Arriving into San Francisco later in the day, checking into hotel along with what was our only lucky parking spot of the stay in the city. We left to meet up with my friend and get dinner. He suggested a spot called Rosamundes Sauasage Grill – which was fantastic and had a great beer selection. It was a brief catch up – we were getting together in the morning for breakfast as well, and it was going to be an early start. After discussing ideas and plans, both new and old, and giving him a ride home, we headed back to the hotel downtown.

Parking might not have been too bad to some, but it was rough for us. Portland for sure has a growth situation, and parking can be tough here – but we’ve never had to park 9 blocks from where we were heading. Which was the case in San Francisco. Leeloo needed to be walked, and we tried to get her to go to the bathroom for what seemed like an hour. She wouldn’t do it. She’s.. touched, as it is, and the pure concrete world with no grass and loud noises with bright lights didn’t give her the confidence she needed to be calm enough to make it happen. Still we tried, and eventually after showing her a 2×1 spot of dirt for a few minutes she peed a little. Life’s a series of little successes. They add up.

Waking up and getting some decidedly bland coffee from one of the popular coffee shops in the city (bummer) my friend took my fiance and I on a tour of his office. He’s in a high rise in China Town, and they have the entire 32nd floor. There’s nearly no walls in their office, and the views are out of town. Literally, I mean we could see beyond the town.
It was fantastic seeing his work space, he’s the best guy I know and deserves to be working in a place like this. A few years back he was doing the same work from the couch of my house in Salt Lake City. Now he looks at what seemed like the entirety of Northern California from his standing desk. As good as a upgrade as that is, we both often talk about how happy times were back in that small place in Salt Lake. I truly miss it.

Stepping over human shit a dozen times on the way to the hotel was enough for us on the 30 minute walk there, so we packed up and hit the road to our next stop. Palo Alto and Stanford University. The contrast between the two cities was incredibly eye opening. This was a different way of life out here, with green hills and winding rivers in the landscape. People wore athletic outdoor gear to get coffee, and oh, the coffee. Phillz coffee wins for best cup I had in Northern California.
Stanford was incredible. All I had really known about it was it was a top school and my fiance loved it there when she attended. I didn’t realize it was a massive, beautiful campus, with incredible history and moving architecture. Holding some of the best art on the west coast, and we easily could have spent most of the day here. As it was, we spent a good few hours walking around, and I felt inspired by it all. And inspired more by Maggie. She’s a good one, and a great tour guide.

We continued down to Santa Cruz, eyed an incredible sunset at the lighthouse watching surfers enjoy golden hour waves, walked along the beach playing with Leeloo, and got dinner and a beer at a fantastic micro brewery called Humble Sea Brewing. Great beer, great food, awesome patio, and dog friendly! I got a hazy IPA, Maggie got a sour. Both were unique and fantastic.
After walking the dog and feeding her dinner we made our last leg of the day, driving to Cambria. It was dark when we pulled in, but we had a fantastic room with a fireplace that was the only source of heat. A bottle of wine and a comfy big bed ended a fantastic day.