Save Me, San Fran

We've made a trip from SoCal to chilly San Francisco for a funeral. Which means the car is packed with unnecessary shit and processed junk food: from textbooks and ideas that this mini vacation will actually inspire us to do any class readings to donuts and half eaten bags of Cheetos from the truck stop off the 101. And now, donning shorts, unwisely assuming that San Fran would be as so kind to mirror San Diego weathers, I am bravely weathering the cold. Anything less than the cool 70s I have been spoiled with is deemed freezing. 

But this will not deter my experiencing what SF has to offer. And, of course, for paying my respects to a dear uncle. 

Note: The above was written shortly after arriving in South San Francisco and since then, shit has happened. So the following is based on true events. 

Three days. That was all it took to experience the joy in traveling and the horror in traveling with family. As my poor iPad is dying, I'll just list what happened instead. 

1. Hotel: booked for four. Car rented: for four passengers. Budget: balanced for four. Passengers in the car: five. Why? Because of free loaders. That's why. 

2. I-5 closed down so had to take the scenic route, which was fine by me. Saw more of Cali in that one foggy night than in my entire life (seriously need to visit Solveign and its bakeries as well as the garlic fields of Gilroy). 

3. Awesome aunt was a great travel guide; she knew like every history and every monument of every city. Need a travel expert on every adventure. 

4. Did y'all know there's a museum dedicated to John Steinbeck? Another thing on my bucket list. 

5. Arrived too early for check in at the hotel so had to look for another one. At four. In the. MORNING! And with an extra body to add to the discomfort. 

6. Sunnyvale!! If you're there, check out the Moonstar buffet. Awesome Chinese restaurant, a bit expensive, especially if you're copping the bill for eight, but well worth it. 

7. Catholics. We aren't Catholics, but my uncle and his family are. So when you recite the Lord's Prayer, they cut off the last part (So make sure to stop when they do otherwise they give you snide looking glances). 

8. Family. Gotta love seeing them, especially the new little babies and cousins. 

9. Second day: burial. Prime location to be buried. More Catholic stuff I'm not familiar with. 

10. Reception: not typical Samoan setup. It was catered and served by a legit business which was smart on the family's part because your save so much work, and money, doing that than making plates and having everyone load like 10 into their cars before they even begin praying. 

11. Seeing tradition in the moment. Same usual faasamoa stuff. Lovely. 

12. Sped to the Golden Gate Bridge to take some quick pictures before having to beat more traffic back to Oakland and Pittsburg for family gathering. Lombard St. is beautiful, downtown is gorgeous, more Catholic Churches, parking is horrendous, one way streets suck butt. Bay bridge, oh how I adore thee. 

13. Meet some more family. Family drama ensues. Lots of corruption. Bingo in the garage to end the night. 

14. Third day: beat traffic back home before 49ers game starts. Get povi from Samoan store in San Jose. Food poison on the eight hour ride back. 

15. Lost cellphone with pictures, so it's like I didn't even go. Family still mad. But they're still planning a reunion. Yeah, let me know how that goes. 

It was....meh. You've been good San Fran.