Sat night in SF

ewwwww feel like junk after last nights antics, but I had an awesome time. Started our final night out in SF by downing the bottle of rose champagne Alyse brought us from Sacramento. After that we proceeded to down an assortment of random canned beers we purchased individually from the candlestick RV parks office store. We got it hyphy and went dumb and stupid in the yella for a while before we dipped out to Union square area to burn this town down again. Ha, no so I was searching for something for us to do by looking online and looking through amoeba music's vastly immense shelf of flyers over down on haight st. but it seemed like a lot of artist must be playing over at coachella music festival understandably. We decided not to go to coachella because of the money thing and also because I would rather wait to see all the bands at smaller venues than go through all that to get a horrible view of the bands I wanna see. eh... who knows it was probably an amazing time over there for all I know. Well back to what I was saying about the flyers. The only thing I could find that made sense to go to was a line up of DJ'S at a nice club in union square area called Ruby skye. One of the DJ'S was Treasure fingers, a DJ I can't seem to escape. I have seen him quite a few times and although I like his tracks and remixes, his DJ sets never seem to live up to his 40 minutes in the champagne room mix that I like so much. It seems like he's adapting to this stupid house crowd and not really playing the goods. Anyway it was still plenty of music to have a good time to and we did just that. We drank these drinks called adios mother f%$#ers which is supposed to be like the west coast long island ice tea but its neon blue in color and taste like a bunch of melted sour patch kids in a glass with a straw. ewwwwww! I gotta say like a long island, it does the job. We danced and crossed a few lines and got crazy for a while and then made that bad decision to go late nite dining. Located just down the street from the club was the pinecrest diner a small place with a small late night breakfast menu and had our way with all types of omelets and other breakfast items... oh and also the always a bad idea the appetizer sampler. Well the food was very good I'm just bitter from my hangover this morning. I awoke today with a bit of a cold and a 682 mile drive ahead to Portland and a stop over at a few scenic redwood location. I'm hoping we can drive this Rig through one... not really but that would be cool. bye for now folks got hit the road. bye the way driving an RV is like sitting on a living room couch across the country. Totally different from a car road trip.

San Francisco in a nutshell.

The ongoing question or joke is that no one is from San Francisco. I find that it really seems that way. When we travel around the town you see people who look like they may be students doing their time here and then there is bums.. who knows where they come from. Then there are a lot of people of asian decent and I know they have been in the area for a long time but other than that I can't pinpoint what a San Franciscan is but I guess thats ok. The city is as diverse or more than New york and Very urban like NY or Philly or other citys like that but the hills and the bay make it way more scenic and easy to enjoy. I have not decided where it falls on my list of favorite US cities. It has some things going against it like the weather, its beautiful but you have to bring a sweater or a coat whenever you leave the house cause of the wind and the temperature drop in the night. Im just not used to that I guess. The people of San Fran are nice and I think alcatraz alone is worth the trip. I didn't get to go out to the islands off of the coast and dive with great whites, I guess I'll have to save that for another time but it was nice to experience San Francisco.

Hella Tight Party Crasher!!!!

Alyse Said...
So...I woke up early to make my way to the bay from Sacramento to see my faves Lace and Ryan! Pulled up to their sweet RV Park...right across the street from Candlestick Park. Lace gave me the tour of the place! They have an awesome set up. Everything you could ever need including a very convenient condiment drawer. Ry was hard at work on the blog! We packed up and headed downtown! Went to eat at Tommy's Joynt, this amazing cafeteria style restaurant that has been in SF for decades and always packed. We had to wait 15 minutes until we got to the counter and another five because we were stuck behind a few older ladies who just couldn't decide. They had their noses to the glass! Lace and I were making fun until Ryan pointed out that we were doing the same thing! Needless to say the food was BOMB! After eating we drove down to the Exploratorium and the beach to catch a closer view of the Golden Gate Bridge! We had to catch a feel of the water and it was freezing! That didn't stop people from jumping right in. Are they nuts? Did I mention the temperature outside wasn't much warmer. People in their swimsuits having a great time on what may have been the ugliest beach I have ever seen? Definitely not in Tampa anymore! I am so excited to be crashing their party! It's just like the good old days! I am thinking about hiding in the bathroom when they depart tomorrow morning for the next stop. Time to rest up for a night out in the city! I'm ready to dance my pants off! To be continued...

San Francisco Huh!

I dont know jack about SF except e-40, hills, trollies, and rice o roni. So Im def hoping to get hyphy for a sec while we are here and maybe even get over to Oakland and check that out. Today was day one actually like day two cause we were over in GG park and HAIGHT ST. yesterday and it was cool. The shopping here is bananas, at least for my taste. It amazing, like tons of citys we been to and Im still seeing different shoes than in the last city. So today we buzzed around town on our scooters and it felt pretty good going up and down these hilly streets. So far I am anxious to go over to Alcatraz after watching The Rock and also several hours of history and discovery channel programming. Also I am dying to see a great white shark. Today we were looking at sea lions on pier 39 and all I could think about was it would be cool if a great white just came and tore one apart. I know thats terrible but I am fascinated by the thought of it. I also have this same thought as we saw surfers on the way up the PCH. I looked at the stats for attacks on human and there were a lot up in the norcal area, well at least more than other places. So I gotta look into a whale watch or a shark cage or something. Anyway day one is done and tomorrow looks good alcatraz and hopefully zipline. I got all the maintenance and everything I needed to do on the RV done today so none of that to mess with. gonna be cool. see ya.

Scooting in San Fran!

We woke up this morning, got geared up and headed out on the scoots towards downtown San Fran! It was a windy and bumpy ride, but mostly it was gorgeous out with the sun shining and cool breeze whipping our faces. We headed down the Embarcadero towards Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. We were cruising along when we saw this bike rack on the sidewalk filled with motor bikes and we immediately pulled over and added our scoots to the mix. It was awesome that the city has these sidewalk spaces available at no charge to motorcyclists. We parked ours near a couple Vespas and this sweet Triumph. We headed towards the Wharf and took a few pics of the Bay Bridge. We ate at this lil place called Chowders in the Wharf where they have the best Clam chowder, but we opted for fish n' chips instead since it was a warmish kinda day. We sat outside and ate our lunch while checking out the sea lions hanging on the barges. We took a few oics and admired their antics for a moment. It was cool to see all of them just hanging out, but I think we got spoiled going up the coast and seeing all the elephant seals so close up.

We walked over to Pier 33 to find out about joining the Alcatraz tour. I have been once before and it was awesome, so I am more than happy to go again with Ry. But unfortunately, since we are not much for planners, it was sold out for the rest of the day. The lady at the checkout window let us know we could advance purchase our tickets for tomorrow, so we hesitated at first at the thought of actually committing to a set time, but we grin and beared it and made it for the morning so we have no excuses tomorrow. Can't wait to check it out again. It will be a chilly ride over on the ferry.

After that, we headed over to this plaza, I think it was named "Justin Herman", but it had this awesome water fountain feature where there were stepping stones and you could walk under the waterfalls. Pretty cool stuff. I didn't think we were allowed at first, but others were doing it, so I guess it was okay. We also managed to catch a middle school glee club and jazz band playing in the park, along with this sweet exhibit called "The British Columbia Experience'. They had zip lines running through the plaza and you could do it for free. I know there must be some catch and there is...You have to get in line at 7:30am and pray that at 10:00am they have free wristbands available for ya. We might try tomorrow, otherwise we will have to attempt Sat. or Sun. But it would be cool to do it.

It started to get pretty cool, so we jumped back on the scoots, stopped at Safeway to pick up some dinner to cook and headed back to the Yella to work on the blog.

Rice a Roni the San Francisco Treat!

We made it to San Francisco in great time and parked the Yella in the Golden Gate Park to stretch our legs a bit and venture out. We headed right for Haight & Ashbury. The psychedelic cross streets that are known for its music, head shops, hippie-vibe and runaway youths that sleep on the street. It is filled with funky thrifts, cool cafes and music stores. Ryan and I hung out there for the day, grabbed a bite to eat and explored a bit. Got back in the RV and maneuvered the Yella through the crazy narrow streets and settled in for the night at our campsite to work on the blog, upload vids and pics and most importantly, have a hot shower.

PCH headed to San Fran!

We hit the road running and were excited to get back on the PCH beacuse the scenery was just about to get even more breathtaking. We rode along these beautiful, lush green mountains to our right and the crystal deep blue ocean waves crashing to our left. We kept having to recharge our camera battery because the pictures just kept coming, We pulled up to the Hearst Castle site and were psyched, only to find out that we had missed the last tour for the day. But they were showing the movie about the Castle, which was basically just a tease, if we weren't going to get to actually see it. We walked through the Free exhibit and decided not to stay overnight and wait for the next morning tour. So we jumped back in the Yella and headed on. We rolled up to the Elephant Seals viewing center. It was amazing to see these sloth-like creatures all along the shore. It was molting season for them which happens about once a year and it is when they shed their fur for new fur growth. It was pretty crazy to see them all shedding like that. They yawned and yelled and even burped loudly. They started to spar with one another, flip sand over themselves and sneeze on one another. It was pretty crazy to be so close to them like that. We took some pics and some video of the furry guys and hopped back into the RV. It was going to be dark soon and we didn't know how the roads would be ahead.

We stopped once more at this awesome vista point. It was this hug mountain behind us, with a couple smaller cliffs where the waves were breaking and we had to take advantage of the photo op. The landscape out there is so green and untouched, it is surreal to see. We rolled out in the Yella and ventured onto on an insane, stomach twisting roller coaster ride of a drive on PCH. We were driving alongside the tops of the mountains on the cliff overlooking the ocean, that was a bit too close for comfort. We made the same S-curve, after S-curve maneuver and I was handling it like a champ. But my stomach was in knots. I just prayed that we would get through it and it would be over soon, which it was, after 75 miles of that crap. I think I left that drive with a 6-pack after all my stomach clenching. But we did it! We got through it, just like we always do. And we even managed to not run out of gas either. Woo-hoo!

While driving through the mountain, we stopped in at the Big Sur Inn and grabbed some gas and noticed how cool of a little realxing town it was. There was this cool little river stream that runs through it and it seemed like a perfect place to go for a couple days to relax, hike and just get to know nature a little bit better. We jotted it down, as a possible future place to look into visiting again and headed forward to Marina for an overnight stay at the Walmart. San Fran in the morning!

Beautiful Weather back on in Malibu!

We woke up to gorgeous weather in Malibu and jumped on the scoots headed for the beach and the surf. We stopped in at Malibu Surf Shack and rented 2 boards and wetsuits and hit the beach. There was just one problem: my wetsuit was made for Pamela Anderson and I was not filling in all the right places if ya know what I mean. But no worries, we will push on. Oh, but there is just one more problem: I have never surfed before, EVER! And well, for the first time being on Malibu beach and being with Ryan, someone that has only surfed a few times on Cocoa Beach with baby waves, was not really giving me the confidence I needed to tackle this feat. But I am here, in Malibu, on this trip and I have to try, atleast to just say that I did. So, Ryan led the way to the water, I followed apprehensively. The water hit me and it was freezing, but I do have to say that wetsuits really do keep ya warm, so I was fine. First obstacle: cold water, accomplished.

Next, get through the breaking waves. Ryan and I hopped on our boards and started paddling and paddling and I am certain that that Bob's Big Boy combo did not help my paddling at all but hinder it more really. So, Ryan was ahead and there was this hug wave headed towards us as we paddle and it was going to break right on us. Ryan yelled go under it. I thought to myself, "Are you Crazy? That thing is going to swallow me." But I trust Ryan and I did exactly what he said and under it. Only to find myself slammed off the board into a whirling abyss of white salt water rushing into my face and mouth and I am caught in a rip current being rolled and smacked and I don't know which way was up. I couldn't breathe and did what you are never supposed to do: Panic! I thought to myself this is it: Lacey and Ryan's Excellent Adventure is over and I went out on a wave in Malibu. Definitely a cool headline story but not the way I wanted to go out. The water subsided and I jumped up out of the water, gasping for air and my hair is knotted dreadlocks covering my face. I reached for my board and Ryan was like, "Are you okay? I had a feeling that was going to happen." "WHAT!?!!!" I replied, "That's it, I'm outta here, surfing is done." He was like, "No, no, no, come on, Lace. You can do it!" And with Ryan's sweet encouragement, I got back on the board and headed back to shore. haha...Nah, I paddled out more into the ocean, only to keep getting swept closer and closer to the pier. This ocean and me really weren't getting along. Ryan led the way and stayed out longer but I, in every sense of the word, pussed out and started heading back to shore. I rode a couple waves back to shore, body boarding that is. And that was enough of a thrill for me. I attempted to drag my huge, heavy board up to wear our things were, but I was so exhausted from paddling and lifting and trying to stay alive, I dropped the board where it was and went and brought my things to the board. Much easier! Ripped off my Baywatch inspired wetsuit and soaked up some rays. Aaahh, now i can relax!

Meanwhile, Ryan was out in the ocean getting demolished by the waves and struggling to paddle as his arms became jello. He came over and checked on me to take a break but was determined to get out there. I have to say, I was really impressed with his tenacity, but we were both in over our heads with those waves. Literally!

Malibu-Day 2

Well, we thought it was going to be beautiful skies and sunny outlooks, but unfortunately the rain and cold weather hit us hard this day, so we had to hibernate in the RV. We worked on fixing the blog a bit and giving it a new look, but that took a lot longer than expected since our internet connection was shotty. We managed to watch a couple movies and not go too crazy staring at one another's faces all day. ;) And Ryan even changed the oil in the ol' Yella since it was long overdue. Now she runs like a champ!!!

Surf City USA-Malibu

We woke up to a beautiful ocean view, packed up the Yella and headed up the coast to hit the waves in Malibu. But first we wanted to stop in at Marina Del Rey on the way. We walked around the park and checked out some sail boats, took a few pics and then headed for the boardwalk on the marina. All of sudden, we heard splashing and loud snorts, we looked out into the ocean and there were 4 sea lions swimming around the dock. We walk down the stairs to the dock to get a better look and ran into this old fishing captain. His name was Jerry and he had a ton to talk to us about. He told us how he can't stand those damn sea lions and they keep reproducing and making more babies to break in to their bait traps and steal their fish. He was a real hoot to listen to and hear all his "Big Catch" stories. But our stomachs were growling and we had to head for Malibu, so we wished him "Good Luck" and sailed on.

Malibu is only like less than 10 miles away so we were going to get plenty of beach time. We pulled up the beach, parked along the side of the road and hit the sand. We found a cozy spot and set up shop with great views of almost 80 surfers in the water seeking the perfect wave. It was awesome free entertainment. It was still a bit chilly to layout but I pushed through it and maybe got a lil peach color from the day. We walked on the beach towards the private section and strolled behind all these million dollar mansions on the coast. It is pretty amazing to think that the Pacific Ocean is there backyard they get to wake up to every morning. Definitely motivating for us, that's for sure. We walked around the town of Malibu, but unfortunately no celebrities. Although, we did see one celebrity out catching some waves. It was Scott Caan, Jame's Caan's son, who was in Varsity Blues, Gone in 60 seconds, Ocean's 11,12 & 13. So I would say, a pretty good catch on celeb patrol that day. haha...