know why, I just want to grab a torch and explore for lost items of monetary value and fight nazis. Simple joys, people. Though the “cave” was really just a tunnel, the cool part was that half-way through, there was a opening in the wall that led into a cavern where ocean water would roar in and out of. Again, simple joys.

At this point, our hunger had achieved levels of urgent distress. We headed further into the city proper, valiantly searched for parking, and walked to a restaurant named Tadish Grill. The place had an old school feel to it. In fact, it had been established in 1849. They were in there 161st year of continuous operation. The entire wait staff was male, and they all wore white coats. These guys had that feeling of experience and stand-offishness that can only be achieved through years of working at a place that I would have to sell blood to eat at more than once a year.

BUT SWEET DANCIN’ ZEUS, THE FOOD!

I got the Lobster Thermidor Baked in the Shell, Served with Small Salad or Cup of Chowder, Potato and Vegetable. I opted for the clam chowder.
Dennis got the Filet Mignon (6 oz) Broiled, Topped with Jumbo Prawns, with Bearnaise Sauce, Potato and Vegetable.
And Veronica got the Seafood Cioppino with Garlic Bread, (includes: clams, prawns, scallops, bay shrimp, crabmeat, and white fish).

(I know all this because I promptly swapped a menu. Don’t worry, the menus change every other week or so).

To say the food was delicious would be a gross understatement. It was perfect in every way. I can rarely say that, and when I do, I might be wrong. But not in this case. And it wasn’t even obnoxious in its excellence. It was more in a way that the restaurant didn’t have any other choice but to be the source of such awesome fare.

We all tried a little off of each other’s plate. The lobster was big, sweet, and covered in an amazing sauce. Dennis’ steak was perfect. And Veronica’s cioppino had some of the best broth I’d ever tasted, not to mention amazing seafood. I’m not much for seafood, but DAMN that was good.

And clam chowder I had there was the best clam chowder I’ve ever had. And it seemed right that the best clam chowder I’ve ever had was not only in San Francisco, but in the Tadish Grill.
After stuffing ourselves till our eyes watered, we headed home and slept the sleep of the righteously gluttonous.

Topics of Conversation @ San Francisco: Yellow pits, beer production, Muir, hippie elves, chill offers for illegal wares, Hetchy water, bands starting with the letter “Z”, the Guano Wars, “Damn it, China!”, Two Schulz’s = Disaster, Zachary’s Lament, the crack of sunset, etc.

-Nate

Frisco Trip - Day 02: The Most Technologically Advanced Shopping Cart

March 26, 2010:

Before I get started on this entry, I should give you a quick a rundown on the cool people that were letting me stay at their place, and who were going to give me a tour of San Francisco and Bay Area:

VERONICA!: [On Left] My cousin through blood. Her mom is my dad’s aunt on his dad’s side. Yeah, tracking family connections is hard and only should be attempted by professionals. She works as a animal biologist with an emphasis on impact on animal habitats. Now that I’ve written that sentence, I have a powerful feeling that I’m absolutely wrong. Hopefully Veronica won’t get annoyed and boycott me from ever visiting again. She also loves the arts, working out in the field, and ciopinno seafood stew!
DENNIS!: [On Right] Veronica’s husband, so that I guess that makes him my cousin-in-law? I don’t know how that’s supposed to work, so I’ll just settle for cousin. He was a firefighter until he was injured on the job, in a burning building to boot. If he could, he’d be back out there stopping fires and eating ridiculously good Fire House food. He knows a hell of a lot of stuff about a hell of a lot of stuff. Also, he drives just this side of crazy, but he’s good enough to pull it off.

Okay, so those are the principle players in my education on all things Pleasant Hill, Oakland, Berkley, and San Francisco. Now you’re caught up.

I slept deep, which meant waking up was slow going. But I did persevere and gain consciousness around 9:30 or so. In time for some breakfast of omelets and tea. I bought my return tickets for my return to Anaheim on Amtrak, and was able to knock about ten bucks off the price by merely choosing a different origin point. (Thanks for the idea, Veronica!)

The idea for today was to check out the Oakland and Berkley area, and finish of the day with a viewing of a revival of Captain Blood at the Paramount Theater. This sounded like a better plan than my non-plan of “taking in the sights.” We were on our way in minutes.

One of the few things that I wanted to check out while I was in Berkley and San Francisco was go to both of the Amoebas there. I know, the best one is in LA, but I just wanted to be able to say that I’ve been to every Amoeba Records in the world. Then I’d feel like a big shot.

So we drove around the Oakland and Berkley hills, checking out the San Francisco skyline all along the way down to UC Berkley. We got out of the Dennis’ truck and walked around campus, and were on our way to walking down Telegraph Street when my eyes caught upon one of many bums lounging around the campus. I guess the thing that truly caught my attention was the bum typing on his laptop.

Yeah, welcome to Berkley.

It took a second for my mind to register what I had just glimpsed. And I brought it up to Veronica and Dennis. Dennis suggested we go back and talk to the tech-savvy homeless man. It seemed like it would be worth the second or two. We walked over to the guy and gave him a dollar in exchange for a picture of him and his set up. And upon the second look, we realized that not only did he have a laptop, but he also had two solar panels on his shopping cart.

No where else have I ever seen a bum with such a technologically advanced shopping cart. It was more than a little impressive and funny.

We continued on to Telegraph Street, where I checked out the Berkley Amoeba. I bought a Granddaddy album and continued on to try another local record store called Rasputin. Rasputin was very impressive, and I was able to buy a used copy of Patton Oswalt’s newest comedy album “My Weakness Is Strong.” I might even slightly prefer Rasputin over Amoeba. But let’s keep that between you, me, and the internet.

We headed to Jack London Square to check out the Bay, and grabbed a beer at Heinhold’s First and Last Chance Tavern. It was an old whaling boat that had been hauled to the shore, cut in half, and converted into a tavern. After that, we headed into Uptown Oakland to eat at Luka’s, and meet up with some friends of Dennis and Veronica’s.

After the whole group and been assembled and fed, we walked over to the Paramount Theater to watch Captain Blood. First of all, Paramount Theater is a fixed up old-timey theater, and it is a beautiful work of art, with a man playing Worlitzer Organs just to introduce us to the overall ambience of the theater.

[The Paramount Theater]

After looking around the theater thoroughly, we settled in to participate in a Raffle, and then onto watching Captain Blood, the movie. Its an old style movie that pretty much helped to make Pirates of the Caribbean exist at all.

Errol Flyn plays a doctor that is forced into slavery for doing his job. He then turns to a life of piracy to strike back at a government and world that didn’t seem to care. Olivia de Havilland plays the girl that helps him out of a terrible situation, and who is, of course, deeply in love with Captain Blood. Though Olivia’s character can be very dumb and stubborn, but she does a good job of hiding her baffling intelligence. My cousins’ and their friends and I enjoyed the movie, with some gentle teasing of the flick mixed in throughout. Captain Blood is a classic. It launched a thousand careers and genres.

After the film, we headed back home to watch a little TV and slip off into slumber land.
But before that happened, Dennis stumbled upon the Cannabis Planet channel. Apparently it’s a new channel, just starting out in the Bay Area. Gotta love Frisco.

Topics of Conversation @ Berkley: Flash Gordan, Led Zep, Bubbly water, W’ahmbulance, Hippie Living habits and biology, sublte manipulation, solar panels, etc.

-Nate

Frisco Trip - Day 01: Past the 580

March 25, 2010:

So the first day for my San Francisco vacation had arrived! The tough part was that roughly 12 hours of it would be spent in transit to that mysterious city. It would be Train-Bus-Train. Oh well. I had some good books and pod casts and a fully charged iPod. Bring on the boredom!

Yeah, I’m in the future, too.

It was a long, long trip. Most of it spent on the bus, which wasn’t too bad, since I got to seats to myself and could stretch out and not be bothered. Which is kind of sad. A tiny, microscopic part of me kind of wanted to talk to people. To meet new fellow Americans. To interact with these citizens.

Or mostly talk to that cute girl a seat up.

Too bad, cuz she promptly went to sleep and didn’t wake up till her stop. And I’m smart enough to know that was planned from the beginning. Clever girl. Either way, I was only running on 4 hours of sleep, and really wanted to snooze more than I wanted to schmooze. Sue me.

Let’s say I fast forward for you, and tell you what I saw:

Landscape, farm, ocean, trees, mountains, clouds, ocean, EMU FARM, a European style shopping district, highway, train tracks, back of some dude’s head, McDonald’s, landscape, farm, graffiti, book, my iPod, fruit stand, trees, the back of some lady’s head, ocean, creepy guy with a dirty coat, farm, city, etc.

Throughout this journey of mythic proportions I texted back and forth with awesome people (clocking in at a new high of over 60 texts!), listened to SModcast, listened to each and every comedian album I had with an emphasis on Patton Oswalt and Nick Swarsdon, stared off into the infinite, ate trail mix, and so on.

I arrived at the Oakland Train Station at roughly 8:30 pm, with my cousin Veronica and her husband Dennis waiting for me. Dennis was surprised that I ended up at that Train Station. I didn’t know what he meant. He enlightened me that, apparently, the section of Oakland I arrived at is one of the worst areas around.

GULP.

But we were on our way, when Dennis also asked if I would like to visit the Fire Station he used to work at. I said Heck Yes, and within ten minutes of arriving in Oakland, I was inside a Fire Station eating one of the best meals I had ever eaten. Fire Fighters know how to cook. They are crazy good at it. It was broiled chicken breast stuffed with apples, herbs, and spices. There was also baked red potatoes with some of the best damn salad I’ve ever scarfed down.

After the Fire House, Dennis and Veronica showed me around Oakland, pointing out the huge difference between neighborhoods that live “above” the 580 freeway, and those that live “under” the 580. The difference is immediate and costly. Money does not travel far past the 580.

Topics of Conversation @ Oakland: No need to visit the Hell’s Angels, fires we started, Purple People, the Bullseye Wall, salt water taffy, Mojave Desert let down, fake camera paintings, Religious Business, no Burning Man for Veronica, Mama Wii, Faces and Heels, etc.

We got to my cousins’ home, which was really, really nice and also populated by a dog and two cats. The dog’s name was Puppy, the older cat was named Puck, and the younger cat was never seen. I also forgot its name. Oops.

What’s important is that Puppy is a nice dog, but not very interested in anyone other than her masters. But Puck is incredibly social and talkative. Probably one of the nicest cats I had ever met. And HUGE. To the point that I was starting to wonder if Bobcat was in Puck’s genealogy.
I soon hit the wall, and went to sleep in the Guest Room. It felt GREAT. A quick end to Day One.

-Nate

Frisco Prep

One day till San Francisco!

And what better way to prepare for this North-bound journey of mystery and adventure than to go to Comics Unlimited for my comic run? Justin and Cap’n Josh joined me at the shop, with Mark and Lainey present to run said shop.

Topics of Conversation @ Comics Unlimited: Escalation, punching Davey Havok, cats using poop to protest, fame and how to get it, San Franciscoing, how Lainey punched a doctor, Sliders, yo-you tricks, crocodile stand-offs, etc.

A sad turn of events revealed that I did not have the money I would need to purchase my comics today, but I had asked if they could hold my comics till my money found me again. I then went to lunch at In-N-Out (it was one of those “Comics or eating? Comics or eating?” situations) with Justin and the Cap‘n.

Topics of Conversation @ In-N-Out: Guilty pleasure movies, its too dang sunny, the Fat Darryl, the SeAL sandwich, how unnecessary Indiana Jones’ presence was, Falling Down, etc.

Justin decided 100% that he wouldn’t be able to accompany me to San Francisco, which I understood, since a last minute choice to ride on the train changed the plans a great deal. I headed over to work at Norwalk, which was nice and chill. Then I headed home and spent the entire night getting ready for San Francisco.

This consisted of clothes, snacks, Podcasts, and books galore.

-Nate