15 October 2015

"Good morning, park ranger here."

I quickly open my eyes, totally forgetting where I was and that I had fallen asleep in a tent. I turn around, "Hey. Anthony. Anthony. Someone is outside." We're both pretty groggy and he unzips the tent and sticks his head out. We came to find out that we had put up our tent in the wrong place. Considering that we arrived relatively late and couldn't tell which campsite was correct, he let us slide. All we had to do was pay $30. Problem at that point was that we didn't have cash. We packed our stuff, still in the clothes we slept in, and drove to the nearest ATM. After paying and a much needed shower in the public restroom, we left the campsite toward the city for some lunch before our last leg.

The restaurant we picked had a set lunch menu. A salad with mandarins and nuts to begin, then fettuccine and garlicky rosemary chicken. It was nice to sit amongst families and sort of exclude ourselves from the setting while the restaurant played its chaotic music of clinking silverware and overlaps of conversations. The beauty of a shared meal is the listening; paying attention to each other, catching the beauty with our sprits. The moment didn't seem to lack anything.

Around us were dark wooden tables, rustic ceilings and painted walls with Italian inspired sayings- a very homely restaurant. Tutto capitare a puntino!

The drive from Monterey to San Francisco is only 2 hours. During the drive there, we made sure to have temporary bed plans. We volleyed the idea of tenting or hostels. I made a few calls and finally found the perfect one for us. We stayed at Pacific Tradewinds Hostel for a night. The hostel was close to Chinatown but near Downtown. A room with 6 beds total and about a total of 4 rooms on our floor. Really welcoming staff and overall vibe. I had never stayed in a hostel before so I was excited to have my first experience be in my home-state. Who would have thought?