Late Night

Double post:

Yesterday was great, a nice warm day, I spent a good amount of time at the SFMoMA.  Right now the Frida Kahlo exhibit is going on, and that was really great to see.  Especially some of the paintings she made later in life, really esoteric and psychedelic.  I also caught Hellboy 2.  I also found some awesome little restaurants, especially one place called 'Wichcraft.  All about sandwiches.

But today was really the best day so far.  I woke up a little late, ate down by the Marina and decided to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.  I journeyed along the Panoramic Highway, a highway that winds constantly and is situated right on a cliff.  I checked out Muir Woods, and walked around the Redwoods for an hour or so, I saw some deer, and some small birds.  The smell of the woods was overwhelming, lots of fragrant grasses and shrubs that looked like Honeysuckle.  Then I drove further north to Stinson Beach and put my feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time.  It was really cold!  After checking out the beach for a short while, I drove south on Highway 1, another twisty and windy road, and this time the dropoff on the right went straight into the ocean.  It was really great driving on these windy highways, it was definitely an experience that I have never had in New York.  

After my brief wilderness excursion, (which was really just a taste of what I will be immersed in as I hike the John Muir Trail in just about a week) I caught a great concert. 

Here I must inform the evening with some information.

When I was a freshman at SUNY Fredonia, (hour west of Buffalo) I saw a psychedelic-jazz-fusion band called The Slip.  They were the first band I ever saw in college.  Tonight I had the opportunity to see them again, although instead of northwestern New York, it was in downtown San Francisco.  The band has since collaborated with songwriter Nathan Moore and for the moment plays under the name Surprise Me Mr. Davis.  Two bands opened, Rainmaker, an awesome jam-southernish rock band, and Big Light a band that I can't really confine to a genre because they had so many variations throughout their set.  Anyway, Surprise Me Mr. Davis was incredible, great stage presence, humor, talent, just all around awesome!  Plus they played at a really tiny venue called 'Cafe du Nord' a really tiny venue, (akin to NYC's Knitting Factory).  So after a great day, I'm exhausted, tomorrow is open-ended, no plans except eating well, and seeing new sights.

- paul