Here is some more new music for your road trip

Go buy the CDs!!!

Upon popular request I have been asked to write a guide for San Francisco for tourists and bohemians who are trying to do the city cheap. Here ya go yall!

Parking:

Parking in the city SUCKS!!!!!!!!! Heed my advice, you do not want to worry about parking hours, street cleaning yadda yadda SOOOO….

Park near SF State college, there are a lot of neighborhoods and free parking in this area, yes you are far from downtown but read the next part.

TAKE THE MUNI!!!:

The Muni is awesome, easy, cheap and will take you anywhere or close to it. Its also a great place to meet people and see the city without worrying about driving. Take some time to study the MUNI map and get your bearings.

CHECK OUT!!!!:

Here are some ideas for things you can do in the city (some are seasonal check the dates on events)

Hippy Hill!!!

If you walk to the end of Haight (at the Mcdonalds), cross the street into the park, walk straight through the tunnel and keeping going straight you will see a hill with loads of people smoking weed! This is a great place to meet some wierdos, get a free smoke out, buy drugs, kick it, drum circles on sundays, hippy hill can be a lot of fun!

Union Square

Union Square is the main shopping area of SF. Yes you can spend a lot of money here BUT you can also just walk around, watch all the street performers, joke with the tourists, walk up to China Town, go to the tenderloin and get crack and a hooker (if thats your thing)

Embarcadero

Most tourists who think of SF picture this area. This is the Wharf area with all the tourist traps such as wax museums and expensive resturants… Not my favorite part of the city but a good place to people watch so I listed it.

China Town

Great food, lots of weird stuff, great place to buy cheap groceries, look for the guys in Oakland A’s hats (they sell illegal fireworks)

Sea Cliff

My personal favorite spot in this city, This is an old artillery base on the beach located 5 miles south of SF state. Park at the beginning of the dirt trail and hike up the steps to get to the Sea Cliff (Awesome), there are all kinds of old military base to be checked out as well! Great place for the dogs!

Twin Peaks

Big ass hill in SF with AWESOME view of the City. As seen on The OC

My Favorite Events

Power the The Peaceful (Free music festival in Speedway Meadows)

Love Parade

Weird Street Festival (CHECK THIS OUT!!!!)

Bay To Breakers

Womens Nike Race

 

Here are a few songs to get you stoked about leaving your world behind.

Venice Beach is a good place to have some good ole sketchy fun. From watching people walk on glass to smoking hash on the beach, you can just about do anything here AND you can do it for cheap if you know what your doing.

PARKING:

When you drive to Venice first go down Venice Blvd until you hit the beach. This is the cheapest parking (if there is any). If there is no parking on the beach then make a left in the alley and make a left again on South Venice Blvd. From here you can park down the street, in the neighborhoods to the right and sometimes in the library to the left (careful)

FOOD:

My favorite place to eat in Venice is the Cabo Cantina. On Saturdays and Sundays you can get endless 10$ mimosa and bloody mary’s with some great Mexican food. The Cantina is about a block up on the right from the Venice Pier. (About 4 blocks down from Venice N Blvd).

HASHBAR:

Yes, you can get your medical marijuana card in Venice for 40$ and same day sit overlooking the beach smoking at a hash lounge. I really don’t need to describe the process as all you have to do is look for anyone in a white doctor’s coat. The hashbar in Venice is AWESOME! They have great product, nice girls who tend it, and they even light the hash for you! It’s worth the about 55$ it will cost you to get to the bar.

STREET PERFORMERS:

Really the best part about Venice Beach is the people watching (or partaking). I would say the vibe is similar to the now burnout culture of Haight and Ashbury. But there is a lot of good music to be heard, art to be seen and acts to be feated.

Sacramento is a great place to hangout if you know where to go!!!!! Otherwise it sucks, seriously.

R and 15th:

Burgers and Brews – AWESOME burgers, decent prices and great place to choose one of many beers.

Shady Lady – 1920′s style bar with great music and ambiance. Mainly a hipster, younger crowd.

Ace of Spades – Great venue with two bars, great food from next door (Cafe Bernardo) and mainly big acts (Can be expensive)

Cafe Bernardo – Amazing food, amazing… enough said.

Coffee:

Naked Lounge – Just a block away on Q and 15th, this is a cool small independent coffee shop.

Weatherstone – 21st inbetween H st and I st .. This is my favorite coffee shop. Great place to play chess, chain smoke, meet people, work, whatever.. There is free wifi, great food, amazing coffee, amazing everything. GO HERE!!

Bars:

Old Tavern – 20th inbetween N st and O st. This is my favorite dive bar. 7$ pitchers, 1.50$ food, pool table, free food on some days, and awesome people!

Press Club/Townhouse – I group these two together because they are both hipster bars located on 21st and O st, both can be pretty cracking on Friday and Saturday nights so hop between the two.

Golden Bear – 24th and K st  – 2 bars, back patio and front patio, younger crowd, good music, decently priced food and drinks, nothing really bad to say. I tend to go here when I’m in Sacramento.

GO TO OLD SACRAMENTO

Yeah, its a tourist trap… but there are a lot of cool shops, restaurants, a GREAT train museum. Old Sacramento still has that old western feel! Great place to take the kids. Make sure you check out Evangeline’s costume and gag shop!!!

GO TO THE CAPITAL AND CAPITAL PARK

The capital has a tour, never done it, but the park around it is AWESOME! there is a rose garden, Vietnam memorial, 9-11 memorial, huge bell, creepy trail (by the bell). Check it out!!

Here are some tips on Yosemite National Forest camping

WHERE TO STAY::

WIMP

If you hate the outdoors you can stay at a hotel but this guide is not for you (press home button now)

HOUSEKEEPING

If you like to camp but need necessities close (showers and cooked meals ((yes your girlfriend))) then you would fit in best in Housekeeping. In Housekeeping there are permanent tents set up  (pretty roomy) showers are close, food is close, grocery store is close… you get the idea. There is another camp with same sized tents that also have fireplaces and giddups (call and ask for name)… I have never stayed there as I am a tent camper.  KEEP IN MIND!!!!!! These campsites have strict noise limits at certain hours. This is a great place for the kids, parents, girlfriends, boyfriends….

PLAIN OLE SITE

If you have a RV or tent and want to go QUIET camping then stay at Upper Pines, Lower Pines… Any of the regular empty lot campsites. These lots vary is size (some are tight squeezes) and it sucks if you get stuck between two RV’s but that’s how it goes. Once again there is strict quiet hour rules. Most of the campers in this area are families.

IMPORTANT:::::: Lately it has been VERY hard to get campsite reservations. If you are having this problem check  http://www.Craigslist.com (Make sure you check EVERY city, the tickets appear all over). There is a new trend of people buying all of the campsites under fake names and selling them… You will pay about double (sometimes more) but at least you will get the site. Im going to estimate that sites right now are roughly 25$ but it does vary. So you will pay about 50$ a night.  Make sure you file a claim about the person you bought your campsite reservation from on Craigslist so we can prevent this in the future!!!

CAMP 4

If you want to party, meet people and have fun then stay at camp 4. This is where all the Europeans, climbers, teenagers, yaddadi. Registration is daily and to get a Camp 4 site you must get to the reservation area VERY VERY early as the sites can and do regularly run out! It costs 5$ a night per person which will save you a lot of money! This is a good place to meet likeminded cats.  If you are 18-30 STAY AT CAMP 4!!!!!!!!!!

WILDERNESS PASS

You can get a wilderness pass to camp backwoods in Yosemite. You have to get there REALLY early as the registration is daily similar to Camp 4. EXPERIENCED CAMPERS ONLY, you can get in some nasty situations if you are not a seasoned camper and choose this option heed the warning. Check the Yosemite website for more information on this option as the price does vary and this option is NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE.

A COUPLE TIPS

CAMPFIRE HOURS ARE STRICT!!!!

MAKE SURE YOU LOCK YOUR FOOD UP I can not stress this enough… I have seen a bear walk up to a man while he was barbequing, steal food off his table, and then run away without the man even noticing (yeah it was awesome).

There is a small grocery store that sells necessities so don’t worry if you forgot your deodorant or need to reup on grub.

GO THE SPEEDLIMIT!!!! They are insane about this. I know it sucks, its slow.

Don’t forget your on FEDERAL PROPERTY!!!! Hide the acid and weed maun…

STUFF TO DO::

While you are in Yosemite make sure you take the John Muir trail to AT LEAST Lower Falls. This is a hike that will blow your mind… While I do see kids running up and down the thousands of stairs it takes to get to the top of the waterfall (epic) I would NOTTT bring a child on this hike. It does get a little sketchy in parts.

Halfdome is an awesome day hike!!! BUT You are now required to have a permit to hike Halfdome!!!! Don’t forget. Make sure you check before planning a hike because Halfdome hikes do close down at times.

At night The Meadow is a great place to check out the stars, play guitar, smoke, meet people… mainly a younger crowd.

Make friends with people who work in the park, they know the best places to go.

 

Locke is a hard place to describe. Its not a ghost town, its not a tourist town, its not really a place most people would go out of their way to check out. Nonetheless Locke is an awesome place to plan an Adventure. Locke is an old Chinese city located off the river highway (160) near Sacramento, California. At first glance Locke seems to be an abandoned ghost town but there is still a bar, a restaurant and a few REALLY great art gallery’s (Don’t miss the sculpture gallery (if its open still). If you want to do Locke right go at night, park at the end of the road in the gravel and walk back through the town. When you get the the end of the town make a left to go down the creepy dark road. Late at night hundreds of cats sit near this road and if you are the only person to walk down it for a while (which you most likely are) you’ll get scared shitless from the hundreds of cats darting around you. At the end of the road make a left and make sure to check out the old ladies toilet collection fencing off her house. During the day on weekends a few small museums and the old school open for people passing through. Honestly, the town at night (hit the bar) is more fun than the museums. My favorite thing about Locke is that the entire town is slowly leaning to the right… you’ll see what i mean.

Also near Locke is the town of Clarksburg, California. Clarksburg is known for its old creepy Sugar Mill which until recently was abandoned for years. The Sugar Mill is now an open wine tasting area and a great place to hang out! Also in Clarksburg about 3 miles from the Sugar Mill is the old Silver Bend which has a miniature western town, they seasonally throw events (such as pumpkin patches). Great place to take the kids!

Further down the 160 is the town of Isleton, California. Isleton is a small fisherman town along the river which is known for its annual Crawfish Festival. The festival is worth checking out to catch some great seafood, live music, games, and see some REALLY nice motorcycles.

Take some time to drive down the 160 and check out all of the cool sights on the Delta. There really are too many cool mysteries on this road left undiscovered.

When you are passing the Sugar Mill on your right, continue down 160 until you hit THE ONLY LEFT you can make… This will take you to a cool campground (we have had some epic parties here) but please do watchout for Cops, they patrol this area once a night…

Carson City, the capital of Nevada, has a lot of interesting things to see and  do. If you find yourself in Carson and driving by the bunny ranch then make sure you continue up the highway a little to check out the awesome Bug Spider. The Bug Spider made a famous appearance in Wanynes World. Carson City also has one of my FAVORITE museums of all time. YOU MUST CHECK OUT the Nevada State Museum in Carson City (Its about 4 blocks from the Capital).

Also near Carson City is the ghost town of Virginia City. In Virginia City make sure you check out the bloody poker table at the casino, the haunted ghost house tour and MAKE SURE you check out the cemetery. You’ll get a kick reading the weird ways a lot of the old miners died. Virginia City is a great ghost town and on my top 5 worth checking out in California.

Lake Tahoe is another great stop if you are near Carson City. Lake Tahoe is one of the most pristine lakes in our country and has endless hiking, camping and climbing opportunities. I will post a wealth of information on Lake Tahoe both in Summer and Winter in the future!

 

Make sure you check out the rest of my blog as I have many locations listed near Carson City!

 

Flew Into San Diego to begin the long drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stopped at Mission Beach to ride some rollercoasters and grab some brew. Decent prices and free parking if your lucky!

This site is a collection of memories and pictures I have from the last 3 months. I challenge you to remember yourself in these cities and post your own memories, stories or suggestions of where to go.  Your comments do not have to be limited to these locations but please remain in America for posts. Ideas for posts, Roadside Attractions, Bars, Restaurants….. Have fun and be nice!