So I have ventured into the Bay Area for the first time in nearly five years.
Quick assessment:
- Yeah, in some ways it does feel like a visit home. In other ways, not so much.
- San Francisco has not become quite the completely foreign environment I expected from things I’ve been reading lately, at least not its physical form. But it’s on the way.
- The pizza at Gaspare’s is still a wonderful thing.
- I have absolutely no desire to live there again. Were it not for a few remaining friends whole live there (if only part time), I wouldn’t even see visiting again as a huge priority.
So, about Days One and Two of David’s California Adventure 2015? Let’s go with another pair of bullet lists, starting with Monday:
- Uneventful and (dare I say it?) almost pleasant cross-country flight once I resigned myself to a $75 upgrade.
- BART from SFO is nice. It was in place before I left the Bay Area but I’d never used it before.
- I like my “much cheaper than the convention center and right across the street” hotel.
Tuesday:
- Watching Mornings on 2 was strangely comforting.
- Damn. The humidity is intense. I went for a long walk this morning and was soaking when I got back, even though it was only in the low 60s out. I don’t remember things being like this when I lived here. Maybe the drought is only an issue because all the moisture is in the air.
- There’s lots of construction in Downtown Oakland but precious little visible evidence of large scale gentrification. And my newsstand is still open.
- Lunch with my friend and ex-roomie in Berkeley. Good food and I only had to ridicule one patron with a topknot.
- Rode back into SF with Dan across the new Bay Bridge. Saw his renovated flat, and walked around in the neighborhood a bit.
- Dinner with Dan and Jamie at Gaspare’s, with a stop by Green Apple Books.
Today I will actually be paying attention to the conference I’m here for. My presentation is this afternoon at 4:30.