ef: what a day. we woke up fairly early and hung out around the house. i’m not sure if i’ve mentioned this yet but sarah (from here on called alden) lives in a castle. this place has 5 nice bedrooms, a ridiculous kitchen, a nice living room and a backyard. plus the cat is excellent.

when everyone was ready to go, we headed out towards stern grove, which is the site of a series of free outdoor concerts (for the past 69 years). we met liz on the way today’s show was the crown city rockers and ozomatli. stern grove is a beautiful park filled with giant eucalyptus trees and dense green foliage (you can see for yourselves in the pictures page when it’s done). the place was packed when we got there, but luckily they were still letting people in. apparently the people with the good seats got there at 8am for a show that starts at 2pm. not my style.

people around here seem to do their outdoor shows in style, with full picnics and wine and beer and blankets. it was nice and relaxing, and because alden knows so many people, who in turn know other people, it seemed like we had a huge group. charlotte and her brother and her cousin nora were there. eli met up with us right about when the crown city rockers started. we couldn’t see or hear from our position, so we used it as a staging ground and had expeditions out toward the stage to see and hear. we only saw one crown city song, and it was ok. it’s the type of hip-hop made by people who worship old-school rap and refuse to move on AND insist on playing instruments. everyone rapping about how good they are at rapping, and how much they have to say. like the roots but not as good.

ozomatli on the other hand were really great. they had the crowd on its feet the entire time with an authentically latin, yet very hip-hop sound. a huge group of musicians traded off on horns, guitar, keys and percussion. everyone sang, and did so well, and in tight latin harmonies.  singing in spanish, rapping in english. the whole crowd danced. it was the kind of event that makes one optimistic about america. completely multi-racial band, multi-racial, all-ages crowd, everyone finding common ground and having a good time. we left in the middle of ozomatli’s set, unfortunately, to avoid the rush. lucky for us charlotte had a car so she drove all of us (6 people total -- with eli on top) home.

tim and i then decided to be tourists for the afternoon. we consulted with alden and eli and chose to ride the cable car up to fishermans’ warf and walk around there for a bit. the cable car ride was nice and very san francisco. lots of hills and colorful houses and chinese people (it runs through chinatown). the waterfront was quite picturesque as well, especially with the afternoon sun over the bay. we ate at in and out burger. supposed to be really special fast food, but it tasted like mcdonald’s ... sorry californians, it’s true. then we walked to the girardelli factory and had a sunday at the cafe. they definitely make great chocolate and ice cream. we walked along the water for a bit and then took the bus back to alden’s.

we hung out for a bit looking at pictures and playing with the cat. tomorrow is the longest drive yet ... to salt lake city.

PEACE