A Gay Mormon on Castro Street

No, I'm not talking about me. I'm no longer a member of the LDS Church.

I'm talking about a handsome blonde man in his early 20's that we met in a shop on Castro Street yesterday evening. I had bought a Christmas ornament there last year when we were here, and I returned to purchase another one. As we were paying for our purchases, the man asked whether I collect Christmas ornaments, which I found unusual. Then, he asked where we are from. 

"Salt Lake City."

"Are you LDS?"

I experienced a knee-jerk reaction and said, "No!" I was then surprised to hear him say, "I was LDS." I quickly back-peddled a bit and said, "Well, I *was* LDS."

"They expected me to be celibate all my life," he replied. "I just couldn't do that." I felt like he was, in a way, reaching out to us for a bit of understanding and validation. I wanted to hug him, but that would have been awkward. So, instead, I reached out my hand to shake his and said, "Well, you made the right decision."

Walking down to the Castro from our apartment

Yesterday had started out very early. Mark and I got up at 5:00, loaded up the truck, then headed down the street to Orphan Andy's restaurant for breakfast before heading north to Marin County.

It's a tiny little cafe in the Castro, open 24/7, that probably seats 50 people max. Retro, but it appears to have original fixtures that are spotlessly clean and well maintained. Mark and I chowed down on some of the best pancakes we've ever eaten and on omelets that were chocked full of meat - mine bacon, Mark's ham. And the prices were extremely reasonable.

We then headed north to San Rafael, the starting point of our century (100-mile) ride. We were so well-fed that we were able to skip the first two rest stops, then stop briefly at the one at the 54-mile mark. Unlike last year, we had no bike trouble at all. It was foggy and overcast for most of the ride, but at about the 85-mile mark, the blue skies and brilliant sun because visible.

Back in San Francisco, we decided to go back to Orphan Andy's for dinner, mainly so that Nathan could see it and because it was convenient. We were far too tired to go anywhere else in the city.

These next two days will be devoted to showing Nathan around San Francisco. Chinatown here we come. We're glad we brought warm clothes!