Our arrival into the Bay area started out with a beep. Literally, a beep. About 30 miles outside of San Francisco the brake line warning went off, beeping at an irregular pace that not even the loudest dubstep song could cover up. We were perplexed: we had just gotten a new brake pad and the brakes seemed to be doing just fine. We drove on into the city, Chase keeping his nervous anxiety to himself, when all of a sudden, on the Bay Bridge, it stopped. We were home free! Apparently Georgia likes San Francisco. That evening we arrived to Colgate friends Ally Latta and Bailey Hagan’s apartment in Nob Hill, weary from a long day’s drive, but managed to muster up the strength (and thirst) to hit up their favorite bars on Polk Street. Our good friend Jess Leslie even tagged along! It was a Colgate reunion, west-coast style. The next morning we gathered the troops to visit the famous San Francisco farmer’s market in the Ferry Building. Kristen Weiner, a sophomore at Colgate and good friend to all, joined us—Colgate reunions continued! We (well, largely the girls) walked around in awe as we ogled stand after stand of fresh produce. After gorging ourselves on free samples and some tasty Chinese food at Out the Door, we picked up a few pounds of tomatoes and peaches (in preparation for a homemade dinner the next evening) and... wait for it… had another west coast reunion with Chase’s childhood friend, Chris Maddox, on our way back to the apartment. The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering the Mission district of San Francisco, exploring thrift shops and local bars (conveniently around happy hour time—be sure to check out West of Pecos and Zeitgeist for some great deals!). That evening we wandered to a cheap sushi joint to treat Chris to dinner as a reward for his Kickstarter donation (thanks Chris!), closely followed by another trip to Polk Street for some late night bar-hopping. Ally and Bailey seemed to find their new favorite haunt at Kozy Kar. Sunday was spent exploring even more neigborhoods—while Chase and Meegan rented bikes and trekked across the Golden Gate Bridge, the remainder of the Crew walked around the Marina district and logged a few miles of city walking. The evening coalesced with a dinner of homemade shrimp tacos and farmer’s market fresh tomatoes and peaches salad, and ultimately led to a Sunday night concert series at San Francisco’s renowned music venue, Bottom of the Hill. The Crew listened to some fantastic folk-rock and jam inspired tunes by San Francisco locals, Anju’s Pale Blue Eyes and Shady Maples! Both groups were incredibly friendly, gave wonderfully informative interviews, and wished the Locavaux Project well on their travels up the coast towards Portland.
San Francisco, you’re one cool cat of a city. We like you a lot—you’ve got great food, great bars, and great music. We like you enough to maybe even move back there… Georgia was even a big fan of you—so many new colorful and painted bus friends, she didn’t stick out nearly as much as before! But we haven’t gotten to Portland, OR yet, and that’s home to the most famous bus of them all…