One of the reasons I love coming to San Francisco is because I am able to experience what it feels like to be just another gay man among many. Wherever we have gone in the city, there are other gay men, gay couples, trans people and lesbians (not to mention, I'm sure, bisexuals). Not just in the Castro, but everywhere. That is not something one experiences in Salt Lake City ... although that is changing somewhat.
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| On this trip, we're staying at a VRBO in Noe Valley. These are some of the views from near our place. |
Another reason I like coming to San Francisco: friends and food. I wrote a bit about the food yesterday. We spent Thursday and Friday evenings with a couple we met in January on Little Beach in Maui. One of the highlights of this trip for me will be the memory of watching Mark holding Rob and David's little girl, Kimaya, on his lap as Rob and her (and Mark) "read" books. Both Rob and Kimaya had the lines memorized, and it was like watching a dance of love between the two of them. Precious.
On Friday night, we had dinner with Rob and David and another gay couple - Eric and Doug - who are friends of theirs. That was so much fun. There was an instant rapport among all of us, but especially between Eric and myself, due partly to the fact that we were both Mormon - he coming from a large multi-generation Mormon family (and I an adult convert). Among other things, we exchanged stories of what it was like to be a closeted missionary, which will have to be a subject for another post. Today, we are going to a Giants game with friends - another gay couple and some of their friends; and tomorrow, we are having dinner with a woman we met on our cycling tours. We will have done more socializing in a week than we normally due in several months back home.
We also love coming to San Francisco because, well, it's San Francisco. We've enjoyed - for the most part - doing a lot of walking since being here, averaging about six-seven miles per day. Fortunately, the weather's been wonderful. (We were even able to walk around in T-shirts one day, it was so warm.) We're definitely sore from walking up and down hills, but we've enjoyed ambulations through various neighborhoods, taking in the architecture, the flora and ordinary San Franciscans going about their day.
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| View from the top of Dolores Park |
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| A neighborhood garden we walked by on our way to Cole Valley on Wednesday. |
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| The man in the blue sweatshirt told us that the garden had been the creation of the man sitting next to him over the course of a number of years. Their doggie walked over for a pet. |
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| Sunrise from our balcony |
The best part about being here, however, is the time that Mark and I have spent together. As he said last night as we had cocktails in our condo, he writing in his journal, me reading:
"Everything about this moment is appropriate."
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