It has been a little over a week since I left my family in Seattle, Washington. I said good-bye and thank you’s to Beth, Cindy, Elliott and Ruby. I had a blast getting to explore their amazing city and getting to know that family a little more. All too soon it was back into the car to travel the 3 hours to Portland, Oregon to spend the night with my friend Amanda. Staying with her would cut my driving by three hours to my next stop: San Francisco, California.

Staying the night with Amanda is always fun. I cooked dinner for her, her roommate and some of her friends. I made chicken and dumplings, trying to bring some south fare to her in the west. It was yummy. For dessert, some of Amanda’s friends came over. Two of the three were from Colorado College – what a shocker! Everywhere you go, you meet people from Colorado College and they usually know Amanda. It is kind of funny. Anyways, for dessert I made a chocolate flourless cake and we all washed it down with red wine. The rest of the night was spent talking and getting to know new friends.

Sunday, I left to make the drive to San Francisco, about 91/2 hours. It was an easy drive and I did not encounter any traffic until I hit the sprawling outskirts of San Francisco. I sat in a stop-n-go traffic pattern for about an hour and a half. It was alright. I decided that this is just California. I could not get mad and I could do nothing about it. So I sat and listened to music with my windows down and just tried to enjoy the little peeks of the San Francisco Bay. I eventually made it to my destination: Will and Kathryn Rose, after a small battle with parking. Parking is a horrible experience. There are signs posted that tell you when you are allowed to park. There is street cleaning on various days, the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, or school parking, so you have to move your car before 8am, then another side with street cleaning on Thursdays, the list could go on and on, but you get the idea. It is hard to find parking, but doable, but you have to have patience. I assumed the mantra of “this is California. You can do nothing to help this, this is their way of life.”

I finally found a parking spot and got to my destination. Will and Kathryn have a great apartment, it is long and narrow and I found quite spacious. Walking through the door, all the rooms are on your right hand side. The first door is the living room and where I would sleep for the next two nights. Then their bedroom, bathroom and straight down the hall is their kitchen! The apartment is filled with items that make you feel like you are at home. Pictures of friends, family and their wedding (they married last august) are littered around the house, along with other various pieces. There are plants in the living room and light colors that just made me feel happy. It is just easy going, as are the occupants of the house. I guess it is true, the home mimics the heart. My favorite part of any house/apartment is the kitchen. I think it tells a lot about a person. Their kitchen was amazing! They have everything you would need, plus a thousand bowls. And I LOVE bowls. I would be in heaven. (I would cook them dinner tomorrow.) When I arrived we all hung out while Will made us sandwiches on fresh bread from the near-by bakery, prosciutto and cheese. It was then melted, sliced tomato gingerly put on and devoured fast by everyone. It was yummy. Then we packed up and left for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

This festival is held every year in Golden Gate Park. And it is so cool! This is a three day event put on entirely free for the people. How cool is that?!? People from all over come to this music extravaganza. We parked and walked into the park, following the masses. We pushed our way through the crowds to make it to a stage. Among the crowds, we pushed, we shoved, we followed until finally there was an opening and we sat down. Will pulled out some beers and we cheered while listening to the music in the warm sunshine. It was just lovely. After the beer and the musicians had finished the set, we packed up and got on our way. We went to another stage, where some of Kathryn’s friends were sitting and waiting for the next performance. We found our way through the crowds of color, both in clothes and blankets covering the green grass. We found her friends and took a seat on the ground. We cracked opened another beer and enjoyed the surroundings. The music was great. This woman with wild red hair was singing as the sun went down. The sun was blinding the fans, but it did not stop them from hootin and hollerin and swaying to the music. It was a beautiful picture, her hair blowing in the wind with the sun setting behind her. All you saw was this head, with the sun setting it lit the ends of her wild hair, showing bites of red hair blowing from the light breeze. It was a pretty cool picture. After her performance we all packed up and left for one more show. By now it was beginning to get dark and a little chilly, but the mood was still festive. We charged ahead amidst the crowds, falling into the dance of movement. For the last concert we hung out in the back, by the smell of fair food – enticing! There was no way we were going to make it to the front, the crows was too large! However, this did not deter us, we danced and sang and carried on, like everyone else.

The coolest thing I saw was the crowds. This concert is huge and growing every year. There are hundreds of thousands that partake in this bluegrass festival – people come from far and wide to hear the sounds. People find spots among trees to sit. When music is not playing people converge to talk and do whatever, but when music is playing, the crowd get to their feet and begin to sway. There is head bobbing and swaying, the crowd moves as one. It is beautiful to observe. When it is a popular song, there is more movement and perhaps a collection of various movements, it is hard to explain. Anyways, it was a cool sight! And an amazing festival!

After the festival, it was dark outside and we were hungry. The lines for food were too long. So we went to the Mission area to get some yummy Vietnamese food. Parking is tricky in the Mission area, even for a Sunday. We went to eat at The Sunflower. It was a little place with about 12 tables. It was very busy, but we only had to wait for about 10 minutes. Kathryn got pho, Will and I got vermicelli noodles with meat. I am slowly trying to learn about other Asian cuisines, not just Korean (since I am Korean). I am trying to learn their flavors. This dish was great! I am a definite fan of noodles and meat! After we were full and could not move as well, I paid the bill and we walked to the car. It was time for bed. After all they had work in the morning.

San Francisco is pretty cool. Monday I hung around their neighborhood, Noe Valley. Around the corner there are restaurants of numerous cuisines and neighborhood grocery stores with the freshest looking fruits and vegetables laid out on the sidewalk – like the markets in Paris. There is the neighborhood butcher and the dry cleaners, all within walking distance. Each section of the city has everything you need, it is a possibility to never have to leave your section of town, unless you work elsewhere (like Will and Kathryn). But their area is pretty cool, complete with a park and playing area (tennis and basketball court) close by. I really loved their neighborhood, just minus all the hills!

Tuesday was my day to explore San Francisco and act like a tourist. I went to the farmer’s market at the Ferry building, taking the muni into the city. San Francisco has like 4 different ways to travel the city, old school trolleys, muni, buses and/or bart – all different ways to travel to, from and within the city. The muni took me from the Rose’s to the Ferry station. Then I walked just a few blocks to the Ferry building. Farmers come three times a week to sell their produce and other items. I perused the vendors and brought a few items. Then I went into the actual building where the Mecca continued – wines, olive oils, bread, pastries, meat, fruits, chocolate and the list goes on. I walked the lines and looked. I got some food and went to sit on the ground by the railing to watch ferry boats and take in the scene around me. It was awesome. I sat half in the shade, with my face getting little kisses from the sun.

It was about noon when I decided I should wonder to Pier 33 for the Alcatraz tour. I took an old school trolley, from Milan, to the pier! I was able to change my ticket from the 2:20 tour to the 12:35 tour. While in line I thought I saw an old friend, Lee, from Birmingham Alabama. I shook it off, thinking he was at home. However, once off the boat and on Alcatraz, I called his name out….and what do you know, it was Lee! It was crazy. He was touring California with some friends. I decided to tour with them. It was a great four hours with them. We walked up to the cell house and got our audio guided tour. It was a great record of how Alcatraz worked and what it was like to live on ‘The Rock’. Lee and I caught up and walked. I suggest everyone do Alcatraz. It is pretty cool.

After the tour we boarded the boat back to the mainland and said good-bye. They went for beers along the pier while I got the old trolley (Birmingham) back to the station to take the muni back to the Rose’s. I got my car and drove to see another high school friend, Rayna, who I was staying with for the next two nights. She is living in the Mission area, the new up and coming place, lots of artists hang out here. Parking is even worse here! I decided to bite the bullet and just pay for two days of parking in a parking garage. It was worth the $32. My car was secure and I did not have to worry about someone breaking into or slashing my tires or anything bad. A crisis I am sure was diverted.

That night we went out for drinks. We were going to meet a friend from college (go orangemen!) Kristi. I had not seen her for years, since graduation in 2006. It was great to catch up with her. We had a bottle of wine and a couple of tapas and then moved on to another restaurant. Rayne left us, so Kristi and I caught up on our lives during dinner. We split a meatball appetizer and a spicy Italian sausage pizza – the crust was crusty and blistered! YUM! It was about 10pm when we said good-bye and I went back to Rayna’s. This road trip has been awesome! Being able to meet up with old friends and catch up has been just as amazing as seeing all these places I have never been. I suggest everyone do this! Road Trip.

My last day in San Fran was spent with old friends looking at new things. For lunch I went to the civic building downtown to meet Erin, an old family friend. She works as a lawyer downtown and had an hour to spare to eat lunch with me. We meet at the farmer’s market, getting tamales for lunch. I had never had them before but they were great! We sat among the crowd and ate tamales in the sun, with the smell of ripe produce surrounding us. It was cool. I know I am using these types of words too much, but there is no other way to describe it. So I am sorry. Anyways, after an hour of catching up, she went back to work while I caught the bart back to the Mission area and meet another old friend, Charlotte, at the famous bakery, Tartine. For years, Charlotte has told me about this bakery, raving about the pastries and all the items. Finally I am in San Fran and able to go and with a little luck, Charlotte was coming to visit her son and daughter-in-law at the same time. We would be able to go to Tartine together and I would be able to experience the wonderfulness that is Tartine. The chocolate éclair….very good. I think the reputation is still in tact! After satisfying our sweet tooth, we walked a few blocks to shopping. I actually went shopping with her and even bought a new purse! It is a cool purse, black and sleek! Plus you can never have too many black purses and in this case I now have one I LOVE. Around 4:30pm I left Charlotte to go back to Rayna’s and spend the rest of the day with her. Rayna, one of her roommates and I went for dinner at a new restaurant, a German eatery. The beer was great! The food was good. The company great! We closed out the night at a local bar listening to live music. Could it get much better? I don’t know. It was a great last night in San Francisco.

On Thursday I got into the car early to go to Palo Alto. An old family friend, Sarah and her husband Greg and new addition Palmer, are living here. Greg is an assistant soccer coach for Stanford. Luckily I was able to make the stop from San Fran to Los Angeles to see Sarah and meet Palmer! I got to her apartment by about 9:30am and we went for breakfast at a near-by restaurant. We spent about an hour catching up and just chatting like all girls do. It was awesome to spend the time with her.

Sadly after only an hour or so of visiting with Sarah and baby Palmer, it was back on the road to see my cousins in Los Angeles, Will and Cally. I am so excited to be spending time with them. I am looking forward to lounging in Will’s house and making him a TON of food! I got into some traffic while coming in on the ten, but it wasn’t too bad. It was about 4pm when I began to get into traffic, trying to get to the 405. I was in traffic for about an hour and a half – BOO, but I got to Will’s. He was in traffic too, but he beat me home! I was starving when I arrived so he took me to get some food at a nearby Greek restaurant – I really wanted gyros. We came back to his house to eat and just hang out. I helped him hang his clothes (www.dondanteclothing.com) and then we just hung out. Don Dante sells premium garments that are original artworks displayed in a unique way for the fashion world. These garments are hand-drawn graphics that are inspired by culture, fashion and art. Check out the site!

The next few days have been bliss – time to just relax and not have to do the sight seeing stuff. I went to the grocery store and came back to make food. I made dinner for lots of people –chicken stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, mashed potatoes and glaze carrots. For dessert: graham cracker crust, caramel and blueberry ice cream pie; and chocolate mousse with almond tuiles. It was great. I made stuffed portabellas for Cally. Saturday night we all went to see my cousin Heidi sing at the Hotel Café. It was great to see her and hear her sing! We went out in West Hollywood for a birthday party, afterwards and then went for tacos – kogi (like Korean bar-b-q) short ribs with a cabbage slaw piled onto homemade tacos. They were great! It might have something to do with we were hungry, or had been drinking or they were just really good! Regardless, I would eat them again.

Sunday was spent watching the tv and taking a nap. Football and baseball dominated the screen, not just one screen, but TWO tv screens. For dinner I made chocolate chip cookies, roasted chicken with an herb compound butter, more mashed potatoes and garlic bread. Luckily there was enough food because we had a surprise visit – our cousin Greg and his wife, Kate, came by for a few hours. They were on their way back to Australia and had a layover from New York, so they came over for dinner. It was great to see them. We all ate dinner, a family affair, and hung out.

Monday was an easy day. I finally figured out how and when I was coming home. I lost my traveling buddy, Ebeth. She has decided to stay here in Los Angeles and figure out what to do. So that means I must travel the long way back by myself. After figuring out my plan Ebeth and I went grocery shopping. I was making dinner for a lot of people. One those people would be Jim, Ebeth’s boyfriend. I would finally be able to meet him, after three years of them dating! I went over to Jim’s by about 5 to make dinner (chicken and dumplings) and hang out. Ebeth made Jim’s favorite, pumpkin pie for dessert. We also had a light salad, some green dressed with lemon and olive oil and a sprinkling of goat cheese. It was a great dinner.

We had another surprise; Danielle came by after her class. Danielle is an old friend. I have known her since kindergarten and we have not seen each other for about 5 years. It was great to catch up with her! Ebeth, Danielle and I chatted for a couple of hours, but had to leave, Jim and his roommates needed to go to sleep – they have to work tomorrow. Around 11pm, we all hugged good-bye and got on our way. My trip to Los Angeles has been great, being able to see so many people! I got back to Will’s to hang out for a bit and begin to pack up. Tuesday, I leave for Arizona. It will be about another week and a half on the road until I get home. Stay tuned, hopefully I will write once more before I get home for the final sum up!