Lazy Days.....

So a few things have happened since we last wrote which is because we have obviously fallen behind in our entries. So be excited; much has happened!

First, let me catch you up on something that actually happened Saturday which we did not mention. Upon arriving to the Starbucks which we were at before the taco bar, I pulled out the netbook, which I have named mini-lappy, to find that mini-lappy has sustained an injury during our first day of traveling. It seems that it must have at some point been smooshed because the one hinge is broken. It does still work however, but will need to have the hinge fixed because every time it is opened, the hinge rips at mini-lappy's innards and will eventually destroy the poor fellow. For now, we have decided to let him gimp along, and I will fix him later. Next on the list of things that you readers need caught up on is our meeting of Levent, our host in San Francisco. We left the taco bar, mapped a course, and headed to Levent's place. Squarely in our planned route was Buena Vista Park which we planned to simply circumnavigate. What google maps failed to inform us was that the park was on a large hill. So after creeping up one side and riding around to the far side, we were encountered with the downward compliment to the one we had just climbed, but this one was much steeper and broken into three sections by stop signs at the bottom of each steep decline. To say that we were hesitant would only graze the truth. Alyssa wanted to walk down them, and I nearly agreed but decided to just go for it. Let me remind those who may be skeptical about our reluctance in ride our bikes down a hill that we have about 50-60 pounds of gear on our bikes which does not include the weight of the bike or the rider that our two brakes must bring to a stop before we blow through the blind intersection at which cross traffic does not have to stop. Especially of concern to me is that I only have side-pull brakes. Incidentally, I guess that the skeptics were right, because I decided that I should just do it, and we both descended two of the three sections very, very slowly. The third section led into a very busy intersection so we decided to walk. After, telling Levent of the giant hills we encountered, he assured us that those were nothing, and much steeper and longer could be found. After arriving at Levent's place, he took us on a tour of his neighborhood which would become our main hangout for the rest of our stay. He lived in what I believe to be the Mission district proper but the Castro was only a block away. Now for Sunday's events. Levent took us on a tour of the city, by taking us on a bike ride to the beach, which was very chilly, and then across the city to the bay side where we saw the piers. Much to Alyssa's relief, and perhaps because of her vocal concerns, Levent was an excellent navigator of the city and managed to take us everywhere we wanted to go while avoiding nearly all the hills. This was also impressive because he has only lived in San Francisco, and for that matter the country, for six months. He moved here from Turkey, and has also not been impressed with the weather. He agreed that it was cold, but has been told that it was normal for San Francisco. So if you were skeptical about our account of the weather, this time the skeptics were wrong. The city tour that Levent took us on was really great. We went through Golden Gate Park to get to the beach, which we looked upon from the walkway, and then returned to see a Ukrainian Day concern that included a choir, dancing, and an orchestra. At the piers, which were mostly just touristy stuff that was mostly just a hassel to walk through, we did get to see the bay, some cool old buildings, and the seals which were rather lethargic. Alyssa contemplated an Alcatraz tour, which Levent had informed us was very good, but would be all that we could ever manage regarding Alcatraz; Levent, after mentioning it several times, told us that it would just have to be a dream for us. Levent had to stop by his office since he had been on vacation up until the day before, so we meandered to Ghiardelli for free chocolates and to a pier where Alyssa played with the seagulls until I was too cold. Also, I nearly forgot to mention, that for lunch we had the large, $4.25 veggie burritos with peppers, zucchini, onions, carrots, and broccoli in a really great park. The burritos were large enough that we all needed a nap in the sun afterwards which allowed us to eavesdrop on some very ridiculous conversations. In short, it turns out that Sundays are observed as a day for laziness by Levent just as much as they usually are by us.