added July 4, 2014: I noticed that this never got published. I’m not sure why not, but my first guess is that I was still working on it a bit at a time. Well, even without the wreck, I wouldn’t be able to remember the emotional details that I was shooting for. So, I’m just going to come up with an approximate date and go ahead and publish it. –Jeff
–original content is below–
I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about my recent awesome vacation to San Francisco. I realized that if I concentrated on what I did, it would sound like an elementary school report. Instead, I’m going to give a shot at talking about how I felt about some of the things I did and saw. If nothing else, it will be more original. 🙂
First, it has to be said that my wife rocks. There are many reasons, of course, but in particular I’m thinking about the vacation rental apartment she found for us. Among the six of us, we had three bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, washer/dryer, and net access all in a nice quiet neighborhood in the middle of the city. There was a full market just a block away, and we ate at probably three or four different restaurants in the neighborhood. I definitely want to do it this way again when vacationing with a group!
On our first day venturing out, we learned that the closest bus trip is not always the best bus trip. Or, maybe that any map of San Francisco should include topographical information for n00bs like us. 🙂 We quickly found the two buses which were within relatively flat walking distance of the apartment. All joking aside, I did a lot of walking that week, and I know it was good for me. I would be a much healthier person if I lived somewhere where my daily commute involved walking to a bus.
I have to mention here what cool friends I have for taking vacations. When I go on a vacation, most of what I get out of it is simply being away from work and the normal routine for a while. So, I don’t normally plan a lot of activities. I’m more than happy to tag along with at least some of the things that other people do. Then, sometimes I like to hang back and just have time to relax. I think everyone on the trip felt about the same way, and it turned out that we had really great mix-and-match groups going out and doing the things they felt like doing. It made for a truly relaxing vacation.
On the dog days of summer here in north Alabama, I dream about my visits to the Bay area. The difference in temperature is obvious, and the lower humidity is a treat, but for some reason I didn’t realize until this trip that what I think I like the most is the near-constant breeze. I think I could live with the heat here in Alabama a lot better if the air would just move. Opening a window in San Francisco is pure bliss for me. One of my big “BWAH?” moments on the trip was when I realized that at 1:00 PM in the afternoon in late June, we were opening the windows in the apartment in order to make it cooler.