San Francisco.
A few thoughts on my trip to San Francisco. I was walking around the streets looking for something... anything. I stumbled upon a little cafe with an open mic night. They served beer and the food menu had great names like "This is your brain on drugs breakfast sandwich". I listened to songs about wanting to fuck Jenny and poetry about getting paid 300 dollars a month for being clinically insane. It was great. Perfect introduction to San Francisco. After the cafe closed, I headed across the street to a bar. They just happened to have hip hop downstairs and drum 'n bass upstairs. The DnB DJs were surprisingly good. I was impressed. All of this on a completely random Wednesday night. The other highlights of the trip:
Going to a breakers dance competition. About eight breakers (and one popper) battled to breaks. DAMN, they got some skills.
Meeting my great-aunt and her extended family.
Wine tasting in Napa Valley. We tasted some really good wine, had a great lunch, took a tour of the vineyards, and learned how you're supposed to drink wine. [sarcasm]And to think, all these years I've been doing it wrong![/sarcasm] I went home with a wonderful bottle of Peju reserve Merlot that I'll be saving for a special occasion. :)
Sophie's crepes. Mmmmm.
Visiting the Musee Mechanique. A collection of really old coin operated mechanical games/amusements. Some of them were probably 80 years old. Deposit a quarter, turn a hand crank, and watch crude moving pictures.
The Exploratorium, which had all kinds of cool hands-on science exhibits.
And of course Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, and a walking tour of the city with my tour guide Brian. All around great trip!