Pics from our left coast getaway...

In case you're interested, here are a million pictures from our trip to San Fran and northern Cali. The first few have captions explaining where it is, but I haven't gotten around to filling in the rest (and clearing out all of the bad ones). I always take way too many pictures, so that at least a few will come out alright, then I end up liking something about all of them, so I have a hard time deleting them...(nerd)

San Fran Part 1

This second batch here was basically the last day, when we conquered Haight St., Twin Peaks, a ferry ride around the bay AND an evening chillin' in the Mission with my homie Hudson and his beautiful lady, Carter (who we just happened to bump into on the Bart on our last day in the city...crazy story, will delve into more detail later). I am still planning to write a few posts/stories to accompany the pics, but until then, these images should suffice. Peace and harmoniousness.

San Fran Part 2

Relaxin' in the mountains...

I just returned from my annual escape to the Blue Ridge Mountains with the extended fam. We've dubbed it the BooMan Reunion, since celebrating the life of Mike D is the driving force behind our excursion (BooMan is what Mark D calls him). As usual, it was beautiful getting to reminisce with everyone, and truly amazing to see how much all the kids have grown already. Check out little JT, chillin' with the toy guitar.



"Autumn leaves must fall down, growing old..."



We went up a day early this time, so we got to go rafting on the Ocoee with Mark D on Friday afternoon, and then still had a whole weekend to feast and catch up.



In between heavy drinking and a non-stop Cornhole tournament, there was continuous gorging on delicious Houston's grub (thanks Kim!!)... I'm talking everything from fillet Mignon burgers and steak, smoked salmon with dill sauce, tuna steak, veggie burgers with the soy glaze -- ouch, I'm hurting myself just thinking about it. I think I'll need to fast for the next two weeks to clear all the meat out of my system. Sorry if I've offended any vegans or vegetarians, but that shit was absolutely carnivorously delicious!!

One of my favorite moments was the 2 hour freestyle session with Steck and Tadpole (the original emcees for Live On Arrival) while everyone else went hiking or to the lake with the kids. Already looking forward to the next BooMan Reunion...



And don't think I'm sleeping on the San Fran posts, just trying to collect my pics and thoughts on that one...

Back from San Fran...

What an incredible experience...while I gather my thoughts and organize my photos to share with you I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of the people that reached out to help us plan our brief but fascinating excursion to the left coast, we could not have done it without you...James and Kaitlin, Angelo, Austin, Hudson and Carter, Solon, Nancy-Kate, my mom, pops and Judy, Carlton and Kari, TK, Nicholas, Eli, Max, everyone I forgot to mention, and every kind soul that we came across while floating through that beautiful city. Thanks for everything!



We'll be back...

San Francisco - It's Official...

...Hameen is taking a vacation to the left coast. Taking a week off work, flying out to San Fran with the lady. I did get the chance to visit the city years ago while visiting a friend in Palo Alto, but didn't get to spend much time there. From what I remember it was awesome!



With a plethora of commercial driven "free" sites telling you "what to do" in San Francisco, it's hard to not get overwhelmed and lost in an abyss of bullshit. So basically, I'm looking for any input on creative (and inexpensive) things to do there. If you have ever been, please let me know what you consider to be a must-see or -do while in San Francisco, Please don't hesitate to drop an email, comment, whatever...it would be much appreciated. I definitely look forward to sights like this...




Root and I will be there from the 24th of July to the last day in July, then heading back to the A-Town, so we're also looking for any cool folk to link up with while there. We will be staying at the Stratford - looks like a dope spot, and we got a great price for right downtown. It was actually recommended by a friend, so when the super-deal popped up, we got real excited (good looking, James)!




So, I will most likely be on a San Francisco kick for the next month or two while I get geared up to make the most out of this trip. Get ready...