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May 21, 2004
HELLO FROM THE LEFT COAST
Greetings, kids. We have a little bit of down time this afternoon, so Dave suggested that I let you know how the trip's going.
Actually, you're in for a treat, because I have a co-author today. My buddy Damian is here helping me co-write. Damian's a reporter -- you know, one of those real writers who didn't sell out to some corporate behemoth and actually gets to put his name on what he writes (without even having a blog)-- so the quality of the writing is likely about to go way up. He'll pitch in some thoughts from time to time. (By the way, if you want to read his work or are interested in the goings-on in the Capital District of upstate New York, check out Damian's paper, the Spotlight, here.)
So... the trip. We're about halfway into this little vacation -- which seems weird since we've been looking forward to it for so long now -- and it's been the time of my life catching up with everyone. Dave, obviously, is here -- as is Damian, and our friend Hamish even flew up from Australia for the big event. So it's just like Boston, circa 1997-1998. Well, not exactly like Boston. One of the most striking things we all noticed virtually right away is that none of us can party as hard as we used to -- our rapidly aging bodies just aren't up to what we used to put them through in grad school.
Damian: This is the Great Liver Rebellion of 2004. I guess the next stop for us is prune juice. Actually, it's nice to feel what it's like to see these guys and NOT be loaded up all the time.
We landed in San Francisco on Wednesday around 12:45, Dave and Hamish picked us up, and our first stop -- naturally -- was a microbrewery. After that was a couple of rounds in Chinatown. I got a couple of great shots of us that I'll post when I get the pictures developed, hanging out at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. Then it was off to Pier 39, where we had some great appetizers and martinis at Neptune's Palace,which has probably the best view of any restaurant I've ever eaten in. After kicking around for a while in our hotel lounge just catching up, we were off to Top of the Mark atop Nob Hill -- which has another great view.
I tried to convince Damian to tell a few stories about Wednesday evening. His reponse is below.
Damian: The Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution includes the fifth amendment. The amendment guarantees that a person is safe from self-incrimination. If someone does something that could get him or her in a great deal of trouble later then that person does not have to admit what they have done.
I will exercise that right now.
But really, the nightlife here is fantastic. You can have as much fun as you want, and the only downer is the bars close at two. Everything else is all good. I recommend this pretty city to everyone who has never been, and if I meet any of you who have, we'll be sure and swap some stories.
Have wonderful lives, all of you. Cheers.
Well, Damian's reticence gives you a sense of how out of hand we tried to get. We even wandered into a gay bar -- one of Dave's friends was deejaying and so we got free drinks and free time at the pool table, and the promise of free anything usually will serve as an overriding factor for any situational awkwardness we might otherwise feel. So we pretty much sampled the entire breadth of San Francisco nightlife - from loudly annoying the hoidy-toidy set at the Top of the Mark, to loudly annoying the gay and kitschy set somewhere in a part of the city I doubt I will see again.
The problem was... while all-nighters were a part of the curriculum back at Boston University, we're all older now. I'm the grand old man, turning 36 very soon... but even Hamish is now 28. And none of us can stay out all night partying anymore. Not only did we give up and pile sleepily into a cab around 2:30, but when we woke the next morning around 10, none of us were exactly feeling like hitting the town all that hard. So we straggled out on Thursday, taking it very easy, having a light seafood lunch elsewhere on Pier 39 (lots of seafood in this town!) before heading onto the ferry for Alcatraz. (Note to readers: if you should ever be in a group of people who have been fighting off headaches and queasiness all day, the proper course of action is not to go on a 1 1/2 mile boat ride through very choppy waters to get to an island that smells like bird droppings.) Despite the brutality of that ferry ride, we enjoyed Alcatraz immensely, and I have more great pictures from that jaunt that I'll share.
No one felt up to going nuts last night, so we wussed out... after a quiet dinner, we went to a theater and saw Van Helsing -- I thought it was over the top corny, but Hamish and Damian seemed to enjoy it. After the movie, we walked through the red light district, just to say we had done it... lots of "massage" and "heated bath" places we passed by... and the denizens of this neighborhood are some interesting folks indeed. We got back to the hotel by 11 or so, and though we intended to stay up watching cable movies ("28 Days Later" was on), we were all pretty much asleep by 12:30.
Today, we left San Francisco for the somewhat warmer climes of the southern Bay area... we're in Los Gatos, CA today -- where we'll be for the remainder of the trip. The rental place got me a sweet 2005 Mustang that we're driving around in... We barbecued up some chicken for mid-afternoon, and we're going to relax at home before the rehearsal dinner this evening... after which we're going out for a nightcap -- ONE drink -- in downtown Los Gatos before heading back to Dave's for the big day tomorrow. All the rest of us - Damian, Hamish, and I - have expressed the same feeling: we're thrilled for Dave (Carrie is a catch and a half), we are shocked that we've passed into a new part of adulthood, and in a way we wouldn't want to go back. (The places we eat are much nicer, we're driving nicer cars... being a grown-up ain't so bad.) But at the same time, we remember each other as irresponsible party boys who somehow managed to fit grad school in between all the parties and bars and pool halls and Fenway Park... and it's weird seeing how much we've all changed.
After the wedding tomorrow, we're heading to Napa Valley on Sunday for a wine country tour. Then it's home on Monday. So - I'll probably be back on writing something on maybe Tuesday night. Hope you're all doing well, my friends. Have a great weekend.
