Robocop IV
It's been days, and I'm getting weary of the road. Victoria's in the same boat. We're just finishing up our 3 night stay in Eugene, OR with Victoria's aunt Lisa and uncle Ron and their kids Greyson and Lina. Good times had here, we have gotten a bit cozy. The next two nights are going to be camping nights, and we aren't exactly sure where or when we'll stop. I am not a "happy" camper.
Regardless, I think I'm only up for a brief update. "SF" was amazing, and Coire and Lizz did a great job showing us the sights. We got in and it was a tad chillier than expected. We bundled up and Coire and Lizz took us to the Full House houses, where I had a nice photo op. We went to Haight-Ashbury and walked a bit down Haight Street. My foot started worrying me when we stopped at Aardvark's, a franchised vintage clothing store. I'd switched to shoes and taken off my binding before leaving Oakland. Up to this point, I had been binding my foot with an ACE bandage and wearing my sandals, and with those things I could walk fine, no pain. Without them, and with low-cut shoes, my ankle was rubbed the wrong way. We cut Haight St. short, stopping at a Thai restaurant that wasn't Coire's first choice, but still having some good foods. We were going to go to a bar afterwards in the Mission District (where the college kids are) but Lizz had realized she forgot her wallet (and thus her ID). We left the restaurant and Coire drove us through the park, and to Twin Peaks where there was a gorgeous vista of pretty much all of "SF". Coire pointed out where we'd just been and the mostly gay Castro ("see where the road bends to the left?") District. We drove back to their place and dropped Lizz off to find her wallet then went to a much more sedentary bar just down the road. Coire, Victoria, and I had beers and just talked. We came back to Coire's place after that. Coire noticed early on that we were good luck for parking, as we regularly got spots right out in front of our destinations, unheard of in "SF".
The next day we got up and dressed warmly. Coire took us to The Crepe Vine for crepes (we had the Florentine) and Peaberry's across the street for coffee. We left there for the Golden Gate Bridge (the locals, unlike "SF", do not call this the "GGB"). Then we drove to Lombard to drive down the windy-est road in the world, but what we didn't know is that just prior to that block of Lombard is the steepest hill I've ever ridden a car up. Even as an automatic, Coire's car rolled back instantly when he took his foot off the brake. There's a stop sign just before it flattens out. We drove from there through the Castro and parked in North Beach. There we walked quite a bit, stopping at a coffee shop for a quick snack, and later talked economic systems in Jack Kerouac's favorite bar. We walked from there to Chinatown and then through Chinatown, stopping short of Union Square park and making it to Bocce Cafe, the cheapest (whilst still delicious) Italian restaurant that was Coire and Lizz's favorite in North Beach. We drove back through the Mission District and heard (if I remember correctly) Lizz recount seeing a woman selling $1 blowjobs out of a port-a-pot there before. We came back to their place afterwards and had the "SFBWM", watching The Transporter which Coire liked more than he thought he would.
The next morning we got up and drove to Point Reyes, where Bert had rented us his and Barbara's favorite little cottage to take a break. We got there and it was all bad. A tad chilly, Victoria threw some logs in the tiny woodburning stove in the corner of the single room. They ended up setting off the fire alarm. We found a Ouija board which we gingerly returned to its place and I took a shower, having skipped that at Coire's that morning. The water got cold in less than 5 minutes and filled the bottom of the shower to overflowing. Victoria felt anxious anyway that we were "wasting" a day there since I couldn't do much of the hiking that surrounded the place. She took a nap and I watched some TV and read a book I bought in "SF". We made spaghetti and got drunk on wine and Crown and Cokes and just talked until late in the night. Victoria freaked herself out though and didn't get much sleep. It was really, I think, at that point that we realized we didn't like small towns. Williams, AZ was the first small town we drove through, but Point Reyes and the subsequent towns we stopped in were just creepy. It's this exposed, vulnerable feeling (and who knows what they're up to?).
Needless to say, we left early the next morning up I-5 north. We detoured on 299 about 140 miles (which took three fucking hours) to get to highway 101 so we could drive through the Redwood National Forest. We figured after the drive through the Redwoods, the drive down 299 was actually worth it. The first redwoods we saw were high up, and it was either really foggy or we were in a cloud but with the sun shining through they looked amazing. The second bit of redwoods were in the open sun. Beautiful. We stopped quickly in Crescent City, close to the border of California and Oregon, to dip our toes one last time in the Pacific Ocean. In that time, we were hit up for money from a scam artist (sent her packing), and were almost bowled over by a girl on her way to a small memorial site. We left Crescent City in our dust up the 199 to I-5. Where they meet is Grant's Pass, OR, and we stopped there to eat at Della's Restaurant. Everything was fried and a bit much. We picked at our food and checked into a La Quinta there in town. The receptionist gave us the AAA discount and the hot tub was open 24 hours. A nice end to that day.
We got up that morning and headed to Eugene. We've done a good bit here, but I don't feel like typing anymore.
Regardless, I think I'm only up for a brief update. "SF" was amazing, and Coire and Lizz did a great job showing us the sights. We got in and it was a tad chillier than expected. We bundled up and Coire and Lizz took us to the Full House houses, where I had a nice photo op. We went to Haight-Ashbury and walked a bit down Haight Street. My foot started worrying me when we stopped at Aardvark's, a franchised vintage clothing store. I'd switched to shoes and taken off my binding before leaving Oakland. Up to this point, I had been binding my foot with an ACE bandage and wearing my sandals, and with those things I could walk fine, no pain. Without them, and with low-cut shoes, my ankle was rubbed the wrong way. We cut Haight St. short, stopping at a Thai restaurant that wasn't Coire's first choice, but still having some good foods. We were going to go to a bar afterwards in the Mission District (where the college kids are) but Lizz had realized she forgot her wallet (and thus her ID). We left the restaurant and Coire drove us through the park, and to Twin Peaks where there was a gorgeous vista of pretty much all of "SF". Coire pointed out where we'd just been and the mostly gay Castro ("see where the road bends to the left?") District. We drove back to their place and dropped Lizz off to find her wallet then went to a much more sedentary bar just down the road. Coire, Victoria, and I had beers and just talked. We came back to Coire's place after that. Coire noticed early on that we were good luck for parking, as we regularly got spots right out in front of our destinations, unheard of in "SF".
The next day we got up and dressed warmly. Coire took us to The Crepe Vine for crepes (we had the Florentine) and Peaberry's across the street for coffee. We left there for the Golden Gate Bridge (the locals, unlike "SF", do not call this the "GGB"). Then we drove to Lombard to drive down the windy-est road in the world, but what we didn't know is that just prior to that block of Lombard is the steepest hill I've ever ridden a car up. Even as an automatic, Coire's car rolled back instantly when he took his foot off the brake. There's a stop sign just before it flattens out. We drove from there through the Castro and parked in North Beach. There we walked quite a bit, stopping at a coffee shop for a quick snack, and later talked economic systems in Jack Kerouac's favorite bar. We walked from there to Chinatown and then through Chinatown, stopping short of Union Square park and making it to Bocce Cafe, the cheapest (whilst still delicious) Italian restaurant that was Coire and Lizz's favorite in North Beach. We drove back through the Mission District and heard (if I remember correctly) Lizz recount seeing a woman selling $1 blowjobs out of a port-a-pot there before. We came back to their place afterwards and had the "SFBWM", watching The Transporter which Coire liked more than he thought he would.
The next morning we got up and drove to Point Reyes, where Bert had rented us his and Barbara's favorite little cottage to take a break. We got there and it was all bad. A tad chilly, Victoria threw some logs in the tiny woodburning stove in the corner of the single room. They ended up setting off the fire alarm. We found a Ouija board which we gingerly returned to its place and I took a shower, having skipped that at Coire's that morning. The water got cold in less than 5 minutes and filled the bottom of the shower to overflowing. Victoria felt anxious anyway that we were "wasting" a day there since I couldn't do much of the hiking that surrounded the place. She took a nap and I watched some TV and read a book I bought in "SF". We made spaghetti and got drunk on wine and Crown and Cokes and just talked until late in the night. Victoria freaked herself out though and didn't get much sleep. It was really, I think, at that point that we realized we didn't like small towns. Williams, AZ was the first small town we drove through, but Point Reyes and the subsequent towns we stopped in were just creepy. It's this exposed, vulnerable feeling (and who knows what they're up to?).
Needless to say, we left early the next morning up I-5 north. We detoured on 299 about 140 miles (which took three fucking hours) to get to highway 101 so we could drive through the Redwood National Forest. We figured after the drive through the Redwoods, the drive down 299 was actually worth it. The first redwoods we saw were high up, and it was either really foggy or we were in a cloud but with the sun shining through they looked amazing. The second bit of redwoods were in the open sun. Beautiful. We stopped quickly in Crescent City, close to the border of California and Oregon, to dip our toes one last time in the Pacific Ocean. In that time, we were hit up for money from a scam artist (sent her packing), and were almost bowled over by a girl on her way to a small memorial site. We left Crescent City in our dust up the 199 to I-5. Where they meet is Grant's Pass, OR, and we stopped there to eat at Della's Restaurant. Everything was fried and a bit much. We picked at our food and checked into a La Quinta there in town. The receptionist gave us the AAA discount and the hot tub was open 24 hours. A nice end to that day.
We got up that morning and headed to Eugene. We've done a good bit here, but I don't feel like typing anymore.