Day 5: Arrival in San Francisco. My friend/couchsurfing host Chantelle was out of town, so we booked a hotel near Fisherman's Wharf that was twice the price and half the quality of anywhere else we'd stayed. Unfortunately it wasn't ready at check-in time, and after a brief misunderstanding Nathan and I parted ways with the girls for a bit to explore the city. We found ourselves amidst Ghirardelli 's chocolate festival at Fisherman's Wharf. It was overpriced so we passed in favor of a hole-in-the wall Cuban place. We later met up with the group again to explore Lombard, the so-called crookedest street in the world. Crooked indeed, but not exactly worth adding to your bucketlist.

Upon meeting Nathan's brother in SF I insisted that we get some sourdough chowder bowls for dinner. And we did just that. The Boudin bakery did not disappoint, though it was slightly pretentious and cost a dollar more than surrounding chowder bowl joints. Later that evening we explored the Palace of Fine Arts for some night photography. This is the one point in the trip where I wished I had my DSLR instead of the compact. However, Lumix didn't let me down and I snagged a few interesting shots.

Day 6: Another one of my SF goals (I had a mental checklist full) was to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. All 1.7 miles of it. Nathan and I completed the roundtrip trek in a about 45 minutes - not bad considering all the bike and pedestrian traffic. Nathan had to fly home to work the next day so we drove out to the Oakland airport.

Rachel, Charlee, and I returned to SF for yet another tourist trap: a cable car ride. At $6 one way the cable cars are not the most cost effective mode of transportation in the city, but they are certainly the most unique. Originally built in the 19th century, San Francisco's cable car system has survived earthquakes, as well as plans to replace the system with buses and electric streetcars.

We explored Japantown a bit, then headed to Chantelle's to turn in for the night. Since Chantelle's roommate was out of town we scored a big room to ourselves and had plenty of space. And a cat. Funston!