A New Day in San Francisco

Usually when I go to San Francisco, I know what I want to do. I would have somewhat of a plan and a list of things I want to see. I had already gone to SF the day before with my friend, Sarah, and I was pretty exhausted. Starting at around 7:30AM, Alan and I had a nice drive, filled with the newest Frank Ocean and a stop at Treasure Island. As we had no plan whatsoever, the day started out fairly slow. We decided to start with breakfast at The Grove, a restaurant on Mission Street. Alan had been there plenty of times before, and I am always up for a new food adventure. I have to say, it was pretty spectacular; the food was so fulfilling and the atmosphere was unlike any place I have ever eaten in when I have gone to San Fran.

After breakfast, we wandered around Yerba Buena and sat in a Ghiradelli for about two hours waiting for Alan’s friend, Nick. We met Nick in Russian Hill, a neighborhood high above the city, and later walked to Saint Frank Coffee. The three of us tried to find a model to shoot with, but it fell through. After a whirlwind of driving, Nick took us to a rooftop in Chinatown that overlooked the entire city. It was so nice to hang out with two people who are inspired by what they do and seek growth constantly.

Nick left to go to Yosemite, so Alan and I headed to Lands End. The sunlight was extremely harsh, so we waited in the car for awhile before heading towards the cypress trees and seaside cliffs. We could see the Golden Gate from where we were and Alan mentioned going to the Marin Headlands. I had always wanted to go there for the amazing view of the bridge. I was completely blown away by the intense colors of the sunset and the beautiful wonder that is San Francisco. We ended our night with dinner at Sol Food, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Mill Valley, that had the most amazing sandwich. So. Good.

Sometimes, it’s nice to have plan. But that day in San Francisco was such a new experience for me; I saw the city in a new light and chose to go where the wind took us rather than try to fill every second of the day. Usually, I’m the person in the group who has an idea of places to go, but it was nice to be on the other side and have Alan show me around. One for the books.