A Fast Pace Back In the States...

San Francisco, CA, USA

November 10-13, 2007
N 37°48.049
W 122°24.580

The pace has been intense since the moment we touched down at SFO on Thursday. We’ve been busy running errands, seeing family and friends and trying to catch up on all the lives we missed over the last nine months. Also, we had the great opportunity to see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Paramount Theatre.

After the first night in San Francisco, I woke up early, unable to sleep, and headed out onto the streets of San Francisco, alone. The city is beautiful as it is waking up in the morning, with the street cleaners hosing down the remnants from last nights parties, cable cars clicking along the tracks without any passengers, and people out walking their dogs. The weather was perfect as I walked down the streets and felt like I was really at home.

After I grabbed coffee at Trieste I walked down to Aquatic Park where the devastation from the recent oil spill ruined the picture perfect backdrop. The beach is barricaded, preventing tourists from strolling on the beach. The stench from the oil filled the air and small black beads lined the water line on the sand, the oil slick had a rainbow glimmer in the water near the shore, as the birds stood on the beach they looked at the water wondering what happened to their home.

The day quickly turned into night and Marc, Mike and I were joined by Bob, Teddy, Dustin and Shelby. The crew headed out into the rain to make the journey to the Paramount Theater in Oakland where Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals were playing. The band was electrifying, the show amazing, one of the best we’ve ever seen. Our favorite songs were played and at times I felt Ben was singing directly to us, making our visit even more special.

On Sunday we continued to push the pace and jumped on BART in the morning and made our way to the East Bay. We met Bob and Teddy again in Walnut Creek and mooched a ride to my Dad’s house in Elk Grove. It was wonderful to catch up with my Dad and Bev; we sorted through our mail, checked out our car and started going through our boxes of warm weather gear that we’ll need in Europe over the next three months. It was nice to be in a familiar home and with our family again.

Over the next few days the pace continues and we’ll continue to enjoy family and friends and prepare for the big wedding on Saturday.

It’s strange to be home, especially knowing we’ll be back on the road in just a few days, but it’s all part of our journey.