San Francisco, part 3

The Stick is amazing. I woke up this morning with hardly any soreness at all. Matt and I are flying to his parents' tomorrow morning, the Stick is definitely coming with us.

View from the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge

We decided to spend our last day in the area in Golden Gate NRA. The fog lifted as we drove through the ever-winding road along the coast. The sun came out. It was AWESOME.

View of San Francisco and bridge from Marin Headlands.

We did a few short hikes along the water, marveling at how quickly the sun changed how the landscape looked. Mostly a reconaissance trip for future excursions, we got a map and drove through the south side of the park.

Waves crashing along the shore on a beautiful morning.

My hiking buddy with the fall colors.

Konnie and I enjoying the sun.

From the cliffs towering over the water, we saw surfers fall off their surf boards. They seemed to have a great time spending all that energy for maybe ten seconds of riding the wave. Is there some hidden appeal to having salt water repeatedly thrust into one's sinuses that I'm missing here?

One of the successful surfers.

But like I said, it was warm and sunny. I didn't want to hike, because my legs were a bit tired and my allergies were bothersome, but I'm glad I did. Rarely do I regret exercise or hiking after I get out there a little while.

View of Fort Cronkite.

Besides, Konnie has felt neglected lately. She enjoyed the sunshine, especially after getting wet yesterday. We plan on running the Dipsea trail as an out-and-back the next time we return. Grueling and muddy, sounds like our type of trail run. :)

Fog rolled in just as we were leaving. A bientot, San Francisco!

We drove through the Napa Valley on the way to Sacramento. The highlight of our trip was IKEA. It was awesome! If I hadn't spent my entire savings on a new house, I would have filled the car. The biggest appeal of cheap Swedish furniture, to me anyways, is that it's modern and in my price range. Everything that I can find on Craigslist in my price range has scary carvings all over it. I might talk Matt into going back for something else on our trip out of the city. But so far, I bought a coat rack. Maybe I'll get the coffee table next time.

Matt and I had dinner with my childhood friend, Neal. Neal is my longest friendship. We grew up in the same neighborhood and I remember him in diapers. It just so happens that he lives in Sacramento. It was great to hear about what he's been up to since last time. The social skills that most find natural are very difficult for me. I spent most of the day kind of nervous about meeting up with him, as I have with other friends I'd seen in recent months. I'm just totally socially awkward, even around those I'd been closest in the past. It was comforting to find that the awkwardness melted away within a few minutes. I enjoyed our visit.

Tomorrow, the Hubs and I fly to Michigan. We're visiting with his brother near Detroit, and then driving out to the Farm. I have to admit, I'm a little afraid of how the winter will feel. Part of me wants to go hiking and running, skiing maybe. The other part wants to snuggle with the fire and never go outside. Which one will go to Michigan?