San Francisco, California
June 24th - June 27th
Hello Cool People!
Another week, Another Pride! This time I made to trip to San Francisco.
Joy and I June 2015 in Berlin at CSD
San Francisco pride has always been a bucket list item, especially since coming out as gay, so when the opportunity presented itself I capitalized on it. The trip to SF was made better when I found out a friend, Joy, I had met exactly a year ago in Berlin, during Christopher Street days or, rather, Berlin Pride, was going to be in SF at the same time. It was going to be a giant gay reunion and I was nothing but excited.
I was staying in the City Center, so I was pretty close to all the festivities, but it was an expensive stay for me. Note to self, never wait until the day before to book a hotel (there is a long story as to why I waited so long, but I won't get into it in this post). Anyway, when I arrived I checked into my hotel where Joy later met me before heading out to brunch. I was so elated to be reunited with Joy. I have come to the realization that true, lasting friends are those that you can go without seeing, or even talking, for an extended period of time, but the moments when you are together, it is as if you have never been apart. Reuniting with Joy was as if we have never been apart. It was incredible to catch-up and spend time together, and I cannot wait to see her again. It is never goodbye, it is always see you later.
Joy and I made our way to the Fisherman's Wharf after lunch. A must if you are visiting SF. There we were going to meet up with a couple of Joy's friends, Cindy and Uyen. While we waited, Joy and I stopped at a bar for a couple drinks. The bartender was so excited to hear that we were in town for Pride. The whole entire city it appears actively celebrates pride together. It is not just an LGBT event, it is an event that everyone celebrates. In Milwaukee, we have Pridefest, but it is not something that the entire city celebrates. This was something very heartwarming to see.
When Cindy and Uyen met up with Joy and I, we walked around the Wharf a little bit, checking out some of the shops before decided to take advantage of Happy Hour. The place we stopped at was a bakery in the Wharf, I can't remember the name, but they had some decent drink specials and $1 oysters. I have had oysters in Milwaukee, but i must say there is a noticeable difference when it is fresh from the Bay.
That night we headed over to The Castro and danced our butts off in true gay fashion. It was a fun night from what I remember. Let's just say, it is always a horrible idea to mix drinks, especially wine ... wine hangovers are the worst.
Well, at no surprise, Saturday morning was a little slow moving. I was struggle busing even more when I realized I had forgotten a toothbrush and deodorant. Two essentials that even the most novice traveler would not forget, but thank god CVS was right around the corner. Eventually I was able to put myself together to the point where I looked human again.
I decided to make my way to pride and it was right across the street from my hotel and, more importantly, they had food for this hungry boy. Pride was amazing! The diversity of people, the number of people, the number of naked people. It was so exciting!
Later that day I met up with Joy, Cindy and Uyen for dinner in The Castro, after exploring the city some more on my own, stopping at Ghirardelli Square for some delicious ice cream. After dinner, we went out for a few drinks. Joy and I went to the other end of town to a place called "The End Up." Joy had a friend who was a go-go dancer there and it was the perfect excuse for me to tag along. The End Up had no cover until 11 pm, when it jumped to $20. Mind you in Milwaukee the largest cover I ever paid was $6, so $20 is a lot to pay when I don't NEED to go. To make a long story short, Joy and I made it to the front of the long line right at 11 and shoved our IDs in the bouncers face before they realized it was after 11 and started charging that ridiculous cover.
The End Up was had a very cool atmosphere and a very fun outdoor patio. Joy's friend, well he was very cute too. That is all I am going to say there. Anyway, Joy and I stayed for a couple drinks before heading back to our respective hotels. The pride parade was in the morning and we actually wanted to be functional and enjoy it.
Joy met me at my hotel and we found a spot near the end of the parade. The parade itself was incredible. Joy said that she has never heard someone shout "YYAAASSSSS" so much in her life. Gurl ... I wanted my freebies. Speaking of freebies. Like any parade they had stuff that they were giving away, mainly necklaces, stickers, etc. Being at the end of the parade, most of the "good" stuff was gone. Well one my favorite memories was when the woman behind me shouted "I am tired of the necklaces. Where are the condom?" When I turned around to see a 30ish year old woman holding a baby, my response was, "Ma'am I think it is a little late for that!" Of course it was all in good fun and we had a good laugh about it.
Joy and I left the parade a little early for a bottomless mimosa brunch. Again, I'll spare you the details, but I think we got our moneys worth in mimosa.
SF was absolutely incredible. Definitely a city I want to see again outside of pride.
It is incredible to be able to travel and celebrate with friends from all over the world. If you can, and I truly mean CAN, do it. So many of my friends tell me they wish they could travel or do some of the things I do. Let me tell you something. I don't do anything special. I don't make insane amounts of money or have unlimited vacation time. All the trips I have taken this year have been extended weekends, were I set myself a budget, looked around for deals, and made it happen. Anyway, I could go on and on about that, but the more of the story is, live your life the way your want to live it. Life is too short.
