San Francisco

i have been to san francisco three times before
in 1998 as part of the road trip with josh dave and jeremy
i think we were there maybe four hours at night
visited dave in 2004 and 2005
really liked it both times
just took the bart everywhere

san francisco isnt quite as fun with a car
a lot more stressful
but it worked out

when i got to the golden gate bridge
it was mostly obscured by the fog
i walked up to it
and got some pretty great photos
it is amazing how good some of the pics
i have taken with a camera phone
they have come a long way

after i left the bridge
i looked back and the fog lifted
at first i was disappointed
but i think it was cooler with the fog

it took a while but i found a parking spot
near fishermans wharf
it was after 6
so i only had to pay for a half hour as the meters
are free after 7
the parking lots are by the hour with maxs of 24 and 36
depending on the lot

ate a sourdough bread bowl
found the sea lions
i was here in september both times with dave
and there was a ton of sea lions
yesterday there was just a handful
and they were mostly silent
i remember them being really loud

i knew finding a place to sleep would be tough
it is illegal to habitate in your car between 10pm and 6am
in the city

drove to ocean beach and thought i had a great spot
but just after 10
a cop came with a loudspeaker threatening everyone
said he would begin ticketing soon
there were a lot of people enjoying the beach
and he cleared it out

saw a spot on the road where they were motor homes
but there was sign prohibiting overnight
i was tired and didnt want to roused again

dave mentioned a spot in a text
but the hotel name and location
were different then what i found
by the name found a spot
but there were so many cars buzzing by
the car would shake
and i was worried i would half asleep
step out into traffic
so i gave up and drove south on highway 1
put in the gps of a mall and went 10-15 min

saw a mcdonalds and safeway in pacifica
so i got off
prepared to sleep in the safeway
but there was a shady guy two spots away
drove around the block
and pulled up behind a rv

i could hear the ocean but not see it
it was crashing just over the fence

it went well
woke up a few times
finally at 530 i went to the mcdonalds
to wait for sunrise
turned out it wasnt until 7

found the two browns bars
made maps
then went down the road

apparently there was a fog festival in town
so i had to skip that beach and go more south

there i found a beach with a taco bell
right on the beach

it was a cool beach
there were houses on hill overlooking the beach
surfers were everywhere

added pacifica to the list with red lodge
as places to live when i win the lottery

now a the "browns" bar but
i think they claim to be a every team bar
i dont think there will be sound
this might be costly

found a parking spot so hesitate to try the other bar