So we had a lovely time in the Bay Area in September. The pumpkin and bicycles are not ours — I just spied this outside a brewery in Santa Cruz, and it spelled autumn in NorCal for me. (We didn’t go to that brewery, but we had just departed the Bonny Doon tasting room, where we had shared a flight.)
The reading was lovely; it was so packed I’m glad the fire marshal didn’t show up.
Our friends were marvelous and welcoming and all those good things.
We ate of many cuisines, including that of the Island of Fried Food (after the reading we went to a diner up the street where I had french fries for dinner, and the next night we had tender fresh fried calamari).
We walked many places, and drove, and took public transportation, and crossed bridges, and when we rested, we devoured books and magazines.
It was a grand, wonderful trip!