San Francisco layover
Thanks to my generous host, I’m able to stay in San Francisco for 3 days, longer than my prior tours. I connect with the LitQuake writing festival, over 800 writers presenting around the city. Lulu and Caroline pointed me towards this event, serendipitously aligned with my tour destination at Esalen.
My odometer ticks over 13,000 miles while I explore the city, visiting coffee shops and tourist spots. I catch a ferry across to Sausalito and take a proper ride back over the Golden Gate – in the daylight this time! I meet up with Russell and Sarah, catching a dance performance at CounterPULSE. The final event is the LitCrawl in the Mission.
The weather is remarkable, sunny and warm, which seems to have San Franciscans confused, out in peacoats and hats. The weather lifts my mood, which can be brooding and melancholic. The Bay is filled with sailboats, the ferry excited tourists taking pictures and smiling. Each night I climb the hill to Lulu’s apartment on lower Haight, collapse onto the couch and sleep soundly.
I’ve made more friends in San Francisco this time, which helps. I’m really a country/small town boy at heart. Cities of this scale intimidate me. But spending time with the locals shrinks the vast sea of humanity to a small island, a conversation, a shared meal, connecting through art and culture. San Francisco has a mythic appeal, a mecca of creative thought and open culture. I’m glad to have landed here for a few days of rest and reflection. And I’m ready to move on down the road.
Vintage Bicycle Odyssey 