” You’re going to meet some gentle people there.”

I love this city.  The people, the architecture, the famous landmarks, even the cold & fog, but really the feel of it.  I‘m a small town boy, but I‘ve often thought that if I ever have to live in a big city, let it be San Francisco.  How wonderful to find there is a whole new generation of hippies, many living in the East Bay.  Staying with James in Berkeley, it felt like the summer of love never ended…

Over in San Francisco, I spent the afternoon catching up with one of my longest time friends, Lauren.  When I first met Lauren 25 years ago, she was a motorcycle-riding, no-nonsense New Jersey girl, one of the first people who befriended me in engineering grad school at Cornell. Today, it felt like no time at all had passed, and before I knew it the hours disappeared sharing stories of the last 10 years, especially the recent times.  How good to talk, to listen, to hear and wonder.  To commiserate and to share questions and dreams.  What a treasure to have friends who know you, really know you.

Then off I rode to sightsee, to be the tourist on a bike.  Unburdened of most of its heavy paniers, tent, cook gear, sleeping bag – my bike and I flew up and over the San Francisco hills approaching the most celebrated destinations.  See if you notice anything familiar in the following video, filmed in HD on my Droid X:

After blasting through Fisherman‘s Wharf and all the Piers of the Waterfront, I hopped the BART back to the East Bay to have a wonderful Ethiopian dinner with Seth & Shawn, who were on a surprise trip to SF for a design project they are working on.  It was great to see them, after riding over 800 miles so far from home, but I missed Intaba even more as she was missing at the family table.  I‘ll be home soon, dear love!