San Francisco

Returned recently from San Francisco. Sheri and I went there so I could officiate yet another wedding of a former student/intern. The wedding was beautiful.

San Francisco is a great city. The wedding was in Sausalito, so we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge four roundtrip times. I remember watching this special on the History Channel (which I watch because I'm a nerd) about the engineering marvel that it is. It's one of the world's largest suspension bridges which means that the bridge is literally hanging on the cables that run up and down from the main cable that is suspended off of the two towers. The towers are what I was most "wowed" by. They're huge. In my imagination, I pictured this apocalyptic scene from Planet of the Apes or The Matrix sometime after global warming, nuclear holocaust and country music have caused the end of the world as we know it, and those two towers were still standing. They are that strong. It made me think differently about God being a strong tower.

Definitely one of the coolest things I've seen and San Francisco is one of the coolest cities I've been in. It actually made it into my top five.

Top Five Favorite Personally Visited American Big Cities
(population 1 million or more)

1. Philly -- I just love Philly. Maybe it's a hometown thing (though I'm actually from a western suburb). Every time I am in Philly, I love the vibe. I love cheese steaks, the Eagles, the rude people, South Street, the Italian Market, Center City, streetball, the Sixers, the brownstones, the cobblestones, the stoners, the history (love the history!), the pretzels, the ethnic diversity, the music scene, and the colletive hatred of anything Jersey. Philly rules.

2. Chicago -- Chicago's a great town. I've been there mostly for meetings and conferences at Moody Bible Institute which is in the heart of the city. It's clean, the people are Midwesternly friendly, and the art, music, and museum scene is great (you have to go to the Contemporary Museum of Art). I also had a huge encounter with God in Chicago in 2001, so it's got spiritual sentimentality for me. Great town.

3. New York -- New York is full of energy and beauty. It's really cleaned up its act since I was a kid; I love the law about no smoking inside anywhere. I really like NY City for its history of immigration as well, as the Gateway to America, the world has come to us and the fire of the melting pot began there. Central Park is a great place to chill. I also deeply respect all New Yorkers for how their city handled 9/11.

4. St Louis -- I lived there for five years, and it's a great city. It doesn't have a huge downtown, but the people are so friendly and hospitable. Most every tourist thing is free, which is great. Forest Park is a smaller version of Central Park and every bit as good. The Delmar Loop is a great place to chill, with the best cd/record store I've ever been in. St Louis pizza is horrible, but the pork steaks, ribs and root beer can't be beat. By far the greatest baseball town in America. But the people make the city...great people.

5. San Francisco -- Set in the mountains, these people just build houses on hills everywhere...it's unbelievable. The traffice is horrendous, but the vibe is great. Take a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and drop into Sausalito for an incredible view of the bay from some great coffehouses. Union Square is one huge moving mass of shops and humanity that is a great place to hang out. The thing about California is that most people you meet aren't actually from there. I stood outside on a sidewalk for a bit (an hour) while Sheri shopped and I heard so many different languages. It was really cool. Great people too, didn't get to meet a lot, but those I did interact with were really cool.

I think I'm going to go into tourist book writing. Peace out.