World travelers, take me with you!

Well, not so much "world" travelers, more like "far-off city" travelers. This week my dad is in San Francisco (one of my favorite cities) for a conference. He just called to say how nice the weather is and "what a great town". I'd really love to be there right now! I visited SF with Mike over Memorial Day weekend back in 2002 and just couldn't get enough of the city. We ate at the most amazing Chinese restaurant in Chinatown--it was a tiny dive on a side street, but the food was out of this world. We walked around the city forever, rode the trolley, took a ferry over to "The Rock", where Mike recounted his experience competing in the "Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon" (and I couldn't believe anyone would willingly get in that water to swim back to shore), we visited the original Ghirardelli Chocolate store, Golden Gate Park, and enjoyed even more amazing food in Little Italy. I think I took 4 rolls of film (no digital camera.....damn) during the trip.

I have a habit of buying a travel-guide book whenever I'm going to visit a new city. Not just any travel guide, either, it has to be the "Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guide":


They have the best pictures and maps :). Before the trip I read through the travel guide and soak up all of the info, but I'm not a "by the book" type of girl when traveling--I usually keep things random and spontaneous, but this way at least I know what I'm looking at and have a general idea of what I want to see.

In other traveler news, Damon and Solomon are in Miami this week on "school business" ;). No, really, they are picking up some stuff to bring back to UM, but still, they're in Miami and may make a brief jaunt down to Key West. Ahhh, Key West :) The only place in the world where you can get frozen authentic key lime pie on a stick:


AND it's covered in dark chocolate. Talk about a tasty treat! I was there in late November 2001, which means the temperature was perfect and the massive hoards of tourists hadn't arrived yet. We enjoyed some great food (sense a theme?), took in a sunset cruise on a beautiful sailboat, and did some snorkeling at a coral reef, where I saw an octopus and some creepy barracuda (they actually do just "sit" in the water and watch you)......shiver.

To top it all off, my dad's girlfriend is in London on business.......I think these people are trying to torture me!

SO--anyone up for a trip?? I need to get back out there into "travel-land". I can provide the road trip music :)