“San Francisco” or “The Home Where Part of My Heart Is”

I’ve been to San Francisco!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that statement was absolutely worth that many exclamation points. I’ve wanted to visit San Fran for years, for the very best of reasons:

1, Uncle Jesse lived there.

2, my character Bruno lives there, and loves his home city more than he does his own soul.

3, this Vanessa Carlton song makes me happy. …Although that’s bound to be in large part simply because the title is “San Francisco”, which appeals with irrational strength to my Bruno side.

Legitimate, right? So when I had a fourth reason to go to San Francisco – namely, NaNoWriMo’s Night of Writing Dangerously write-a-thon taking place there – I determined that it was time to turn the thought of visiting from the realm of “maybe, someday, would be nice” into “it’s happening”.

“Pics, or it didn’t happen,” say you? Well, keep scrolling down, reader: It happened.

First we did China Town – “we” being me, Tirzah, and our new friends made at the hostel, Kat and Jory. This made another of my characters very happy, as he adores all things Chinese. Rather than do much in the way of appreciating the culture, however, Tirzah and I decided to mostly skulk in the numerous alleyways, suspicious creeper style. (As we were both wearing fedoras, it kinda had to happen.)

A shady rendezvous.

This pigeon had alley-creeping down to an art form.

Inspired, Tirzah and I took our game up a level by adding in the thug factor.

Our continued walk through the city took us past the iconic Transamerica Pyramid and various unexpected delights – the best-of-the-best part being the corner down from the City Lights Bookstore. The pavement was covered with words, with books suspended in flight overhead. (Books that, we later learned, are actually lamps that light up the night with biblio-type magic.) We also passed a road with perhaps the best name ever: Beach Blanket Babylon Boulevard. …also known as Green Street, but come on, why would I call it that?

A prominent piece of the city skyline, and me.

It’s the little things – like managing to get a shot of your reflection through a grille in the sidewalk – that make days like these extra magical.

Just walking down the street, and what treasure do we find?

I feel like this should be the cover of my autobiography or something.

And if this word doesn’t just sum up our San Fran day, what does?

A photo of Tirzah taking a photo of me with a cable car, and the photo she took. Awesome x2.

Next stop, Fisherman’s Wharf, where we lunched among the seagulls (brazen birds waiting for handouts, they), admired the view of/from the harbor (including the one and only Golden Gate Bridge!), and set our sights on the last stop of the day, Ghiradelli Square. Posing in front of a famed fountain and getting free samples of peppermint bark chocolate made a good end to a great tour; and catching the bus back to the hostel made it even better. (“Y’know what’s awesome?” I drawl in my Bruno voice. “Sitting down.”)

“Fisherman’s Wharf, The Musical!” Not really.
That would have been cool, though.

God bless Kat’s camera’s panorama feature.
Couldn’t have nabbed this image without it.

As could be said of much of the rest of the day, looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge made my Bruno side feel uncharacteristically contented.

A sign from above: We should get chocolate.

If I look like I belong here, it’s probably due to my being part-mermaid.
…or some sort of water elemental, anyway.

Yeah, this day, this place, seemed pretty much made for Bruno. I’m so glad I got to take him home – to where his heart lies, and where I left a piece of mine.