California Coast: Part 3 It's a Wedding!

We arrived Friday morning in San Francisco at Vu's place (Dan's cousin) and pretty soon after met up with Dan's family. In typical wedding fashion everything we rushed to get ready and then head over to Berkley for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Who's getting married?>>Dan's cousin, Khanh and his fiance, Leslie...beautiful couple. The whole Mai clan (plus me) did a little exploring in Berkley once we arrived, as we had over anticipated the traffic and were about an hour early. After a pick me up coffee and a stroll we returned to the church for the rehearsal, which was on campus. The after rehearsal dinner was held on the church grounds and they server delicious pizza. Because this is California of course it was not your average pizza. It was probably one of the tastiest pizzas I ever had. I can't remember the name of the pizzeria, but it is a co-op, vegetarian and locally supported restaurant...there is only one type of pizza made each day, oh, and they make their own cheese...CHEESE! We had a cilantro-lime white pizza and it was soo good. Saturday was the wedding which was a simply beautiful ceremony followed by a great little reception in Berkeley.

Before the wedding, on Saturday morning, we went for a walk with Isla at Fort Funston beach off of Skyline Drive. The the San Fran fog was rolling over the beach and the fisherman were out in force pulling in massive sea bass right from the surf. The weather was a bit chilly and the water was freezing, so the men braving the waves were in full waders trying to stay warm enough to pull in there awesome catch. Afterwards we met up with the Mai's at their Condo over by the Cliff House, which is where we enjoyed a delicious brunch while looking out to the mighty Pacific. The Cliff House has a super cool history and I highly recommend checking out their website. Our food was pretty good at the restaurant but the view to the ocean was the most special part, watching the surfers, fisherman, seals and birds.

Sunday the Mai family, Vu, and Katie went to Mass at Vu's church where a samoan choir was leading the singing that day. A fun and different experience. Mass was followed by brunch at Aperto, a little corner cafe in the same neighborhood as Vu's apartment. We then proceeded to Golden Gate Bridge and Twin Peaks that afternoon for tons of pictures. That evening after plenty of convincing, we all went to a Thai Restaurant in Potrero Hill, LingBa, for a huge dinner Monday, was a day of wine tasting in Sonoma and a tasty Peruvian dinner at Fresca, for the last night before Dan's family headed back east.

After Dan's family left, Dan and I buckled down to start some serious job hunting. Hopes were high but after looking at the dismal job listings we were not sure if there would be anything for us here. We had the pleasure of meeting up with our friend, Audrey, Wednesday night for a night on the town. The four of us headed for some much needed pho and afterwards drinks at the Casanova. Friday with renewed hope after finding a few new job openings we spent the day preparing packages to send to potential employers. That evening Vu treated us to sushi and ice cream at a local San Fran ice cream parlor, Mitchell's. The line was out the door for ice cream despite the chilly evening air. But with flavors like Kahlua Mocha Cream, White Pistachio, and Claire's Pie (chocolate ice cream with almonds, fudge, and graham crackers) it was worth the wait, and no surprise to see a police officer in line while his car was parked in the street blocking two cars in with his yield lights on...

Vu finished up the evening with a tour of the city, going to Crissy fields, driving down Lombard Street, and through several of the neighborhoods. It was a great way to see the city, no traffic, all the buildings lit up and people on the streets for some Friday night fun. Saturday, Dan and I spent the night at Luke and Audrey's in order to have a little more time with them. Audrey and Luke first took us on a a drive to nearby Santa Cruz. We enjoyed some excellent conversation, good beach time, and yummy coffee at LuLu Carpenter's. The rest of the evening was to say the least besides a blur of Wii bowling, Bob Marley, and New Belgium Biere...it was a good night. Sunday at an all too early hour we headed back the city to get in some real tourist action. We decided to check out the Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and of course get some yummy clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. That afternoon was spent with a serious nap (needed due to the night before) followed by some deep conversations with Vu, and a real homemade dinner!

So with a hard realization that our time in San Fran was coming to an end, we started prepping for our next journey. We are ready and able...to infinity and beyond!

Special Note for all you coffee lovers out there: Blue Bottle Coffee, could be among the best coffee: taste-wise and philosophy-wise.