Sunday, November 23, 2008

You discover treasures...


This is the fortune I got in my cookie during last week's trip to Idyllwild. Usually I think it's true... however this week I found myself being a tour guide in my own city and found I was learning again. One reason I love travel is because everything is a discovery. Every building and fire escape and every odd local custom can be a new inspiration. It is easy to find treasures in other people's cities. However at home it's easy to be accustomed to treasures staring you right in the face. The fire escapes are just fire escapes and the local food is just what it always is... I love San Francisco but even in a place this diverse and interesting it is possible to get used to it. This week I met up with a new friend I met on YouTube (yea, sounds a little weird but the internet isn't a big creepy void anymore) and showed him around the city. My new friend Andrew* travels like I do, looking for anything new and eating it up (sometimes literally). Through his eyes I saw beautiful buildings that I could only describe as "well I'm pretty sure that's a church" since I'd never paid that much attention to it, I ate at a scary themed restaurant, I saw fire trucks and odd American snacks like Hostess Fruit pies (which I gather are a fictional fantasy seen in comic book ads in Australia) and I discovered how lovely and rare cream pies (like the key lime) are to the rest of the world. I try to be open to all of the little treasures hidden in plain sight, but it is nice to get a little help every now and again.
*warning if you click on the link there's a lot of cussing so if you've got kiddies, you should watch it later.

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