Rhode Trippers : Gentle People With Flowers In Their Hair

Aahhhh... We feel so much better. Not only are we very comfortable and cozy at my aunt's place in Piedmont, but we are rested, showered, and just back from a fantastic day in San Francisco.

I'm not too short, he's too tall.

About yesterday, well that was an experience. It started off really well! We stayed at what we're now calling Hotel Hesch, the homestead of a long time friend of mine, where we spent a peaceful night in a bed (not a car!) and lovely morning with him and his very sweet parents. They put us up with last minute notice and were so gracious to do so. I also had the nicest chat with Mrs. Hesch over breakfast. Even though we had never before met, I felt like we were old friends :) Before we hit the road, we got the Christian tour of Morro Bay, including colorful narration and sarcastic side notes. Never a dull visit with that guy. The place was awesome though, like a west coast Newport. I satisfied my craving for the ocean and I found a place that reminded me of home for the first time in weeks. It was a great stop we never expected to make. Thank you, Hesch Fam!

Bromance much?

Awww they love each other! "Can I pleeease have one?!"

Then we took off along the Pacific Coast Highway. We found it odd that it received 5 stars on Trip Adviser, even though it's not an establishment or a restaurant or even a money-making thing, but after driving it we now understand the rating. It was spectacular. A driving challenge for sure and I am now far more deserving of my license, but it was simply phenomenal. From the elephant seals to the scenery, I was either giddy or speechless the entire time. We pulled over to see the seals on a whim after seeing the sign and thinking we might maybe see some wildlife. After our recent experiences with animals, we weren't sure we wanted to run into any more. But, it was incredible. The beach was packed with these adorable mammoths, sunbathing and flopping around without a care. I fell in love with them and desperately wanted to go snuggle one. Pete held me back from doing so, but we lingered there for over a half hour, just watching. One of the best half hours of the trip, if you ask me!

Finally, Pete tore us away from the beach, reminding me that we still had a journey ahead. At least it was a beautiful one! Miles of ocean cliffs over the bluest water we'd ever seen, hilly fields of grazing cows and waving green grass, a winding road that seemed to lead to heaven itself. We were so happy to be taking the Pacific Coast Highway. How did we get so lucky? Well, no sooner had we asked the question did our luck change and a series of things kicked my butt. First, my GoPro SD card decided to commit little disc suicide and "cease functioning" and delete all it's videos from the day. Then, Pete dropped it into the depths of Carla and it was so tiny and so lost that we had to pull over and rip out the front seat to retrieve it. (Not that it worked anyway, but I'm still hoping for resuscitation.) Then we got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours and hours. We had to call my aunt and apologize because there was no way we'd be there in time for dinner. Let me tell you, by that afternoon those lovely cliffs were starting to look real friendly and inviting and I was on the edge of full blown freak out. Luckily, Pete is a trooper and I have the Backstreet Boys on my iPod. Enough said.

On to better things! Today was just awesome. Thanks to Ellen's expert directions, Pete and I found our way around San Francisco pretty easily. We got turned around a few times, but all things considered we are pleased with ourselves. We gave Carla a well-deserved rest and took the bus into the city. We then

hopped on the cable cars early enough to beat the lines and had a really fun ride! The thing got stuck in the middle of an intersection and we had to wait for another car to come give us a nudge. No joke! There's nothing like sitting in the middle of a buzzing intersection with no control over the situation as a welcome to a new city. We had a laugh and sat back to watch. After that experience, we hit up the wharf for some window shopping and actual shopping. We were impressed with how NICE everybody was! Pleasant, helpful, welcoming. Where have these people been all our lives? On the West Coast apparently, because they are certainly not in New England. As someone who used to live in New York City, I can say with certainty that this general amiability does not dwell there. It wilts and is crushed out immediately by the cold and critical natures of New Yorkers. But, not in San Fran! Everybody says hello, everybody says "take care now," everybody says thank you. Even the beggars have adopted the mood, though we didn't like that. They came right up to us, asking for change and pointing out that we could clearly afford to spare it. If anybody did that in NYC, they'd get decked out on the spot. That's a sure-fire way to get punched in the face back home, let me tell ya.

We stopped into something called an oxygen bar. Yeah, we don't really get it either, but it is exactly what it sounds like. It was a bar setup, with stools and a counter, but instead of fueling up on booze and nachos, people were hooked up to brightly colored oxygen tanks, with tubes leading up to their noses. The tanks were flavored different scents like "Raspberry" and "Lavender." I kid you not, it was one of the weirdest things I never expected to see. I felt like I was in some futuristic hospital and that Bones McCoy was going to round the corner at any moment to shout at us. It was beyond weird and we felt no need to participate. We did, however, want to try the water massage. Essentially, you lie in a rubber bag, crawl intonwhat looks like a tanning bed, and go through a human car wash. The rubber bag is to keep you dry. We didn't like the idea of not being able to breathe, otherwise we would have tried it. The saleswoman nearly had us despite her awful grammar and creepy acrylic fingernails. San Fran was interesting already.

All morning, wandered around the wharf. We had a delicious crab lunch, laughed over how well fed the local seagulls are, and visited the nearby sights. The historic ships, the arcade museum, we loved it all. Pete was especially taken with the arcade and we spent a pocket's worth of change on finding out our fortunes, testing our strength, and watching old puppet shows. The machines are antiques, but they still work perfectly! They were a little insulting at times. One of the machines simulated a beheading and another told Pete he was not attractive. Then again, one machine told me that my greatest wish would come true... Maybe they're alright after all. This little shop of magic was not to be missed and we're glad we stumbled upon it.

After lunch, Pete eyed the bike rentals and set his heart on it. We knew we wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge, so we said we might as well see it on a bicycle. This turned into, "We might as well see it on a tandem bicycle." Soooo that's what we did. I have never felt more thrilled to be ridiculous as we struggled up the steep hills and dodged other tourists over the bridge. It was too much fun to be contained and we were laughing the whole way. Pete was in the front, doing most of the legwork and all of the steering, and I was in back filming the entire thing. Can't wait to put that video together, we are just hilarious. Passersby certainly agreed with me. We stopped mid-bridge and took some pictures overlooking the city. It was pretty foggy, but we didn't care. Being up there and having gotten up there via tandem bike was too much of a joy to be lessened by a little weather. It helped keep the sun off of us a little, which was nice. We zoomed around on that bike for two hours, zipping past people, ducking around structures and darting between buildings, parks, and streets. We had the best day in the gentle city. All with flowers in my hair...