hoofin it!

Yesturday we had our first big challenge of going into the city and over to the east bay for Neil's doctor visit and a few other things. We just barely made the 7:37 am. bus out of HMB to Pacifica for another transfer to get us to BART train station. I swear that bus driver took highway 1 faster than I ever have in the car!! I know he does it all the time but looking down the cliffsides and the ocean below while speeding through the pass was a bit nerve racking! However it was all good and we made it just in time for the transfer.

We got into San Francisco and stopped off at Embarcadaro for one of "Noah's" famous bagels and a coffee. Neil and I had a really fun time just hanging out in the city watching the hustle and bustle of the morning rush. I have taken the kids down to the city a bunch of times but this was my first time with my hubby.

The crowd passing by the coffee shop window was so diverse. Bums (we counted 8 walk by in 20 minutes), the business class, the tourists, joggers, construction workers, city employees, 1 hooker, maybe her pimp, a euro type couple....all together in one block! It was fun to sit and people watch. I wonder what their story was and where they were all going. Neil and I were very interested in the fact that only about 10%looked like they were not completely miserable.

I am glad that we are no longer in that game.

We headed off to Oakland where Neil saw another doctor about his back...still hopeful to find better care for him.

Afterwards we got back on the BART train to head south. We were towards the end of a 3 car train when a bum walked in. He sat across from us. There were people all over in our corner. All of a sudden we got a huge whiff of trash and death. One by one we all moved from our seats to the middle of the train. One lady went all of the way to the front. It was so bad it made your eyes burn! I felt bad for him, but hey, he had the whole half a car to himself and looked rather comfortable with a look of "What?" on his face!!haha

After all of our running we repeated the process of trains and buses back. We learned the hard but valuable lesson that first of all, comfy shoes are a must if one is going to be hoofing it all the time!Ouch!

Second, one must be aware of all the changes to the bus schedules. We got to learn this one first hand when we go back to Pacifica to take the final bus home to our waiting children only to discover that the last bus leaves at 6:04pm. It was about 8:40pm. when we realized that the 8:33pm. bus we were wating for wasn't coming. Thanks to the current economic slide the buses have downsized their schedules and were a little bummed to learn that their is really no weekend buses in and out of HMB right now. So we will have to be careful in our planning, yet we should be almost done with this area anyway.

So after buying some comfy shoes for the next time, we hailed a cab and took a lovely ride back to HMB. Neil and I haven't taken a cab in a long time, and after the shock of the bill wore off we quickly remembered why! No Worries though as we made it home by 9:30 pm. and enjoyed a glass of wine over dinner. Closing out a long but adventurous day. (Joyce if you are reading this, be sure and ask me about the hippies....it is for a private audience...haha...namely you!)...

I can't wait for the next time!

After it was all said and done it was great to be home. The kids had a great afternoon with a newly made friend aboard a fellow Baja 'er. One of many I hope they will meet along the way. Check out their website at http://svjaneo.com.

Our friends Lori and Tom (Camelot) left yesturday for Santa Barbara. I think the Jane'O leaves today. We hope to be a week or so behind.

We are really enjoying this new chapter in our lives and it never seems dull to say the least!