Had a chance to take a mini vaca out to San Fran and Napa Valley with my girlfriends a few weeks ago. Although it was still a bit chilly in Cali, it was definitely nice to get out of Jersey for awhile to enjoy the sunny weather, especially amongst the rolling hills of Napa Valley. We also had a chance to meet up with our pals Caleb and Chris, who were kind enough to give us a tour around San Fran, Napa, and Monterey Bay! You guys rock!

Anyway, Judy, Jeanette and I spent most of our brief stay in the Cali area hitting as many touristy points as possible before getting poop-shooted back to dirty Jersey. We hit the Twin Peaks scenic overlook in San Fran, drove down the famous S-shaped Lombard Street, watched seals and ate clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf, road the cute little cable cars, wine tasted in Napa Valley, toured U.C. Berkeley’s campus, and visited the Jelly-licious Monterey Bay Aquarium. Oh and we also got to eat some fish tacos and try the In-N-Out Burger joint everyone always raves about. Fish tacos were pretty good but unfortunately I have to say the In-N-Out burgers are kind of overrated. Maybe the meat is too fresh or something and I’m just too used to eating processed meats from McDonalds, hahaha!

A few things I noticed about San Fran that’s quite different from NYC:

• The city is 1000 times cleaner than NY and China Town is way bigger
• San Fran’s homeless people are hilariously honest. They hold up signs that say “Okay fine, I just need money to feed my pot addiction”  or  “Please donate to alcohol research”
• Guys seem to only holler “Konichiwa” as a way to hit on Asian girls regardless if they’re Japanese or not
• San Fran gets mad cold at night. Wait, I mean hella cold.
• Three words- Steep ass hills
• All the bathrooms and porto potties are crazy clean and eco friendly. One toilet told me to press down on the flusher if you do a #1 and lift up if you do a #2 in order to conserve water.
• The Golden Gate blows the George Washington out of the water, but it’s probably because it’s painted orange
• Almost everyone and their mother has a Digital SLR and they’re mostly Nikon shooters

So I guess in the end, San Fran is a lovely place that I could see myself moving to one day. However, regardless of the crazy drivers, the funky smells, and the weird fluctuating seasons, I do prefer the faster paced life here on the East Coast. And honestly, although NYC is pretty darn dirty in comparison, there’s something phenomenal about a city that never sleeps and the ability to grab a slice of the world’s greatest pizza at 4 in the morning (actually, I can’t remember the last time I stayed up till 4am since college, but it’s still a pretty sweet deal)

Cheers to good times! Oh and here are my very first set of photos (and certainly not my last) shot on my Nikon D300 with the 18-200mm. I love this camera!