I Left My Heart in San Francisco

I have no idea how I am going to compile a little over two weeks of an experience into one post, but I'm going to try.

Firstly, leaving LA involved a bit of foreshadowing into leaving San Francisco. The slider broke off of the zipper on my suitcase. Luckily, I was able to reattach it before my 6 hour bus ride up the Golden Coast.

For the entire time I stayed in a lovely home near the corner of Rivera and 44th Avenue only four blocks away from the Pacific Ocean. The first night after having Indian food delivered for dinner, I met my fellow housemate and soon to be friend Clare. She is a teacher from New Hampshire around my age. We hit it off very quickly, and thank goodness because we had a 30-40 minute commute into downtown everyday!

The number one thing I have to say for San Francisco in terms of convenience is that the public transportation is PHENOMENAL. The MUNI is the subway system that reaches through the center part of the peninsula from the Pacific Coast to Bayside. The subway cars are emition free and run on electricity once they get above ground as do some of the buses. There's also a bus system under MUNI that goes to all the other parts of the peninsula. It's only $2 a ride, but stops running around midnight. This dashed my dreams of any club action on a night off, but that was probably for the best.

BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit, goes all the way from the airport across the Bay and into Oakland and Berkley. It's more expensive to ride but has nicer seats and less stops. Both of these systems played a key role in my carless adventures around the city. I'm the kind of person who hates driving, so this city was a dream. It's actually rather expensive to have a car because some places require you to pay to park it per month along with rent, and that charge can be as high as $500 or more.

I am going to have to be careful not to ramble on because I want to say so many things about this city I fell in love with so quickly. I'll just have to take you there to divulge all the information that wants to spill from my fingers.

For the entire two weeks, I was enrolled in a program called ITMI, or the International Tour Management Institute. It was started by Ted Bravos and his friend Bill. Ted is still an instructor along with Randy and a few guest instructors throughout the two week program. I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought it might just be a $3000+ referral agency, but it's so much more. I now feel confident in doing something I never realized was the perfect career option for me. It mixes a love of people, theatre, and traveling into one job. I have to thank Ted, Randy, Reggie, Sandi, and Korey so much for everything. I also have to give a shout out to my 20 female classmates. I was class 277, and it was the first time there was only one guy ever.

Back to San Francisco, originally called Yerba Buena, or "Good Herb" after a peppermint like plant in the area. It was one of the last missions established by the Spanish born Franciscan monk Junipero Serra on his Camino Real up the coast of California. Due to its geographical location, it tends to be on the cooler side temperature wise, especially during the summer months. The heat from the Eastern side of the state pulls the cold wet air mass of the Pacific over the city enveloping it in a beautiful fog. You can literally see it roll into the city in the morning and come back again before the sunsets. It's gorgeous.

Another thing I love about San Francisco is the diversity. There are over 90 distinct neighborhoods with individual personalities. From the Latin American Mission to the LGBTQ friendly Castro, there's something for everyone. The food as well spans the many types of cuisine. Here are some highlights:
1. Homeroom: gourmet mac and cheese in Oakland for less than $10 a entree. I WANT TO EAT IT ALL. I ended up getting the garlic with two types of cheese. It was phenomenal.
2. Bristol Farms: San Francisco is all about eating healthy and organically. This market has multiple locations and serves the freshest foods. I had their Tomato Basil soup more times than I care to admit in a sourdough bread bowl.
3. Lefty O'Doul's: named for a San Franciscan baseball legend, this cafeteria style restaurant and bar serves freshly carved sandwiches and daily specials for a crazy affordable price. I had their spaghetti, which was magnificent.

I hope to return to the city often. It will always have a special place in my heart because of it's promise of a new career, the new family I have in that career, and of all the things I learned and experienced there. Standing before Frida y Diego at SFMOMA was one of the highlights of this summer along with  seeing the beauty of Burney Falls and realizing that there is a career out there for me in which I can find success and still be happy. I don't know if I'll ever be able to sit at a desk again, and I don't plan to find out.  I do know that I will always have a good suit case so that I never again struggle up to the plastic wrap station at the airport because my bag has no sliders on the zipper and is held together with two belts and a trail of painters tape spanning two MUNI rides and one BART commute. If you're ever bored, please let me talk your ear off about this wonderful experience. Taylor got plenty of it after he picked me up from the airport at 1 in the morning. I can't wait to get started, so I already called and am visiting the department of tourism for Birmingham and hopefully getting a job as a local guide to save up some money for DC!