Laurel’s Living Room View, The Marina, San Francisco

Ernie the Coonhound, The Marina, San Francisco

Saturday evening Traci and I took a bus (it’s free! and the chattiest driver ever told us how easy her job is and how well she’s paid!) from San Jose to Santa Clara (I think?) and then got on the CalTrain to San Francisco. Here’s a tip: They never checked our tickets so we’re wondering if you ever really have to pay to get on CalTrain. Traci said they never checked on her ride down from SF earlier in the day either. If you do have to pay, it’s only like $6 each way, but still. Save ya $6.

Ernie Fetching, The Marina, San Francisco

Dog Beach, The Marina, San Francisco

In SF we stayed with Traci’s friend Laurel who is like the nicest, most welcoming person on earth. She made me feel right at home in her apartment even though I’d never even met her before crashing there. Her apartment is in the neighborhood called “The Marina,” and more specifically, she’s right across the street from the marina. The view from her place is fantastic: the bay, the mountains, sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Traci, Laurel & Ernie, The Marina, San Francisco

On Saturday night we had drinks (note to self: Attitude white wine is good) and snacks and then went out for sushi at Ace Wasabi, where we had a good time snarking on a bachelorette party there. This was the most stereotypical thing you’ve ever seen. Wasted waif-like blond girls with feather boas sipping way too many drinks through penis straws, making a scene and grabbing guys at neighboring tables to take photos with them. Later I learned that these were Marina Girls out in the wild!

Golden Gate Bridge, The Marina, San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge, The Marina, San Francisco

Sunday was a relaxing, sunny day. In the morning Laurel made coffee for us and coffee cake for all of us as well as all of her friends in the building (told you she was the nicest, ever!). We sat around with our 3 laptops on her dining room table and were the biggest nerds ever. Later on we went to brunch at Squat & Gobble, where I couldn’t resist getting even more seafood while I was on the West Coast and ordered the crabcake eggs Benedict. Not the healthiest selection, but delicious nonetheless. Laurel has a coonhound (like a beagle on stilts) named Ernie and maybe, just maybe, we walked some of those brunch calories off when we took for a long walk all the way from Laurel’s apartment to the Golden Gate Bridge (about 4 miles roundtrip, according to Google Maps Pedometer). One thing that struck me was how much I missed the smell of the sea air. This was my first trip to California since I lived there (not counting transfers through airports) and I got really homesick for the ocean. No matter if it’s a bit fishy or slimy, there is nothing like walking on the beach and breathing it in. Nothing.

Street Writing, The Marina, San Francisco

Later on we took Ernie home, did some work and then walked around Chestnut street, which has a lot of little shops and restaurants and stuff. We had a snack at Lettus, an organic cafe, then it was off to the airport.

Palm Tree, The Marina, San Francisco

When I was first planning my trip for BlogHer, I was this close to just flying back from San Jose on Saturday night, but I’m really glad I didn’t. I’m glad that I took the extra day to enjoy San Francisco and that it wasn’t awkward one bit to be staying with a coworker who I’ve only known for a few months and a friend that I hadn’t met before. Awesome.