I left my sister and brother-in-law in San Francisco

Sad, but true. When Diana and Jon moved it wasn't so sad because I knew we'd be seeing them again soon. Now that our trip is over and we won't see them until Christmas, it's really sad. But that didn't prevent us from having fun while we could in the stressful but vibrant city they live in.


First, I have to say that though I never got a picture of it, their 500-square-foot apartment is great! It's located both in the heart of the city and on top of a hill of eucalyptus trees. Their wooden apartment building really looks like a mountain resort of sorts. Also, they and Ikea did a great job of making the most of their little space so that it really feels wide open and cozy at the same time. Finally, I now have a testimony of GPS. They use it to drive everywhere in the city and I'm amazed at its almost unfailing powers. Meanwhile, Josh was talked out of getting the GPS for his rental car during his jaunt to Hollaywood with Jesse and Julia and regretted it at every turn.

We did the usual touristy San Franciso stuff while there: Took pictures in front of trolleys,


visited Fisherman's Warf while facing out in the Björn for the first time (Zoë) and happening to find a Gypsy Cab sticker everywhere he went (Jesse),

and walked through the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.



We also visited the downtown Hyatt, a childhood favorite of mine, outside of which a homeless man once generously gave Diana and me several silver dollars among other small but precious presents--an act of kindness I've always carried with me.


But more important than any of that was getting this shot:

See, after my newborn little brother had been unnamed for at least a week, my 10-year-old self decided he should be called "Jesse." My parents agreed. What they didn't know was that his namesake was Uncle Jesse (aka John Stamos) from Full House, who I had a major crush on. Now that Jesse really is an Uncle Jesse, we felt that we had to capture the moment photographically in front of the Full House houses of Alamo Square.

We enjoyed our trip to San Francisco a lot. Josh, true to form, is now interested in watching every movie ever set in San Francisco: Bullitt, The Conversation, Escape From Alcatraz, Zodiac, and So I Married An Axe Murderer, just to name a few. Me, I'd be content with an old re-run of Full House.