Birthday in Northern California, Day 1

"If you are traveling with a small child, remember to put on your mask first!"

I have to thank Southwest Airlines for their incredible travel deals (that allowed me this spontaneous trip), and I absolutely love flying with them... although I think my flight attendant was about to crack. She gave me a dozen bags of peanuts, not sure why, but had a ridiculous smile on her face as if she's just dished out a dozen plastic pacifiers. Oh goodness. Despite the many stops, I got two extra hours when I arrived in San Francisco.

Just like in a movie, upon my arrival at the Adelaide Hostel, the song "California Dreamin" comes on the radio. The first thing I saw in the room was a pair of thong underwear drying in the open window and a joint rolled up below. It looked like the kind of dump rock stars would stay at touring through San Francisco. I dug it!

I hit the town as soon as I was settled and wondered to Chinatown. Immediately I observed that there were about twice as many homeless / crazies and half as many police on the streets. I managed to get my beloved sesame ball from the one cafe still open there in the late afternoon. Heaven! After getting lost in many souvenir shops, which I don't typically care for except for this specific Chinatown that has the most amazing trinkets.

(Chinatown souvenirs, freshly fried sesame ball!)

On the way back I stopped in a Korean-operated dive bar where I got my first sense of drink prices in the city. $8 for a tiny glass of wells? I ended up striking up a conversation with Loing, the beautiful bartender. I ended up staying there for quite a while, striking up conversations with a gay man with a very sick dog, a Spanish man with a thick accent, and Ron, an off-duty police man, who bought me a drink and recommended great places to check out. Loing also bought me a drink for my birthday. What a nice bunch of people!

I went back to the hostel and met the ladies I was staying with. The french girl was the fine owner of the thong and joint, and two English ladies invited me out on the town with them and the others of the hostel that night.
We all waited in the alley which was full of people... some doing art, some blatantly enjoying some MJ, and a young kid running around. They all seemed to know each other like a big family, I almost felt like I was intruding. Very strange feeling. Socializing as I do, I realized that as an American I was indeed less of a deer in the headlights than my European counterparts, which was strange. Among the crowd I met people from Denmark, London, Austria, Poland, Belgium, and Australia. After having a few drinks it becomes very hard to have a conversation with all the accents and having to make sure I was 'talking on their level' if need be.

We all headed to the Element Lounge near the hostel for a free Reggae show. One of my roommates enjoyed my dancing apparently and bought me a drink. I met a very nice Belgian guy named Matt who talked with me about photography for a while. We had plans to hang out tomorrow.

What a fun night! Ahhhh California Dreamin'...

New York City Day 5 : Walk, walk, walk, walk....

Finally I had a good night's rest! I started by day going next door for some coffee and some fruit from their wonderful breakfast bar. It's been so convenient to have the Cranberry Cafe right next to the hostel... great food, 24-hours, and affordable. I've been having to force myself to not eat there for every meal and to actually try out the other amazing foods this city has to offer.

I wanted to check out Hell's Kitchen Flea Market this morning but in order to do so I spent about 30 minutes trying to get around a huge half-marathon race going straight through Time Square. When I got there I felt as if I were intruding on a private party of the vendors. Once again, as for most of this trip it seems, it was a case of 'out and about way too early'. It was incredibly hot today and all they had at this market was full of nice antiques and winter jackets, neither of which appealed to me. On my way out, an Asian man pulled me aside to his massage tent. I insisted that I definitely did not want a massage but he gave me a sample, refusing to let me go. I finally broke loose saying firmly "Don't touch me again." He obviously did not get my business and I bolted out of there.

I decided to head to the Village... again. I was desiring a nice brunch and this seemed to be the area to do so. I walked into Veselka and had a mimosa, the Chef's Omelet (feta cheese and spinach), and some Challah. It was so incredibly delicious, though I'm not sure how Ukranian it was was, haha. An artist Greta Gertler wrote a song about this restaurant (called Veselka) I discovered later and have fallen in love with it! Check it out on the restaurant's website.

I decided to walk down the Bowery to Chinatown to walk off all the food I've even by the ripe hour of 10:30am. I walked past a block dedicated to restaurant equipment, for lighting and lamps, and finally made it to Chinatown. I walked into this place called the White Swan Bakery which had the most amazing array of pastries! I had to try what I can only describe as a 'Sesame Ball'. It was to die for, much better than the already succulent Whole Foods variety. While in Chinatown I decided to venture into the site of a supposed 'Underground Railroad' for Chinese immigrants from the 1880s (at 8 Chatham Square). It was a little basement filled with clinics and therapists and nothing much to see but if my sources were correct, this was the place.

(Photo 1: Ymmm, Sesame Ball... / Photo 2&3: Art on Bowery St)

More street art off Bowery

I continued walking to the Financial District so that I may admire it in its glory on a weekend where all the suits are not crowding the streets. I passed by the Federal Reserve, St. Paul's Chapel, and Fraunces Tavern, all of which were sadly closed on Sundays. I noticed that the Financial District was much like downtown Dallas on the weekend - completely deserted. Thus far I've had horrible timing today, until the afternoon.

I decided to go back uptown to where it seemed everyone and their dog (literally) were - Central Park on a nice Sunday afternoon. Walking through the park I heard some very familiar sounding music... did I hear the Walkmen? Suddenly I get a text message from Ben saying there was a free concert in Central Park - Dinosaur Jr and the Walkmen were playing. How awesome! I found the venue and seeing the large line to get in, I decided to just lay on a big rock and listen to the music echo through the park. Between sets I ventured to Strawberry Fields to the monument for John Lennon. It was a madhouse of tourists and I could barely get a picture of it without someone jumping down to pose. On my way back I ran across 'dance skating' (see video below). Central Park was the place to be on a Sunday! I listened to only a little bit of Dinosaur Jr before heading back to change from a day's worth of sweaty clothes.

That evening I was invited to the East Village to hang out with Ben and his friend Trish (who used to be my favorite waitress at the Meridian Room in Dallas), and Rhett who just got back from Greece and was in town. It was a Dallasite-Reunion! On the way to the subway I ran across a premiere party in Time Square for Madmen. I sat and watched briefly as people dressed in killer 1960s elegant attire were being interviewed and scenes from the previous season were played on a gigantic screen. What great timing I had!

I continued on to the Beauty Bar and arrived just in time for a free comedy show in the back. It was nice to catch up with Trish, Ben, and Rhett and listen to the DJ who eventually played my requested artist - Suicide. I made it an early night, knowing that hanging out with those kids we'd be out possibly ALL night.

Dallasite Reunion!

VIDEOS:
Skate Dancing in Central Park