Up the hill.
A little closer.
The streets were steep. After a stranger came over for a fist bump, you held on to me as we walked through Downtown.
We decided you were a Kardashian. Downtown was to be seen from a Range Rover.
An afternoon indoors
Venice,
in San Francisco.
We went to see Monet. Outside, there were the hills and the cable-car tracks. In here, water and light.
At the campus shop
You picked
the NERD cap.
You put it on and pointed at the letters with both hands.
Then we made a vlog.
Neither of us was being very serious.
Following the Pacific
And then,
all that blue.
Past Stanford, we carried on to Monterey.
The next day, McWay Falls.
Monterey behind us.
Big Sur ahead.
A stop
at the pier.
The Jeep, the pier, the café.
Then on to Los Angeles.
In the hotel / Los Angeles
You were
doing your hair.
I stood behind you
and raised the camera.
In the mirror,
both of us.
A few things from L.A.
The shopping.
The movies.
The photographs in between.
Los Angeles → San Diego
I drove.
You picked
our stops.
There was music in the car.
You worked out the route,
then lifted your phone to film the sea.
We talked as we went south.
Next time, more time
along this stretch.
Further south,
La Jolla.
Sea lions on the rocks.
Kayaks out in the cove.
One more
takeaway box.
We flew back to San Francisco.
Before the flight home, we went back
to Delicious Dim Sum.
Water chestnut cake and sago cake.
This time, the takeaway
came on the plane.
To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls,
to draw closer,
to find each other
and to feel.That is the purpose of life.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
To be continued.
zzx & wwsThe back pages
The ten days.
The route, the stays, the flights.
Tokyo → San Francisco
We landed, picked up the car, and went out into San Francisco.
Stayed at Club DonatelloSan Francisco
Cable-car tracks, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Monet and Venice.
Stayed at Club DonatelloSan Francisco → Stanford → Monterey
You bought a NERD cap at Stanford. We filmed a vlog before carrying on to Monterey.
Stayed at Sunset Inn Pacific GroveMonterey → Big Sur → Lompoc
McWay Falls, the coast, and a photograph of the two of us.
Stayed at Hilton Garden Inn LompocSanta Barbara → Malibu → Los Angeles
Santa Barbara, Malibu, and the drive into Los Angeles.
Stayed at Hilton Los Angeles Culver CityLos Angeles
You picked out things at SKIMS. In the hotel, I took a photograph of us in the mirror.
Stayed at Hilton Los Angeles Culver CityUniversal Studios Hollywood
A day at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Stayed at Hilton Los Angeles Culver CityLos Angeles → Carlsbad → La Jolla → San Diego
I drove. You planned our stops and filmed the ocean along the way.
Stayed at Best Western Plus Bayside InnSan Diego → San Francisco
From San Diego, we flew back to San Francisco.
Stayed at The Inn at Union SquareSan Francisco → Tokyo
We went back for Delicious Dim Sum and took it on the flight home.
Overnight flightTYO → SFO
SAN → SFO
SFO → TYO