The In-Between

I know my recent posts have been more on the heavier side, so I wanted to also share about the other parts of my trip to the BAY AREA.
On day two, I saw an old, wonderful friend and took a new friend to lunch. KELLY and I went to PALIO d'ASTI for a wonderful lunch. We gabbed and ate. The first good food I had eaten in a few days.

Later on Day 2, again, I met up with that old friend I had seen earlier. I met her at her house, visited with her and her husband and had a wonderful time. She put out crackers, bread, cheeses, and fine wine and we easily talked like we had seen each other last week instead of many, many years ago. Those kind of connections are PRICELESS. I had my own room to sleep in and slept soundly in this bed that was more like a cocoon. What a pleasure. After morning coffee, she and I went out for breakfast and then into an awesome grocery store...I swear, it seems like CALIFORNIA is the only place that has AWESOME grocery stores. I miss that...We went into a PEETS and I got a coffee for my long drive ahead to central california.

After the visit with my bro on day 4, I drove back to San Francisco and checked in at the WESTIN @ Market St.
It was my 1 night treat...damn if I don't love a good hotel!!

I had some free time to myself before meeting up with some old friends for dinner. I needed it so I could sorta settle down from the big visit. I decided I would go visit a coffeehouse i used to frequent years ago. FARLEY'S is a cafe in the POTRERO HILL neighborhood of SF. A quaint area with just a few businesses and incredible views of the surrounding city. I went back there because long ago they had these old community journals you could write in. The journals were always kept at the cafe. I wrote in many of them and at one point, i had written about someone I had once loved intimately and out loud. I found those old pages and was comforted by their remaining existence. Some things are just nice to find.....

After my jaunt to Farley's, I walked down the block to one of my favorite restaurants, APERTO where I met 4 good pals and enjoyed cocktails, wine, dinner, laughter and goodness. Afterwards, I went back to my hotel and looked out my grand window and out into the city where I was born. My wide window gave clear views of all the blinking and stimulating lights below...gave me that same sort of AWE feeling I had days earlier as I walked along the Embarcadero. A thought and song came to me that was one of my mother's favorite...."i left my heart in San Francisco...."
Sing it, Tony!!!