We missed the exit we were supposed to take after we crossed the bridge because a guy in a Jaguar wouldn't let us over. Aren't they supposed to be nicer out here in CA? ;) Once we figured out where we were, we headed straight on 24th Street which took us through a few parts of San Francisco Potrero Hill, the Mission and finally into Noe Valley where we're staying for the next 3 months.
We knew that finding a spot to park the RV on busy 24th street was going to be a challenge. It only took 3 1/2 laps around before a spot opened up a few doors down that was big enough for the Four Winds. The spot was for 10 minute parking only so we knew we had to be quick unloading, just in case these rules were enforced on Saturdays.
First, we brought the pets in. Daisy ran down the long hall and explored every inch of our new place while Sebastian chose to remain in his crate where he probably felt most comfortable. Once the animals were as settled as they were going to get for the moment, the numerous trips up and down the small flight of stairs started. We probably made about 15 trips back and forth. Once we got everything out of the inside of the RV, I thought we were done. Of course, I forgot about all of the stuff we stored underneath in the storage compartments...the shade tent, our camping tent, sassy tins, golf clubs, camping chairs and Baggo all had to make their way in too. It was a cool 57 degrees as we ran between the RV and our apartment but that didn't stop us from sweating a bit!
Once we got everything into the apartment, we met up with Ken who followed us to drop the RV off in Novato. When we got there, Charles from Mac-andy storage was more than helpful and accommodating. He and his brother own the outdoor storage center and its a family business that's been around for 57 years. They have over 300 vehicles in their lot - everything from RVs, boats, racing cars and old classic cars. Charles noticed our duct tap job on the RV and asked what happened. When we told him about it, we mentioned that we planned to pick the RV up to get serviced at some point. He told us that he has relationships with mechanics and auto body shops that come to the storage site. They'll take a look at your vehicle, give you a quote, pick up your RV, work on it and then bring it back to the storage center. Now that's service, huh? We're definitely going to take Charles up on coordinating all of the service work. Its saves us 1 1/2 hours round trip each time, too!
We pulled out of the storage place in Ken's zippy Volkswagen convertible while Jimmy and I breathed a sigh of relief! We were finally here! Our responsibility of having to worry about the RV was over for now. We could officially relax and get into San Francisco mode which really didn't take long. We crossed the Golden Gate bridge on our way to and from the RV center which we were happy about.
We got to travel across both famous SF bridges in the RV, woohoo!
After we got back into the city, we grabbed a sandwich at the sub shop across the street and came back to our place to eat. Ken hung out with us and made fun of me while I tried to unpack as much as I could as fast as I could. You see, I'm the type that doesn't feel settled until every last thing is put away. I so wanted to spend all night situating our stuff. I wanted to find a home for everything in one of the hundreds of storage spots available here. Instead, Ken and Jimmy heckled me into stepping away from the boxes so I get could get freshened up to go out.
It was our friend Leah's birthday and everyone was gathering at her place before the Trombone Shorty/Lettuce show. They were celebrating with pizza and Maggie Mudds delish ice cream cake. We stopped by to help them celebrate and to see some people who are a part of our new local crew. When we got there, it was great to receive such a wonderful welcome from everyone that was there. Its going to be fun to get to really know some people that we've really only been acquaintances with for so long. We all hung at the Scott street girls house (Tina/Leah/Michelle) for an hour or so and then headed over to the Independent with the group. George came through and got us two tickets to the show. Thanks again George, we appreciate it!
Trombone Shorty had started a few minutes before we got there so when we got in, the crowd was already pumped up. Trombone Shorty was opening for Lettuce, though I heard that Lettuce was just 'eh' overall. It was Trombone Shorty who was apparently stealing all of the shows they played together. After getting drinks, we all got closer to the stage and found the rest of the group. It didn't take long before Trombone Shorty was playing some fun funk that got everyone "shaking that booty" as he sang. Watching someone play the trombone is really interesting. All I could think of was how stretchy you'd need your cheeks to be in order to play the trombone like he did last night. I was impressed and was extremely happy that I decided to go to the show. Truthfully, I didn't really want to go out last night. I was exhausted and as I'd mentioned above, I really wanted to unpack. Though, it would have been lame to say that we spent our first night in SF unpacking, huh? Yeah, I agree!
After the Trombone Shorty set, we walked back to the Scott Street girls's house since it was only 2 blocks away and spent set break there. It was close to midnight and I was done for the night even though Lettuce hadn't even played yet. Ken said he was going to go back to Oakland and he'd give us a ride home if we wanted. We couldn't pass on a free ride, so we took him up on it (thanks again, Ken!). We hadn't eaten dinner since we had a late lunch/sandwich at 4:30pm, so we were starving when we got home. Not many places stay open late out here like in NYC. In NYC 1am is still early and I could get any cuisine that my little heart desired. Here, we figured we'd be lucky if we found a late night pizza delivery place. Thanks to the 'net, we hopped on yelp.com and we found that Mr. Pizza Man delivered late night and to our part of town. We were stoked, though we weren't expecting anything great. We were really surprised that the pizza was decent, especially for late night delivery. After we chowed on the pizza, I put a few more things away and we decided to call it a night.
This morning Jimmy had the alarm set for 9am since he was playing golf with Ken, Cassidy and Ryan.
He took Daisy for a walk and came back to get ready. I stayed in bed though I wasn't asleep. I was listening to the morning sounds of our new neighborhood. It was fairly quiet though every once in a while a bus or loud car would go by. Families were starting to head out for the day so I heard lots of little girls giggling and screaming as they walked by. The little boys just wanted to "race from here to the corner, ready one, two GO!" lol! I couldn't fall back to sleep so I decided to get up around 10am. I got myself together and after Cassidy came to pick Jimmy up, I decided to head out to 24th street for a little stroll, some breakfast and some other goods. First thing on the the agenda was to hit a hardware store for a few odd and ends. I got there to discover that they are usually open on Sundays, but today they were closed as per the sign in the window. Oh well, I will get the hardware store stuff tomorrow. I also wanted to get a pair of sneakers since I lost one driving across the country somehow. The last time I had them was in Goblin Valley. I put them on to climb around the goblins but took them off and put them back in the RV when we were done. I did see Daisy playing with them at a point, but I'm sure she didn't eat my whole sneaker. When we cleared out the RV yesterday, there was only one sneaker! It is a bummer since they were the only pair I brought. It is possible it could still turn up, but in the meantime, I want to buy a new pair. I saw a few sneaker stores but decided that coffee and a bagel were a higher priority. Shoes can wait until tomorrow too! I hit up Holey Bagel for a bagel with whitefish salad, mmm! Then, I went to Bernie's for coffee based on the recommendation of our friend Kevin. Great latte! I stopped in at Aveda and picked up a few products and headed home. I enjoyed the walk home in my new neighborhood which I already love so much, even if its foggy and the sun isn't out! Its like fall in July and you all know how much I love those cool fall temperatures!Now, I'm doing some much needed laundry. We've both run out of underwear so laundry was a priority. The good thing is that unlike my sister who is in Argentina, we don't have to wash our undies in the sink! lol! We have a small washer and dryer in our apartment. And speaking of our apartment, I don't think I have mentioned how much I love it. Its a beautiful place and so spacious! The bathroom has an old claw foot tub with a shower that's like a waterfall. We both like good pressure and we definitely approve of this shower. The bed is fairly comfortable though not as dreamy as our bed at home in Jersey City. The kitchen is fantastic!! I can't wait to get cooking and baking in here. It is definitely recently renovated and well planned out! We briefly met our upstairs neighbor who Daisy barked non-stop at. She's got a 3 year old and joked with us that we shouldn't worry about the noise Daisy makes. Apparently, her toddler likes to run back and forth down the hall above us. We do hear them, but so far its not bad.
The pets seem to be comfortable here. Sebastian came out to explore, eat and use the litter box last night so I'd say he is acting like himself. Right now, he is what I call a "lump" in the bed. He loves to crawl up under the covers and lay there for hours, so that's what he's doing now. I wonder how he breaths under there sometimes, but he seems to love it so we leave him be (usually checking from time to time to make sure he's still breathing, of course!).
Daisy slept on the floor on a pile of Jimmy's clothes for a majority of the night. Though, when I used the bathroom at 5am, she was curled up on the couch. I'd say she's herself too. There is a new dog park up the street that we've been told about so I think I'll take her for a walk up there soon.
In the meantime, I'm still sipping my Bernie's latte while listening to Toots and the Maytals, ahhh! This place definitely feels like home!
~*Jennie*~
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