Over the past week Tyler Wilman, one of my co-workers out of the Vancouver office, has been staying with Carmen and I. Today Tyler W. flew back to Vancouver. On the weekend we went running around the city seeing some sites and just hanging out and having a good time.

Last Sunday Sharon picked us up in her convertible and we drove to the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. It was an absolutely beautiful day. First we stopped on the south side of the bridge, the side that adjoins the city. It was clear, beautiful and sunny. There is a little mini fort at the base and we ran around exploring.

Afterwards we drove to the north side of the bridge and then up this large hill / mini mountain and got another view of the bridge. By this time the fog started to roll in. The fog has its own unique beauty to it. After running around the bridge we drove up to Sausalito and had some fish and chips and walked about the city. We got to see a small exhibit feature some original Dr. Suess illustrations. Pretty cool.

Yesterday was another beautiful day, but a really hot one. I’m pretty sure we got into the mid 80s. In the shade it’s actually kinda nice, but when you are in the sun walking up a hill at a 40 degree angle it’s brutal. Tyler W. had found a lens on craigslist that he wanted to buy and it was in Noe valley. We took the 33 bus down to the Castro area and got off on Sanchez street. Like the fools that we are we then proceeded to walk directly up Sanchez street for what seemed like forever. We sweated and bitched the whole way up. When we got to the top it was gorgeous. I’d day it was worth it, but if we were to do it all over again we would take a different route. Sometimes even seasoned pros can make mistakes.

Afterwards we took a train to downtown to catch the Richard Avedon exhibit at SFMOMA. The work was breathtaking. Huge black and white prints. We spent about an hour going through this exhibit. Afterwards we went up to the rooftop garden and enjoyed a cup of coffee and rested for a bit. Next we went to the 2nd floor and checked out the permanent collection. There are some great pieces in there. One of my personal favorites is a Mark Rothko. His work isn’t for everyone but I really enjoy it.

Around 6 o’clock we got kicked out of the museum. Which was fine because we were all hungry. We walked over to 2nd street to get some amazing Thai food at Osho’s. Best Thai food I’ve ever had. Carmen ordered a mango salad, I ordered spicy catfish and Tyler W. ordered duck. We all shared and everything was delicious.

After filling up our bellies Tyler W. and I went to Eddie Rickenbacker’s for a beer. It’s one of my favorite bars downtown. They have all of these cool old motorcycles hanging from the ceiling and sitting in the windows. It makes for a really relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. Everybody is nice and laid back there so you feel at home right away.

It was Tyler W.’s last night in the city so around 9pm we started strolling around downtown. We poked about in a few shops here and there and then headed home. We closed the night hanging around the kitchen table talking about the day, telling old stories and enjoying some nice scotch.