Our time in Santa Barbara and San Francisco—especially for Laura and me—is very much about old friends not seen for a very long time. For me, to see Guy for and extended period of time (after seeing him only two or three times for a blink of an eye over the last thirty years) was incredible. In San Francisco, Laura had that same opportunity with her friend Barbara, who’s lived there for almost twenty years. It was the same for Laura as it was for me. Reunited with an old friend … and it was like we were never apart.
The other wonderful surprise for me in San Francisco was to meet up with my cousin, Kirk, who I haven’t seen since … get ready for it … 1965. That’s right. The last time I saw Kirk, The Beatles album Rubber Soul was a new release. Kirk and I talked for a long time, and it was so great to get reacquainted.
Okay … Laura has written up some great descriptions of our day(s) in San Francisco and Mount Shasta (next post) … so I’m letting her take over. Go!
Santa Barbara – 6AM. Guy got up at the crack of dawn to say goodbye to us as we set off to SF, on our way to Barb. On the way up, David’s cousin Kirk texted David to say are you in the bay area? Working out time to meet. We arrive in San Francisco around 12:30 PM and make our way to Union Square to the Apple Store to see Barb (where she works).
Oh so wonderful to hug and say hello! Barb is working until 2 PM so we stroll Union Square, seeing the cable cars and turn around, went to the Sir Francis Drake, our honeymoon hotel, and took pics. Stop for milk shakes at Lori’s diner.
And now back to Barb. We went to her apartment at Fisherman’s Wharf, which is lovely. The sliding glass door leads to a courtyard. Perfect for morning coffee. Max relaxed at Barbs while we ventured out to meet Kirk. Will we recognize Kirk among the patrons at the coffee shop? Oh yes! Kirk looks very much like David’s dad, especially when he laughs. The guys walked one way, Barb and I went the other on a “walk and talk” journey. So emotionally fulfilling for all of us to talk about new/old things: Places we’ve been, things we are looking forward to.
Eventually we said goodbye to Kirk and we walked to North Beach for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Calzones, Finally, we walk back to barbs in the breezy evening—a perfect way to finish our day.
Song of the Day: Band On The Run by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Whoa, Kirk is a dad Beedle doppelganger! I sure you had no problem picking him out. Barb looks no different either. To live in the Fisherman’s Wharf area must be cool, Lastly, the cable cars looked like a lot of fun. Max I hope you got to ride them.