I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but in the case of San Francisco, the grass really is greener than Los Angeles' chaparral.
I took a five day weekend & hit the road to visit my friend, Kirin, in Sausalito, Calif., a sleepy little waterside town across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Fran. Luckily, Kirin provided housing — a bunk on board the 82-foot sailboat for which she's a deck hand! Obviously, hilarity (& terrible marine toilet confusion) ensued.
I discovered a few things on my NorCal adventure: 1. I shall never be a sailor (eight days without a shower, mast scaling & being cold & wet — yikes); 2. milk frothers are the best ever; 3. I could totally play with black sand & magnets all damn day; 4. swans are extremely large birds; 5. I really, really want to live in San Francisco! Like, So. Bad.
San Francisco is ridiculously picturesque. The buildings are old & beautiful, their are a million types of functional public transportation (ever tried getting somewhere on a bus in Los Angeles? Good luck), & clam chowder comes in sourdough bread bowls.
Unfortunately, living costs in San Fran are sky high, & even in my wildest dream scenario, I probably wouldn't be able to afford the microscopic apartment in a Victorian building that I'd want. I'd probably be living in a box on a sidewalk with a dude named Steve.
I did, however, meet a ballerina who received free room & board in the service quarters of a mansion in exchange for walking the mansion owners' dog. Umm, hello San Francisco mansion owners? I'm really good with dogs. & cats. & turtles! Errr, I could feed your fish? Mop your floors? Call me!
