San Francisco, CA/ Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), VietnamJuly 5, 2007
N 10°46.071
E 106°41.665
Since I had to fly through San Francisco three times during my trip to the States, I realized I needed a night in my favorite city in the world—the place I still call home. I jumped off the plane, grabbed my bags, and headed to BART, immediately excited, barely able to contain myself. I was back in San Francisco, even if it was for only 18 hours—I didn’t care.
I immediately felt obligated to help the tourists I encountered on BART trying to figure out their stop… “two more stops until your station,” I told the two Japanese girls holding their USA guide. I reminded them again when we got to Powell Street Station. I love this city I kept saying to nobody in particular after I finally reached my stop and walked down the street.
From BART I caught my “favorite” bus, the Stockton 30, at 6:00 PM the day before a holiday—as usual it was standing room only. I stood still with my large pack doing my best not to knock the people behind me off of their feet. As usual, the majority of the people got off at the two stops through Chinatown, leaving me a little room to maneuver before I exited at Washington Square Park.
The park was as perfect as always, dogs frolicking, bums napping in the sun, and mothers pushing their babies for an afternoon walk. The views of Coit Tower and St. Peter and Paul Church had me again whispering under my breath … this is the best city! I made my way down Columbus Street towards our friend Mike’s house, my home for the night, when I saw a couple tourists trying to read a map. I stopped and helped them, pointed them in the direction of the famous North Beach eateries.I dumped off my stuff and caught up with Mike before we headed to Giordano Bros. for an All-in-One sandwich (meat, cheese, fries and slaw between two pieces of bread—pure decadence) and Buffalo wings. The live music was already playing when we walked through the doors and I saw Allison holding her beautiful six month old daughter Sadie. The last time I saw Sadie she was 15 days old, a tiny little girl in my arms; now she has a cute personality and giggled when I tickled her belly. I quickly offered to take her for awhile knowing she will be close to a year old next time I see her.
Even though my trip to San Francisco was last minute, Shelby and Dustin were available to meet me for a night in the city. I am so lucky to have such great friends. As we were waiting for Shelby, Dustin, and Dustin’s brother Casey, my good friend Virginia walked into the highly rated sandwich shop. I sent Virginia a message earlier in the day letting her know I would be in town if she had time to meet me. I was ecstatic to see her and everyone else.
We hung out at Giordano Bros. for awhile before heading to Tony Nik’s, another one of my favorite North
Beach joints. As we walked to the local watering hole, the area was bustling with tourists, locals and the “bridge and tunnel” crowd. The air was crisp and I quickly put on my light sweater to stop the chill. When the night finally came to an end, I knew I couldn’t be happier with the fantastic evening I had with my friends, in my city. I wanted the evening to last forever, but since I knew I was fighting sleep—it had to come to an end.In the morning, as the sun shinned brightly over the San Francisco skies, I had some time to grab a coffee at Café Trieste. Luckily, two of my favorite people were working—Paul and Shawn—I gave them warm hellos and goodbyes all at the same time. I had a little one-on-one time with Shelby during our caffeine fix, thanked her for being such a good friend and then she took me to the airport.
After Shelby dropped me off at the San Francisco International terminal, I reflected on my quick visit to the United States. I realized how lucky I am to have such great friends and family and how much I enjoyed my time with each of them during my stay. For some of the people, like my Dad, it included long telephone conversations we haven’t been able to share due to the high cost of international calls. For others, like Jenn, it was sharing a once in a lifetime memory as she starts her new life.
In the end, it took everything to get me back on the plane to Saigon; I felt like I was being torn away from friends and family, but the single most important person—my best friend and family—was what pushed me through and forced me to board the plane. Ten days was definitely a break in the 24x7x365, but like they say… absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am more of the opinion that time together makes us stronger... at least that has been the case to date.
