Sydney, NSW to San Francisco, CA

What a flight! Thirteen hours of no sleep, only to be given the third degree by four different customs officers.

As I stepped out of the airport is started raining and it took me forever to find where I caught the bus. It was then I questioned, “What am I doing?” The bus into the city took about an hour and dropped me off in the middle of downtown. From there I walked to Pacific Tradewinds Hostel, only to be told it was full. Ended up at the Green Tortoise. I had to wait a while to check in – make sure there was another vacancy.

After checking in I decided to start with a wander around San Francisco’s Financial District. I thought I’d take a walk up to Naag’s place in Clay Street – bad idea – huuuuge hill. Not only that but no one was home. This I find out later is because Chris and Casi don’t live here anymore.

Columbus Tower, San Francisco

I walked back down to the hostel to try and get some sleep. About two hours later, Casi called the hostel – woke me up from a half-sleep – and told me she was picking me up from the hostel to meet up for a drink. So, finally, I met Naag’s fiancé. And if first impressions count, she is a champion. We walked up to a bar on Grant & Green and met up with a couple of their friends – Hamid, Jeff and Jill. Then Chris arrived. It has been over two and a half years since we last saw each other and it was great to catch up. We headed around Columbus to have dinner at the Steps of Rome – an Italian restaurant. From there we kicked on to Shanghai Kelly’s to party on until two in the morning. A great first night in the US, but I desperately need some sleep.