Hello San Francisco 🏳️‍🌈

Travel on United — absolutely amazing! So much better than any of our offerings. Seatback entertainment with Bluetooth connectivity to your own earbuds, complimentary drinks including Bloody Marys and wine, and both our internal flights with Southwest and now United have had noticeably more legroom. Very comfortable.

Check-in was impressive: 10/10. We even had a wonderful security guard greeting people with a genuinely positive attitude. He was obviously loving his job, and it made the travel day so much more pleasant. It actually added to the holiday spirit! 👏👏👏

We navigated our way to Market Street in the heart of the Castro with no problems, but when we arrived at Beck’s Motor Lodge we encountered the most sarcastic proprietor to date. She was absolutely full of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent… and for those of you who know RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’ll understand exactly what I’m saying! To put it another way, I won’t have to see her next Tuesday… which is fine by me!

I have dubbed her “Ursula” — the nasty sea witch from The Little Mermaid. Meanwhile, Mark and I are the kind, sweet mermaids 🧜‍♀️ being tormented!

We put the washing on. By the way, this is the one part of travel that I absolutely LOATHE! Yes, it’s a necessity, but if there were any way around it, I would be 100% on board. Laundry is the tax we pay for holidays! 😆

Once that exciting task was underway, we headed out to explore the Castro. First stop was Orphan Andy’s, a Castro institution that has been serving locals and visitors since 1977. We ordered a huge club sandwich that was more than enough for the two of us to share. Even better, this was the diner featured in the Looking television series and subsequent movie. Naturally, I had to sit in the actual seats at the front where many of those scenes were filmed!

After dinner we wandered over to Twin Peaks Tavern for a drink. It holds a special place in Castro history as one of the first gay bars in the United States to feature large open plate-glass windows facing the street. At a time when many gay bars kept their patrons hidden from public view, Twin Peaks proudly let the world see who was inside. It was a small but important symbol of visibility and changing attitudes.

We visited a couple more bars, soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed our first night in San Francisco, but eventually common sense prevailed. We were absolutely beat after a busy travel day, so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow is a new day, and the Castro has already made quite the first impression!Read more